Keselowski beaming after rainy Pocono

Brad Keselowski showed just what racing can be about Sunday.

Rain threatened, top drivers spun and setbacks besieged several contenders in NASCAR Sprint Cup action at Pocono Raceway.

Yet Keselowski persevered.

Things got wild late, and the restart with 16 laps to go was no different.

Kyle Busch, who had led 27 laps and was in the lead, found himself sandwiched between Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. Both stormed around Busch, going three wide on the restart, with Keselowski breaking free and taking the lead.

Busch suddenly found himself in second in a race that he and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates had generally ruled. And he had to settle for that.

It was Keselowski who fought his way through the lengthy race and gutted his way to his second Sprint Cup win of the season. Racing with a fractured ankle after a crash in testing last Wednesday, Keselowski and his team used strategy and sheer guts to get into the top spot with the laps winding down.

Keselowski led 18 laps en route to the victory.

Busch finished second, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

Busch had overcome a Lap 13 spin and subsequent pit-road penalty that left him 34th in the field at the time.

Keselowski had taken his first lead on strategy, his second with that wily move.

After the red-flag period on Lap 124, Penske Racing’s duo of Keselowski and Kurt Busch were suddenly in the top spots. Both had pitted a short time before the rain came, putting them deep in the field during the stoppage but in front of it when everyone else pitted before the Lap 132 restart.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano, whose lone Sprint Cup win came in a rain-shortened race, held the lead as the rain poured at the track and led the field to the red flag. Logano had led 39 laps when the red flag came out on Lap 124. He was still in contention for a top finish when he felt he had a tire going down and began dropping through the field with 12 to go.

The three Gibbs drivers set the pace most of the race and even held the top spot during the 1:40:46 red-flag period for the rain that did eventually interrupt the race with Logano in the lead.

He’d been on point during the rain delay, but after the pit stops following the rain, Penske Racing’s duo of Keselowski and Busch started in the top two spots.

Busch almost immediately took the lead from his teammate as Logano challenged for second and charged back toward the front. As things settled out, Kurt Busch led his brother, Kyle.

Kurt Busch pulled ahead for a while, but with 38 laps to go, Kyle Busch took the top spot and put Gibbs back in charge in the race. On Lap 172, Kyle Busch led his brother by 3.616 seconds. Green-flag pit stops began on that lap, and Kyle Busch held the lead through them.

His edge was erased by a Lap 179 caution period, one in which several of the cars in contention opted to pit. Busch was among those that stayed out on the track. Denny Hamlin lost significant position on a two-tire stop, restarting 17th with 16 to go. And then he found himself in the battle with Keselowski.

The Gibbs cars had been in contention throughout the race, with Logano, Busch and Hamlin each taking a turn at the front.

Teams were aware that rain threatened in the area, ramping up the intensity at the mid-race point. On Lap 112, as the field strung out more, the Joe Gibbs cars continued to show their strength. Logano held the lead, with Hamlin second and Kyle Busch in fourth. Then, on Lap 123, with Johnson challenging Logano at the front, the rain began to pour on the track.

Earlier in the race, Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch led nine laps before being overcome by Hamlin.

Once Hamlin took over the top spot, he pulled away from all but his teammate Busch. Hamlin led the field by more than five seconds at times but was then caught by Busch on Lap 76. Hamlin then retook the lead on the ensuing pit stop.

Meanwhile, others endured setbacks in the race. Tony Stewart lost position after a tire failed when he was 16th on Lap 91. Roush Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle had contact early in the race, leading to a lengthy stop for Biffle for repairs, then David Ragan crashed to bring out the caution on Lap 20. Ragan, in contention for a wild-card slot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup by virtue of his Daytona win, spent laps in the garage as his team made significant repairs. And then Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne were damaged when Montoya ran Kahne into the wall on Lap 179.