Full Throttle

Clint Bowyer made an uncharacteristic unforced error that handed Friday night’s Food City Nationwide Series 250 to Brad Keselowski at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer dominated the 250-lapper at the half-mile bullring, but inexplicably overdrove in turn two by himself on lap 226 and gave Keselowski room to pass on the inside. Keselowski led the final 24 laps for his second career Nationwide Series win.

Bowyer, who extended his series points lead when Carl Edwards crashed, finished a distant second. Greg Biffle, pole-winner Cale Gale and David Stremme rounded out the top five. Except for Biffle’s Ford, the top five was an all-Chevy show.

Gale led from the pole to lap 17, when No. 2 starter Dario Franchitti passed and led from 18-88. Gale led 89 and Franchitti 90-105 while pit stops cycled through. Bowyer took the lead from Franchitti on lap 106 and easily led until blowing it in turn two.

“I just made a mistake,” Bowyer said. “It jumped out from under me and I got real loose. By the time I caught it, Brad was by me and gone. But if I’m going to lose one that way, I’m glad to lose it to someone like him. He drove hard and clean.”

Keselowski felt the race was his when Bowyer slipped.

“We were dead even, Clint and I, so I needed to catch a break,” he said. “And he gave it to me, and I’m thankful for that. We know we have to win races to win the championship, and we did that tonight. This is what we have to do every weekend, run up front and have a shot to win.”

The race might have turned when Kyle Busch, running second in a Toyota, had to make a second pit stop to have a loose lug nut reattached. He restarted 17th on lap 193 and raced his way back to seventh on a night when he might have won.

“It’s frustrating, but everybody else on this team is frustrated,” he said. “You have to keep digging, and I’d rather have it happen tonight than [Saturday in the Cup race].”

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• Keselowski earns second Nationwide win of season