BROOKLYN, Mich. - A bum clutch didn't trip up Brad Keselowski. Neither did racing in close proximity with nemesis Carl Edwards.
Keselowski managed to make it through pit stops despite mechanical problems, then grabbed the lead on a restart with eight laps to go and pulled away to win the NASCAR Nationwide race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.
"The clutch issue was something I was really nervous about," said Keselowski, a Michigan native who also won last year's Nationwide race here. "I didn't know if that was going to cost us the race. I tried to be cool about that, but it's easy to get upset."
Edwards finished second, barely edging out a charging Kyle Busch. Edwards and Keselowski raced side-to-side for a large portion of the race without incident. Both drivers are on probation for a high-profile confrontation at Gateway International Raceway last month.
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"It's like both of us are probably thinking the same thing, don't be the guy that messes this up," Edwards said. "But he raced me very cleanly, I thought we raced very well together, and that's the kind of racing that I'm sure both of us want to be doing."
Meanwhile, it was another rough day at the racetrack for Danica Patrick, who went down a lap to the leaders early on and finished 27th.
Patrick said her car was extremely loose early on - "I hope I don't crash," she remembered thinking - but the team got a handle on the car's handling late in the race.
Justin Allgaier was fourth, followed by Paul Menard. Driver Robert Richardson Jr. was transported to a local hospital with an undisclosed medical issue after a crash.
It was the fourth Nationwide victory of the season and 10th of his career for Keselowski, who holds a dominant 347-point lead in the series standings.
Keselowski won despite clutch issues that gave him problems during pit stops - and during an attempt at a post-race victory burnout.
"It was an issue on the burnout," Keselowski joked. "I think that was the most frustrating part."
NASCAR Trucks
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Todd Bodine led the final 47 laps at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night to take his second straight victory in NASCAR's truck series.
Bodine held off pole-sitter Timothy Peters through two restarts to win in the Camping World Truck Series' first appearance at the "Lady in Black" in six years.
