Upon Further Review: Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — If it isn’t one thing, it seems to be another for Kurt Busch at restrictor-plate tracks.

Saturday night he was racing for second when he spun on the last lap after contact from Joey Logano. Busch finished 23rd.

“One day the chips are going to fall in my direction, there’s no way it can’t,’’ Busch said afterward. “It’s almost two rotations around a roulette wheel on how many times we’ve been here and haven’t won. We’ll keep trying.’’

It’s not like he hasn’t been close. He has 10 top-three finishes in 62 career Sprint Cup restrictor-plate starts (16.1 percent).

Saturday night’s race at Daytona only added to the litany of close calls that have kept the former series champion winless in his career in Cup points races at Daytona and Talladega.

Among those races:

— He briefly led with less than two laps left at Talladega in May but watched the outside line motor by. Busch finished eighth.

— He led a race-high 95 laps in the 2007 Daytona 500 before a wreck with Tony Stewart. Busch finished 41st.

— Three times he’s finished second in the Daytona 500, including 2008 when he pushed then-teammate Ryan Newman to the win.

Only Ken Schrader has led more laps (298) than Busch (290) in Sprint Cup races at Daytona without winning a points race there.

The most notable winless driver in a restrictor-plate points race is Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace. He was winless in 72 career starts at Daytona and Talladega after restrictor plates debuted in 1988 (Wallace was 0-for-90 in his career in all starts at those tracks).

That wasn’t the only streak that continued Saturday night for Busch. He did complete the last lap and remains the only driver this season to run all 4,935 laps run this year.

His car’s consistency and speed this season put him in position to be the points leader Saturday after teammate Kevin Harvick finished 39th because of a crash. Busch lost that opportunity with the last-lap incident.

“It’s just a feather in the cap,’’ Busch said of what it would have meant to have taken the points lead. “There are more important things to do. Winning a plate race is one them.’’

FEELING GOOD

Although two of Brad Keselowski’s three wins this season have come at restrictor-plate tracks, he says he feels good about where his team is heading toward the playoffs.

The question is why should he with only one restrictor-plate track in the Chase?

“We’ve had a lot of consistency the last few weeks,’’ said Keselowski, who has seven top-10 finishes in the last eight races. “There’s been some races that haven’t quite been as strong, as well, in fairness, but even the races where we’re not quite as strong, we seem to be right there in that fifth‑ to 10th‑place range, which is a lot of what the Chase is.

“A lot of what the Chase is go run fifth to 10th every week and you’ll find yourself at Homestead, and then you’ve got to go win Homestead. Good consistency is a great trademark of a championship‑winning team, and I feel that out of my team right now.’’

PIT STOPS

— Roush Fenway Racing placed all three of its drivers in the top 10 with Trevor Bayne third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth and Greg Biffle eighth. It marked the first time Roush Fenway Racing has had three cars finish in the top 10 since Bristol in August 2014.

— Kyle Busch finished second on Saturday night. He’s placed in the top three in each of the restrictor-plate races this season. He was third in the Daytona 500 and second at Talladega in May.

— Austin Dillon finished seventh Saturday night. He’s placed in the top 10 in each of the first three restrictor-plate races. He was ninth in the Daytona 500 and third at Talladega in May.

— Trevor Bayne’s third-place finish was his best result since he won the 2011 Daytona 500.

— Michael McDowell finished 10th Saturday. It marked his third career top-10 finish. All three have been at Daytona. He finished a career-high seventh in the 2014 Daytona 500 and placed ninth in the 2013 Daytona 500.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 13th in the points standings. It is the lowest in the points he’s been at this time of the season since 2010 when he was 13th.

— Restrictor-plate races have not been kind to Chris Buescher this season. He has failed to finish all three this year because of an accident, including his tumble down the backstretch at Talladega in May. His finishes are 39th in the Daytona 500, 37th at Talladega in May and 40th on Saturday at Daytona.

WATCH: LIVE POST-RACE INSPECTION ON TUESDAY

RELATED: Watch the live stream here

From 8-11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, NASCAR.com will live stream the post-race inspection process at the Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

The three-hour look takes you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials inspect Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway.

The cars at the R&D Center this week are: the No. 2 Ford of Brad Keselowski (winner of Saturday's race) and the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch (finished second in Saturday's race).

Ryan: A case for Brad Keselowski’s plate greatness – and the reasons some still reject it

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In becoming the most decorated Millennial in NASCAR history, it never seems easy for Brad Keselowski – even just garnering credit when he makes it seem remarkably easy on track.

That’s been the recurring theme lately for the Team Penske star in the restrictor-plate bedlam of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Keselowski’s victory in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 was his second straight on the tracks that choke down horsepower and create massive packs – requiring deft navigation of its capricious draft at 200 mph – and his improvement curve seems to be accelerating.

He led a race-high 115 of 161 laps at Daytona, bettering his previous plate track high of 46 laps led in May at Talladega.

In both races, he took the lead with 16 laps to go and coolly dictated the rhythm and tone on mammoth ovals whose sound and fury allegedly can’t be harnessed.

Of course, he has exhibited a flair for the dramatic, too. In the fifth start of his Cup career – and his first in a part-time, underfunded car that was blessed with a Hendrick Motorsports engine but little in the way of manpower – Keselowski outdueled a host of veterans by gamely holding the bottom lane and launching Carl Edwards into the catchfence at Talladega. The first lap he led in his Sprint Cup career was the last that day on the 2.66-mile oval.

His next two wins at Talladega – a jaw-dropping maneuver that snookered Kyle Busch in 2012 and a last-lap pass of Ryan Newman during a must-win playoff race to advance in 2014 – were just as compelling and helped bolster an inescapable conclusion.

Keselowski currently might be the world’s best plate racer, and one number bears it out nicely.

Since 2009, he has more plate victories (five) than any driver in NASCAR’s premier series.

Ahh, but it’s not so simple for some.

Just peruse the musings from the angst-ridden peanut gallery of NASCAR social media since Saturday night.

Stating the abundantly obvious – that having the most wins in the past seven years at Daytona and Talladega might merit some measure of praise – was cast as hyperbolic trolling of Keselowski’s mastery.

How can you label someone the best solely based on the number of times they finished first?

The reaction isn’t entirely unpredictable given that Keselowski has been a target of fans’ boos for several years.

It could be construed as a byproduct of the 2012 Sprint Cup champion’s hard-nosed and indefatigable will. Respect among fans and peers always has seemed elusive for the Rochester Hills, Mich., native.

While establishing himself as a rising star, he butted heads with Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. It didn’t subside much after he won the 2012 championship, though the clashes became less frequent and vocal. Keselowski was elected to the Sprint Cup Drivers Council, but he won’t win popularity contests in many quarters of the industry.

That doesn’t explain all of why Kez has been denied his due for plate greatness, though.

Here are some reasons why:

–He’s threatening the supremacy of a 13-time most popular driver: In 2015, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who leads active drivers with 10 restrictor-plate wins, posted two wins, a second and a third between Daytona and Talladega. But he is having arguably the worst plate season of his career. After crashing in the Daytona 500 and at Talladega, Earnhardt finished a nondescript 21st Saturday while battling the same handling problems plaguing the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2016 plate races.

Keselowski’s rise hasn’t come at Earnhardt’s expense, but there are mitigating factors that make it less palatable for Junior Nation to accept. Earnhardt gave Keselowski his big break by putting him in a JRM Xfinity ride a decade ago. Since then, he’s won a Cup championship, which Earnhardt still doesn’t have.

Plate greatness has been a constant through the ups and downs of Earnhardt’s career. If Keselowski were perceived as snatching it, Earnhardt’s fervent following wouldn’t take kindly.

–His success has come in one of the oddest eras of plate racing: None of Keselowski’s victories came during the 2011 season that featured the wretched rise (and fall) of tandem drafting, but the taint still lingered.

Plate racing went through a bizarre spell during that period, and the interruption in continuity made an impact on how the racing was celebrated.

Keselowski’s winning stretch would be more appreciated if it had occurred in the early to mid-2000s, when the rules for plate racing were in a sweet spot that engendered decent racing while emphasizing driver talent (see: Earnhardt’s winning run at Talladega in 2001-04).

–He has taken advantage of depleted fields: The most specious of narratives, driven mostly by the 22-car wreck Saturday at Daytona – while conveniently omitting that it didn’t eliminate every legitimate contender. Keselowski still had to make a nifty move to take the lead from Busch (ranked first in driver rating at Daytona among active Cup drivers) as well as beat 2016 Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, restrictor-plate sleeper Kurt Busch and others.

There also was a 21-car wreck in May at Talladega, a 10-car wreck in 2014, two nine-car wrecks in 2012 and a 14-car and 10-car wreck in 2009.

Yes, massive pileups have happened in all of Keselowski’s victories. Generally, they occur in the middle of the pack, wiping out mostly cars that weren’t a serious threat to start.

–He initially struggled at Daytona: Going strictly by the numbers (which always is a dangerous trap in analyzing plate results), Keselowski’s results have lagged at the World Center of Racing. The 2.5-mile track is his worst in Sprint Cup based on average finish (20.7).

But a closer examination shows he already has been headed in the right direction. He unquestionably was mediocre at the 2016 Daytona 500 (20th), prompting his team to construct a much sleeker No. 2 Ford for this past weekend, but aside from that, he has been strong the past three seasons.

He was running well last July before a mid-race wreck, he was contending in the top five of the 2015 Daytona 500 before a late engine failure, and he finished third in the 2014 Daytona 500 – delivering the winning push to Earnhardt in the two-lap dash to the finish.

‘Gremlins’ keep Dale Earnhardt Jr. from competitive Coke Zero 400

For the third restrictor-plate race in a row, Dale Earnhardt Jr. factored into the outcome by not being a factor at all.

The four-time winner at Daytona International Speedway never appeared in the top five after starting 16th in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 and eventually finished 21st.

But at least he finished.

Earnhardt had three plate race wins (not counting exhibition events) in the last two seasons with the now famously named chassis “Amelia.” But the defending Coke Zero 400 winner had failed to finish the Daytona 500 or the May Talladega race after wrecking on his own in each race.

Earnhardt was once again seen as a favorite entering Saturday night, but the driver tweeted Sunday that “gremlins” kept his No. 88 Chevrolet from being able to compete in the larger draft and leading to a “miserable night.”

Earnhardt’s effort wasn’t helped when he received minor damage from the Lap 90 crash that included 22 cars.

With Saturday night’s result, Earnhardt has failed to finish in the top 1o in eight of the last nine races. He finished second at Pocono Raceway. However, Earnhardt was the highest-placing Hendrick Motorsports driver in the race. Chase Elliott (32nd) and Jimmie Johnson (35th) were eliminated in the Lap 90 crash. Kasey Kahne, who was also involved, finished 30th, 38 laps down.

With nine races left before the start of Chase for the Sprint Cup, Earnhardt is currently 13th in the points standings, 30 above the cutoff for the Chase.

Earnhardt and his team now hope they can turn their season around next Saturday at Kentucky Speedway. In his five starts at the 1.5-mile track that was repaved earlier this year, Earnhardt has two top fives (2012, 2014) and one pole (2013).

Roush puts all three cars in top 10 for first time in 65 races

While it wasn’t a win, Trevor Bayne got the closest he’s been to victory lane in five years Saturday when he finished third in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

But Bayne’s second top five of 2016 also got Roush Fenway Racing the closest it’s been to a win in more than a year.

The team that hasn’t won since Sonoma Raceway in June 2014 put all three of its entries – Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (fifth) and Greg Biffle (eighth) – in the top 10 for the first time in 65 races. That stretch started with the August night race at Bristol in 2014.

Daytona began with Biffle on the pole – Roush’s first since Carl Edwards had it at Texas in November 2013 – and ended with Bayne getting Roush its best result since Biffle finished second in the 2015 Coca-Cola-600.

“For our organization to be on the pole this weekend, to have three cars in the top eight, two in the top five, I think that’s kind of a landmark for us as an organization with the struggles we’ve had to get all three teams running strong on a weekend like this,” Bayne said. “It’s not a win that we need to get in the Chase, but it’s a great step in the right direction for making it in on points.”

Leaving Daytona, Bayne currently is the highest Roush driver in the points in 17th. He’s six points behind the cutoff of the 16 cars that will make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Biffle, who had a pole for the first time since October 2012 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, earned his first top 10 since the September race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last year. That was after his No. 16 Ford received damage in the Lap 90 crash that involved 22 cars that required multiple pit stops to repair

“It was a rough night after we got in that wreck,” Biffle said in a news release. “We got pretty severe damage and were able to come back and finish eighth. We had a pretty fast car, and (Brad Keselowski) was unbelievably fast. We have some work to do still, but I am so proud of my guys.”

Stenhouse came home with his second top five of the year and the fifth of his career. His finished fifth at Auto Club Speedway in March.

Stenhouse had started fourth and was riding in the back when the “Big One” occurred, and he was able to brake his No. 17 Ford in time to avoid it. Stenhouse lined up eighth during the overtime restart before getting a push into the top five.

“Clint (Bowyer) was pushing me the whole last lap. I wasn’t sure that we would be able to be pushed all the way through the corners, but we were able to hold it in a straight line as best as we could,” Stenhouse said in a news release. “The Roush Fenway Racing guys worked really hard, and Jack (Roush) has put a lot of confidence in everyone to get our cars better each week.”

Next week, the series will head to the recently repaved and reconfigured Kentucky Speedway. A Roush car has not finished in the top 10 at the 1.5-mile track since Matt Kenseth finished seventh in 2012.

Video: Trevor Bayne earns best finish since 2011 Daytona 500 win

Trevor Bayne led Roush Fenway Racing’s effort in the Coke Zero 400 with a third-place finish. All three Roush cars finished in the top 10 after Greg Biffle started the night on the pole. Bayne earned his best result since he won the 2011 Daytona 500.

NASCAR TV SCHEDULE: JULY 4-10

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Tuesday, July 5
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
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6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN

Wednesday, July 6
5 p.m., NASCAR RaceHub, FS1
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Thursday, July 7
1 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice, NBCSN
2 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
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5 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying, FS2
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Friday, July 8
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 (re-air), FS2
3 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice (re-air), NBCSN
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3 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race: Columbus Motor Speedway (taped), NBCSN
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Sunday, July 10
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