‘I just lost it’: Keselowski wrecks with teammate racing for lead, Harvick sweeps at MIS

BROOKLYN, MI – Rochester Hills driver Brad Keselowski entered Turn 1 in third and with enough momentum to get alongside the leader.

He exited Turn 2 in the wall.

Keselowski was looking for his first lead of the day, driving under teammate Ryan Blaney with about 60 laps to go in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. But Keselowski slipped up, got sideways and crashed himself and his Team Penske teammate.

TEAMMATES WRECK!!! 😱@keselowski gets loose and slides up into @Team_Penske teammate @Blaney at @MISpeedway! pic.twitter.com/49xokMOKaK
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 9, 2020

"(Kevin Harvick) gave me a push and I swear I went into the corner 20 mph faster than I had all day," Keselowski said after the crash. "I just lost it. It's my fault … I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

Blaney and Keselowski finished 38th and 39th respectively, the last two positions.

Keselowski finished second in Saturday’s race. No Michigan-born driver has won a Cup race at MIS.

Harvick would go on to win, holding off Denny Hamlin in the final laps and winning by 0.093 seconds to sweep the doubleheader weekend. It was the second-closest MIS Cup finish since electronic scoring began in 1993, second only to Jeff Gordon edging Ricky Rudd by 0.085 seconds in 2001.

He holds off Hamlin! Retweet to congratulate @KevinHarvick on his weekend sweep at Michigan. pic.twitter.com/70nb5SIT1d
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 9, 2020

Harvick becomes the first driver since Richard Petty in July 1971 to win NASCAR Cup Series races on consecutive days.

It’s Harvick’s third MIS win in a row, fourth in the last five MIS races and fifth in his career.

Ford now has won six consecutive MIS Cup races, their longest streak ever at their home track. The Dearborn-based manufacturer gets to take the Michigan Heritage Trophy back to its headquarters until the next MIS race – something Ford officials have said means a lot to them.

Edsel Ford II texted Harvick after he won Saturday’s race – congratulating him, but putting the pressure on the 44-year-old driver to win again Sunday.

"He made sure that I was well aware that they didn't want to keep (the Michigan Heritage Trophy) for one day," Harvick said.

Sunday's win is Harvick's league-leading sixth of the season and 55th of his career. He also leads the points series with four races until the playoffs begin.

He led the most laps in both races, including 90 of the 156 laps on Sunday.

No fans were allowed at the track for this weekend’s NASCAR races, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-160 prohibits fans at sporting events due to COVID-19. That didn’t stop some fans from camping outside the gates, however.

Both races were 312 miles instead of the normal 400 because the pandemic forced the races to be run on the same weekend. Sunday’s race ended in 2 hours and 10 minutes, making it the quickest a MIS Cup race has been finished – besides races shortened by rain.