Bristol, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Brad Keselowski claimed his first victory in the Camping World Truck Series after holding off Darrell Wallace Jr. in the closing laps of Thursday's UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
This 200-lap race was scheduled for Wednesday night but persistent rain forced postponement until the following day.
Keselowski, the driver/owner of the No. 19 Ford and the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion, passed Kyle Busch, the pole sitter, for the lead on lap 125 and then ran in front for the remaining 76 laps around this 0.533-mile, high-banked short track.
Wallace challenged Keselowski for the top spot during the final 10 laps and at one point was right on his back bumper, but Keselowski pulled away and beat Wallace to the finish line by 0.8 seconds.
Keselowski scored his maiden truck win in his 62nd start. He had finished second five times before earning his first victory in the series. Keselowski also became the 25th driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR's national touring series. He has 13 victories in Sprint Cup and 30 in Nationwide.
"It took a long time to get here, but we made it," Keselowski said in Bristol's Victory Lane. "This series means so much to me. It's great to win as a driver."
Keselowski and his father, Bob, became the first father/son duo to win races in the Truck Series. Bob Keselowski's lone victory in the series came on Sept. 4, 1997 at Richmond.
"My family has been a part of this series since the inception, and I feel like I have too, whether I was watching as a kid or now as a team owner and a driver," Keselowski said. "I got my start in this series. Ran my family bankrupt in this series, trying to make it. Caught some other breaks to make it to the Cup Series. I've had all the success in the Cup and Nationwide level but never here [in the Truck Series].
"Part of it is because I did it the hard way, trying to do it myself. Everybody knows I like to do things the hard way. But we're here, and I'm proud of everyone that got me here."
Ron Hornaday Jr. finished third, followed Matt Crafton, the defending series champion, and Johnny Sauter, the current points leader. Sauter holds an eight- point advantage over Crafton, his teammate at ThorSport Racing.
Busch and Keselowski were the only drivers who led in this race. Busch ran in front for a total of 81 laps, while Keselowski held the top position for 119 laps.
With less than 25 laps to go, Busch was running in third but had a flat right- rear tire, causing him to make slight contact with the wall. He ended up finishing six laps behind in 24th. Busch has won a truck race at Bristol four times, including a victory here last year.
Hornaday is now 17 points behind out of the lead, while Ryan Blaney trails by 24 points following his 13th-place finish.
Wallace's second-place run moved him to within 33 points of Sauter.
"We finished second, but I wish we could take it back," Wallace said. "I thought I got on [Keselowski's] bumper pretty good getting into [turn] 1 but not enough. I would've had to wreck him to get by him. I respect Brad and what he does. Congrats to him."
John Hunter Nemechek finished sixth, followed by Joey Coulter, Cole Custer, Ben Rhodes and Corey Lajoie.
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