Keselowski wins NASCAR race at Richmond; Biffle, Newman join Chase

Brad Keselowski routed the field Saturday night for his fourth victory this season, giving him the top seeding in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Keselowski led all but 17 of the 400 laps at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in the last race of the regular season.

“What a night. I pulled into victory lane and I pinched myself once to make sure I wasn’t dreaming,” said Keselowski, the 2012 champion. “These are nights you don’t forget as a driver and you live for.”

There were two spots up for grab in the 16-driver Chase field, but Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle pretty much entered the race in control of their fate. Newman never left anything to chance with a ninth-place finish and Biffle slid into the final spot with a 19th-place finish.

“When you are that far off, it is the hardest thing in the world to drive,” Biffle said. “This is the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life, drive and try to stay in the top 20.”

Jeff Gordon, the points leader for much of the regular season, finished second. Clint Bowyer, who needed to win to guarantee his Chase berth, was third.

“I knew coming in here, it was a long shot at best,” Bowyer said. “We put it all out there. I raced as hard as we could. At our very best, we were a third-place race car tonight at my very best race track.”

Bowyer was caught in the middle of a scandal at this race a year ago when his late-race spin set in motion a chain of events that helped then-teammate Martin Truex Jr. make the Chase at the expense of Newman. NASCAR eventually threw Truex out of the Chase, put Newman in and added Gordon as an additional driver.

Bowyer was dejected Saturday night after coming up short, but said his Michael Waltrip Racing team wasn’t championship level.

“If you make the Chase, you want to compete for a championship,” he said. “Truth be told, we’re not there right now.”

Defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson finished eighth but was apparently suffering from dehydration when he exited the car. He first laid down next to his car, then had to be helped to a cart by his Hendrick Motorsports crew.

Johnson was scheduled to compete Sunday in a sprint triathlon for his foundation.

Hamilton takes Italian Grand Prix pole

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are poised for another wing-to-wing duel in the Italian Grand Prix

After colliding in Belgium two weeks ago and ensuing disciplinary measures, the Mercedes rivals qualified 1-2 on Saturday and it will be tough for the pair to avoid each other entering the tricky first chicane at the circuit in Monza.

Rosberg had taken four straight poles and six of the last seven.

Hamilton clocked 1 minute 24.109 seconds, Rosberg was second in 1:24.383, and Valtteri Bottas of Williams qualified third in 1:24.697 for his third top-three qualifying spot in four races.

Rosberg holds a 29-point lead over Hamilton in the standings, the biggest it has been all season.

A big part of the gap was built in the controversial Belgian GP in Spa, where Rosberg finished second after crashing into Hamilton early and sending out his teammate. Rosberg was disciplined by Mercedes and the pair was told explicitly not to make contact again.

Racing conditions were ideal on Saturday and more good weather was forecast for Sunday.

Felipe Massa of Williams qualified fourth, and Kevin Magnussen of McLaren was fifth.