Chris Buescher scored his third career win, and the second for Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing.Eight drivers swapped the lead 18 times, but only during pit stop cycles.
But Buescher held on, beating Hamlin in the three-lap shootout that didn’t include even one hint of ungentlemanly driving. Hamlin finished second by about a half-second, followed by Busch, Logano, Ryan Preece, Brad Keselowski, Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, and Harvick. NASCAR likely will store all evidence of this one in a “Never Show Again” drawer. Granted, eight drivers swapped the lead 18 times, but there wasn’t a single green-flag pass for the lead in the 3-hour, 2-minute race. Every lead change came either during the usual cycle of green-flag stops, the two “staged” cautions, or the last one, when Daniel Suarez and Noah Gragson spun together in Turn 4.