Keselowski gains win; Hornish finishes fourth

7/15/2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brad Keselowski does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Saturday.
Brad Keselowski does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Saturday.

LOUDON, N.H. -- Brad Keselowski slipped in front when Kevin Harvick got into a traffic jam. Then Harvick got mad.

Keselowski took the checkered flag in Saturday's Nationwide race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway while Harvick fumed about the inexperienced driver who got in his way even though she had been lapped.

"It's somebody who shouldn't be on the racetrack, who has no clue what they're doing in the race car," Harvick said, directing his anger at Amber Cope.

"She wants to be Danica Patrick, but she can't hold her helmet."

Keselowski capitalized when Harvick was forced to slow down with about 21 laps left in the 200-mile race at the one-mile oval, pulling ahead and winning by about six car lengths.

The pole-sitter had lost the lead to Harvick at about the 150th lap when Patrick's Chevrolet bumped Jason Bowles' Toyota, bringing out the yellow flag. When the race restarted, Harvick shot in front.

The 28-year-old Cope is one of the twin nieces of Derrike Cope, who won the Daytona 500 in 1990. Her only other race in the Nationwide series was in May at the Iowa Speedway where she was sent off the track on the 203rd lap of the 250-lap race for driving too slowly.

Keselowski led for the most laps, 131.

Now he'd like to make it a double when he competes on Sunday in the Sprint Cup, where he's ninth in the standings with three wins, tied for the most with Tony Stewart.

Austin Dillon finished third, followed by Sam Hornish, Jr., and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

Rounding out the top 10 were Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Truex.