WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) -- Jason Keller won the GNC Live Well 250
under the yellow flag on Sunday for his first Busch series victory
of the season.
Keller went back and forth for the lead with teammate Scott
Riggs for about six laps before taking the lead for good on the
231st lap at The Milwaukee Mile.
Keller, who drove the No. 57 Albertsons Ford, said neither he
nor Riggs wanted to harm each other.
"It was the first time I ever had to battle my teammate like
that for the win and it was pretty nerve-racking," Keller said.
"I knew I had a better race car, but I couldn't just go up there
and drive by because I didn't want to rough him up."
Brian Vickers finished second and David Stremme was third. Riggs
dropped off to seventh place.
Riggs said the race for first was exciting because the drivers
are friends.
"We were still driving aggressively," Riggs said. "That's how
respectable drivers are supposed to race."
Vickers, who led for 43 laps, also had his best finish of the
season. He said he couldn't overtake Keller before the final
caution because he was forced to conserve fuel.
"We did what we needed to do and we came home second," Vickers
said. "That win would have been really nice after leading so much
today."
Pole sitter Johnny Sauter, of Necedah, failed to become the
first Wisconsin native to win the GNC Live Well 250. He finished in
13th place.
Rain canceled qualifying Saturday, so drivers had just an hour
to practice before the race. The field was set by car owner points.
Keller, who started in the seventh spot, said his experience
last year may have given him the edge.
"With limited practice, we really just had to go off what we
learned last year," Keller said. "We didn't put the same exact
setup, but we had a good baseline."
Keller has five top-five finishes this season, but was slumping
before his last three races, he said. The 13-year veteran said it
was a relief to finally earn his first win in the fifth month of
the season.
"I knew if we started running consistently in the top five we
could get a win," he said.
Keller said he didn't know what caused his slow start this
season, but said improved pit stops did help him win Sunday.
"Our pit stops haven't been bad this year, but they haven't
been able to keep us up where we were running," Keller said.
"We'd come in losing a position or two. Today, the first stop we
went out the same, the second stop we gained a position. That's
what it takes."
GNC Live Well 250 Results
At The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin
Pos.
Start
Driver
Make
Laps
Winnings
1.
7
Jason Keller
Ford
250
$58,045
2.
8
Brian Vickers
Chevrolet
250
$42,500
3.
4
David Stremme
Dodge
250
$31,310
4.
6
Ron Hornaday Jr.
Chevrolet
250
$29,950
5.
22
David Reutimann
Chevrolet
250
$18,150
6.
2
David Green
Pontiac
250
$26,650
7.
3
Scott Riggs
Ford
250
$25,625
8.
5
Todd Bodine
Chevrolet
250
$14,625
9.
14
Stacy Compton
Chevrolet
250
$19,700
10.
9
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Ford
250
$20,775
11.
19
Randy LaJoie
Chevrolet
250
$19,450
12.
16
Ashton Lewis Jr.
Chevrolet
250
$19,325
13.
1
Johnny Sauter
Chevrolet
250
$23,850
14.
11
Scott Wimmer
Chevrolet
249
$23,420
15.
20
Kerry Earnhardt
Chevrolet
249
$17,895
16.
13
Kasey Kahne
Ford
249
$18,070
17.
35
Jay Sauter
Chevrolet
248
$13,525
18.
12
Shane Hmiel
Chevrolet
248
$17,420
19.
39
Casey Atwood
Chevrolet
248
$13,275
20.
18
Joey Clanton
Pontiac
248
$15,950
21.
10
Mike Bliss
Chevrolet
247
$17,045
22.
15
Mike Wallace
Chevrolet
247
$16,920
23.
37
Tim Sauter
Chevrolet
247
$13,055
24.
17
Coy Gibbs
Chevrolet
246
$16,620
25.
32
Jimmy Vasser
Dodge
246
$12,575
26.
29
Jason Schuler
Ford
245
$14,370
27.
27
Jason White
Chevrolet
245
$14,245
28.
41
Lowell Bennett
Chevrolet
244
$12,100
29.
40
Caleb Holman
Chevrolet
240
$11,975
30.
24
Derrike Cope
Ford
234
$13,950
31.
33
Damon Lusk
Dodge
233
$11,725
32.
30
Blake Mallory
Ford
232
$11,615
33.
28
Mike Harmon
Chevrolet
197
$11,835
34.
26
Larry Gunselman
Chevrolet
195
$13,395
35.
21
Kevin Grubb
Dodge
163
$13,285
36.
25
Dana White
Ford
147
$13,175
37.
23
Regan Smith
Chevrolet
129
$13,065
38.
42
Brett Oakley
Chevrolet
124
$11,035
39.
34
Tim Edwards
Pontiac
118
$10,980
40.
43
Chad Blount
Dodge
98
$10,935
41.
31
Ron Barfield Jr.
Ford
49
$10,900
42.
38
Rick Markle
Chevrolet
17
$10,865
43.
36
Justin Ashburn
Chevrolet
2
$10,797
Racing Statistics: Average Speed of Race Winner: 103.076 mph. Time of Race: 2 hours, 25 minutes, 31 seconds. Margin of Victory: 0.303. Caution Flags: 5 for 18 laps. Lead Changes: 12 among 9 drivers. Lap Leaders: J. Sauter 1-4; S. Riggs 5-23; R. Hornaday Jr.
24-73; B. Vickers 74-85; D. Green 86; D. Stremme . 87-88; T. Bodine
89-90; T. Sauter 91-94; B. Vickers 95-155; S. Riggs 156-161; R.
Hornaday Jr. 162; S. Riggs 163-229; J. Keller 230-250. Top 10 in Points: D. Green - 2,335; S. Riggs - 2,290; T. Bodine
- 2,255; R. Hornaday Jr. - 2,247; J. Keller - 2,235; B. Vickers -
2,206; B. Hamilton Jr. - 2,152; J. Sauter - 2,055; M. Bliss -
2,038; S. Wimmer - 2,008.
