Game-Changer

Brad Keselowski, regardless what you might think of him as a driver or as a person, is one tough son-of-a-gun.

He won at Pocono on Sunday, driving with a broken ankle suffered in a testing crash at Road Atlanta last week, and in so doing, threw the Chase wild-card race into a cocked hat. By earning his second victory (he won at Kansas), he vaulted to 11th in the presumptive Chase lineup, ahead of Denny Hamlin.

The victory allowed BK to re-enter the top 20 in points, which is crucial to being a wild-card, and it put Paul Menard and David Ragan back a notch in the race for the final spot. They either have to win again or see Keselowski or Hamlin suffer in the next few races to have any shot.

Ragan didn't help himself by spinning and crashing, finishing 34th. Menard finished 10th, but still has one less little doo-dad in the win column than does Keselowski. Hamlin has more points, so he gets the spot.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished ninth, good enough to keep him in the top 10 in points, 23 ahead of Hamlin. He's just one spot behind Tony Stewart for ninth, so Junebug is alive for another week at least.

Of course, with Watkins Glen on the docket for next week, that might change rapidly. Keselowski will be at a disadvantage on the road course, and Earnhardt hasn't had much luck there. Stewart has won four times in the Finger Lakes, so he's looking to make up some ground.

Tune in this week as the BK at the Glen story unfolds...