LAS VEGAS – On an afternoon of action that made little sense whatsoever, and was wildly entertaining because of it, it was left to the winner to somehow find a way to sum it all up neatly.

“Getting through the chaos,” said Brad Keselowski, the man who ultimately took the South Point 400 checkered flag after nearly four hours, 12 cautions, a two-lap overtime, carnage involving multiple favorites and a baking afternoon of over 100 degrees at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Taking advantage of opportunities.”

Being able to make sense of and simplify a day of unthinkable developments to begin NASCAR’s playoffs might also be why Keselowski was the last man standing, holding off Kyle Larson and defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. as one crash after another laid waste to any smattering of order over the closing stages.

Time and again the caution flag came out, including a complete red flag stoppage with two laps left, leaving the cars parked up on the track as the enthralled crowd sweltered in the stands.

“I knew it was going to be a heck of a battle,” Keselowski said. “We had to earn it.”

At the end of such an unpredictable race, one that saw 12 of the 16 contenders in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series postseason involved in some kind of crash, perhaps there should have been an unlikely winner too. But that would have been too neat and tidy a plotline, wouldn’t it? No, this race was too contrary for that.

And amid it all it was Keselowski, winner of the final two races of the regular season and flush with momentum, who held firm through all the delays and doubt, all the restarts and the rare sight of the favorites being knocked around by poor form and shaky luck.

Keselowski rode his own fortune, a fact not lost on Truex.

“Brad clearly found a horseshoe,” Truex said. “Three races in a row he’s won and he hasn’t had the best car.”

Truex has a point, but he also missed one. It takes sturdy fortitude to win a choppy race like this, one where the reset button must be constantly hit, especially with things slowing to an organized crawl four times in the final 22 laps.

Keselowski handled it all better than anyone else, fighting off the challenge of Truex, and Joey Logano and, ultimately, second place finisher Kyle Larson. He did so with speedy restarts, organized lines, and rapid pit stops from his crew, one of which got him ahead of back ahead of Truex late on.

“I am a little bit speechless,” crew chief Paul Wolfe said. “There has been a lot on the line and it is amazing to see how this team steps up and is able to execute when it needs to.”

The Big Three of the regular season is now becoming a Big Four, and that sense will only grow if Keselowski is able to keep firing. Kyle Busch didn’t look like the highest performer of the year, battling around the track with one issue after another, skidding onto the infield before sifting through the later incidents to ultimately place seventh.

Kevin Harvick wasn’t so lucky, and the seven-time 2018 winner wrecked on lap 147 when his tire blew and he slid into the wall, taking polesitter Erik Jones out of contention with him.

Harvick described the Goodyear tires as a driving version of “Russian Roulette,” but that would have been an apt description for the race in general.

Except that Keselowski, now guaranteed a spot in the next section of the playoffs due to this win, found a way to tame the unpredictability that was creating havoc elsewhere.

Big Four or not, he is a big (and growing) threat to the established order, and has the winning feeling fresher in his mind that anyone else.

SOUTH POINT 400 RESULTS

Sunday from the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway (starting position in parentheses):

1. (13) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 272.

2. (11) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 272.

3. (10) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 272.

4. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 272.

5. (6) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 272.

6. (16) Aric Almirola, Ford, 272.

7. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 272.

8. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 272.

9. (22) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 272.

10. (20) Paul Menard, Ford, 272.

11. (18) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 272.

12. (25) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 272.

13. (23) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 272.

14. (29) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 272.

15. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 272.

16. (32) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 272.

17. (36) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 272.

18. (37) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 272.

19. (9) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 271.

20. (34) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 271.

21. (8) Kurt Busch, Ford, 271.

22. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 270.

23. (15) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 270.

24. (26) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, DVP, 269.

25. (35) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Toyota, 269.

26. (33) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 269.

27. (27) David Ragan, Ford, 268.

28. (38) BJ McLeod, Ford, 268.

29. (24) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 265.

30. (14) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Accident, 251.

31. (40) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 246.

32. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 245.

33. (39) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 231.

34. (30) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 218.

35. (12) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 211.

36. (7) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 211.

37. (21) William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 210.

38. (31) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, Front Hub, 164.

39. (5) Kevin Harvick, Ford, Accident, 147.

40. (1) Erik Jones, Toyota, Accident, 147.

RACE STATISTICS

Average Speed of Race Winner: 111.849 mph.

Time of Race: 3 hours, 28 minutes, 15 seconds.

Margin of Victory: 1.276 seconds.

Caution Flags: 12 for 59 laps.

Lead Changes: 23 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J. Logano 1-33; K. Harvick 34-37; Kyle Busch 38; D. Hamlin 39; R. Smith 40-49; K. Harvick 50-59; M. Truex Jr. 60-112; B. Keselowski 113-124; M. Truex Jr. 125-150; B. Keselowski 151-161; J. McMurray 162-166; K. Larson 167-177; B. Keselowski 178-183; K. Larson 184; B. Keselowski 185-201; M. Truex Jr. 202-218; B. Keselowski 219-221; J. Logano 222-234; B. Keselowski 235-237; K. Larson 238-239; B. Keselowski 240; K. Larson 241-250; B. Keselowski 251-272.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Truex Jr. 3 times for 96 laps; B. Keselowski 8 times for 75 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 46 laps; K. Larson 4 times for 24 laps; K. Harvick 2 times for 14 laps; R. Smith 1 time for 10 laps; J. McMurray 1 time for 5 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.