Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 12, 2013
Photo – John Harrelson/Getty Images

There is always one race in the Chase when a non-championship contender sneaks up and grabs the victory. Charlotte has become a track where this feat can easily be accomplished. Brad Keselowski was the driver to pull it off this season when he pulled into victory lane Saturday night at Charlotte. It was nowhere near a dominant performance by the defending champion. He did everything he needed, to break his winless streak that spanned over a year.

Besides Keselowski showing his Penske power toward the end of the Bank of America 500, it was Hendrick Motorsports parading the race. Located just down the road from the speedway, Hendrick puts emphasis on the Charlotte races to make sure they hold the local bragging rights.

Jeff Gordon grabbed the pole to lead the race early. His teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was next to lead when he powered to the front on lap 30. Kasey Kahne took the lead away 14 laps later. Earnhardt Jr. swapped the lead again with Kahne after a lap 83 caution that put the two up front on the restart.

Kahne stayed up front for a while after that exchange. Jimmie Johnson caught up on lap 178 to take his first lead of the night. He led in the longest green flag run of the race and it looked as if victory was his until a late debris caution came with 28 laps left to run.

The caution led to pit stops and strategy which took Johnson from the lead. Kahne was the leader on the restart, but his two tires wouldn’t hold up for long. Matt Kenseth took a hard charge at Kahne, but he couldn’t close the deal. Next it was Brad Keselowski who got to Kahne, but couldn’t get past him. That was until there were 9 laps to go when he cleared Kahne.

Keselowski managed to hold the lead from that point forward. This win was the No.2 team’s first since Dover of last September. A long-awaited victory for the defending champion who just hasn’t seemed to have the same magic as last season. Keselowski may have missed out on the Chase, but he surely wasn’t going to stay away from victory lane in 2013. He is a strong non-Chaser who could potentially upset the Chase field again before the season concludes.

Results via ESPN.com