Origins of the CFF

What defines class?

A person is often considered classy if they are polite, generous, and handle themselves with dignity. A person can be classy and quiet, or classy and vocal.

Enter the most recent questioning of our defending Sprint Cup champion, Brad Keselowski. All over the media this week, after his comments about Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing (and the subsequent backlash that occurred), there have been many detractors of Brad’s openness to voice his opinion on such matters.

Was he misguided in his comments? Maybe. However, one has to respect and admire his willingness to just say what is on his mind when most drivers would rather just not answer the question. Without Brad, the media would have a lot less to write about.

Let’s take what Petty and Spencer had to say about Brad, and compare it to what Brad is actually doing to improve the sport.  

The NASCAR media has its own definition of class and how a person should handle certain situations. Remember: their job is to not only report, but to get people interested in the sport often by saying controversial things themselves. On NASCAR Race Hub this week, former NASCAR driver turned analyst and firestarter Kyle Petty stated that Brad has not handled himself with class as the champion of this sport.

Just because Brad is not vanilla, says what is on his mind like a true human being, and questions certain aspects of the sport, does not make him a bad champion. In fact, it makes him a much more interesting and quotable one.

Jimmy Spencer, also a former NASCAR driver, had words for Keselowski on Race Hub this week, too. His often controversial opinions are usually used to stir the pot and rile fans up, which is exactly what they did when he basically said that Brad needs to shut his mouth and race. 

Let’s take what Petty and Spencer had to say about Brad, and compare it to what Brad is actually doing to improve the sport.  

On June 12, 2013, we lost a member of the NASCAR community and family. Jason Leffler was killed in a racing accident. Brad was one of the first to tweet out concern when we were unsure of Jason’s condition. After receiving the terrible news that we had lost him, Brad tweeted his condolences and then went on to try and solicit ideas on how to raise money for Jason’s young son Charlie. Drivers from all series wound up joining in and trying to help out. He took charge of a terrible situation and tried to rally everyone together during a terrible time. This says a lot about Brad as a person and the champion he is.

For another example: this past weekend racing in Sonoma, California, wasn’t a great result for Brad, and definitely not one he was looking for. But despite his day and result, out of the kindness of his heart, took a case of Miller Lite over to the winning race team’s hauler (the No. 56 of Martin Truex Jr). Now Brad probably didn’t want to make any noise on this — he just left the case by the door of the hauler for the boys to find when they came back to pack up after their victory celebration. But I think he deserves a little credit. It was a genuinely nice gesture on his part. 

He took charge of a terrible situation and tried to rally everyone together during a terrible time. This says a lot about Brad as a person and the champion he is.

He may not be the first driver that fans think of when they think “NASCAR,” but when you really look further into this sport, you realize just how much of a role he plays in being the current leader of this sport.

Yes I may be biased, but when Brad speaks, people read/listen whether they are fans or haters. Even those who don’t like him still follow him on Twitter for the sole reason that the opinions he shares are interesting and enticing. Those criticizing him should take a step back and be thankful we don’t have a dull, boring, closed off champion. Considering all of the backlash Brad has received since hoisting the trophy in November for numerous different things, we should consider ourselves lucky he doesn’t just close his Twitter account and decline all interviews to avoid all this nonsense.

He’s not that type of guy though. He’s classy enough to persevere, and turn the haters into the motivators.

Continue being you, Brad. True fans and supporters understand the type of guy you are — not only as a person, but as a leader and champion of this sport. Never change.