And There It Is!

I have said several times this year that for Brad Keselowski, stats mean absolutely nothing. He is a driver who can win anywhere at any time. He continues to blow the stats out of the water by winning at tracks that he may not have had the best finishes at recently. Last year, in Brad’s championship run, no non-Chasers won a race during the 10-race Chase. The last non-Chaser to win a race in the chase was Kasey Kahne in 2011 at Phoenix. This weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski spoiled the Chase, as I had every faith he would.

I’ll be honest, in my house, college football takes center stage on the main television on Saturdays. We flipped between a couple of games and the race for the better part of the first half of the race. One of those flips was during the mishap with the jack. I don’t know what happened: if it got stuck or someone just didn’t move it in time or what, but right then, I felt that familiar emotion of disappointment. It’s something we’ve experienced all season when the bad luck breaks happen. I figured it would be fun to see if Brad could come back from it.

When the Blue Deuce took the white flag, all of the frustration and disappointment from this season finally went away. I can’t deny that I cried.

When football was over and I was finally in tune with the race, I saw the one thing I expected: Jimmie Johnson domination. That’s normal at Charlotte Motor Speedway. All night, Hendrick power was at the front of the field. There was a point late in the race where only ten cars were on the lead lap. As I said in my piece about Charlotte, the track is known for long green flag runs that can go a little long, but it almost always provides an exciting finish.

With 30 laps to go, Jimmie Johnson’s lead was cut because of a debris caution. Those few cards on the lead lap came to the pits. While Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon got out first due to a two tire call, Keselowski’s crew took four just to have some insurance on the final restart. Boy, did that call turn out to be the right one. On the restart, front runner Johnson lost several spots. Brad went to the outside and battled to get into the top three. He hunted down Matt Kenseth in the second spot, then, with roughly 20 laps to go, Brad set his sights on first place Kahne.

They battled during the closing laps of the race. I was holding my hands together so tight I couldn’t feel my knuckles. When the Blue Deuce took the white flag, all of the frustration and disappointment from this season finally went away. I can’t deny that I cried. The wins last year didn’t mean as much to me as the one this weekend did. The win this weekend made a statement to not only the fans, but to the garage, that Brad Keselowski isn’t a one-and-done type of champion.

After the race, Brad, Paul, and Roger Penske joined the media to answer questions about their win. Roger admitted he had the same reaction the fans did with the entire jack incident. “Here we go again, not a good night,” Roger said. He went on to talk highly of the team and the hard work put into getting this first win. It was not only a great night of celebration for Brad and the 2 bunch, but also for Penske Racing as a whole. Every driver in their stable in the different series (Cup, Nationwide, Indy) has won a race this season.

When questioned about the trials of this season, Brad spoke of the team’s luck. “I think we ran out of things they could throw at us with the jack tonight.” When Brad talked about the execution of this season, he included himself in the answer. Some drivers may put the blame on the team, but he admitted that he can be better and he strives to be better each week.

One of the things that surprised me the most was his answer to the question of what it means to him to win at this track.

“Winning in Charlotte is important for a lot of reasons. The most important is you look at your team, this is a bit of a traveling circus, 38 weeks year. There’s a lot of sacrifices, not counting testing and other demands. These guys sacrifice a lot to make me a hero. That’s not lost on me.”

It always impresses me just how much Brad cares about the team and their families. He makes a point to include them in everything, in a sport where the driver gets a lot of the glory. “It’s more about giving back to them in a way.”

Both Paul and Brad spoke about looking forward several times. Of course, there would be a lot of questions about the team missing the Chase. “I look forward, I don’t look back, unless someone asks me to look back,” Brad said. When I think back on this season, I think about the interviews Brad did, especially after Richmond. What he said tonight about not looking back rings true. He’s one of the few that realizes you can’t dwell on the past. I think that’s what makes him such a great champion. Sure, they were able to celebrate last year at Homestead, but one of the first things on his mind the next morning was how to do it again.

A reporter brought up some of the criticism Brad has gotten this season — not only from the fans, but some of the other teams in the garage. He made a pretty powerful statement during his press conference this evening. He said he gets that there are a lot of fans of other drivers out there that boo him. He doesn’t dwell on those who don’t like him. He said when you try to please everyone, “You end up being no one to anyone when trying to be everything to everyone.” That really struck a chord with me on a personal level. Those words are very true. Brad said he’s going to enjoy the successes with those who have supported him through the tough times.

“This is a key moment.” This win means so much to so many people even though there were times this season where the fans felt disheartened and upset, and the team may have been too tired to fight anymore. The fact is we never gave up on this team. Those of us who are true fans are still here, and not just fans because he won the championship. Those fans ran off a long time ago. I’m so proud of this team and everything they have accomplished this year. I hope, like Brad said, they are able to go out and win the rest of the races this season. What a statement that would be!

On a lighter note, Brad said he hasn’t been able to get his hands on a tank yet. It may take a couple of more wins this season to get the funding for it.