Missing the Chase

This season has had so many moments. It has had good moments, bad moments, and moments where we, as fans, have wanted to scream. Whether from frustration or happiness, this season has given us a wide range of emotions. It was hard sometimes to celebrate the good moments, because I often doubted them. I rarely allowed myself to get happy in fear that it would be for nothing. Even with the win at Charlotte, I was doubting it, I just knew that something was going to happen. I knew that the caution would come out, or Brad would cut a tire. Something, anything, that would spoil the good run. That’s been the luck this season.

It’s easy to say the most significant moment in Brad’s season was the win at Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. It was a big moment, for sure, but I don’t believe it was the most compelling moment of this season. The most powerful moment this season was when Brad’s car blew up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which pretty much ended the campaign to get the Blue Deuce into the Chase for the Championship. There was still another race before the Chase began, Richmond, but the chances were slim.

It was this night that I realized it wasn’t in Brad’s future to make the Chase for 2013.

What was supposed to be a Sunday afternoon race at Atlanta turned into a night race—my favorite. I love night racing, and it seems to favor Brad as well (see Bristol in 2011 and Kentucky in 2012). Going into the race, I felt positive. I knew that if Brad had a chance of getting into the Chase, a win at Atlanta would do it. Midway through the race, the Blue Deuce took the lead, and showed the power beneath the hood of the Ford Fusion. Thirty laps later, it struck. Brad dropped a cylinder and fell back. He babied the engine until it couldn’t go anymore and that race became only his second DNF this season. You would think with all of the bad luck, there would have been more official DNFs.

When the engine dropped a cylinder, I felt so much disappointment. A season’s worth of anger and frustration turned into depression at the very real possibility that Brad would miss the chase. After the Blue Deuce was opened up in the garage area, smoke pluming in the background, Brad said, “We don’t dictate our own fate, which is never good.” This team has been trying to fight fate all year long. It was this night that I realized it wasn’t in Brad’s future to make the Chase for 2013.

It was this night that the year turned around. The car was flat flying the following week in the final race before the Chase at Richmond International Raceway. Brad was going to win that race and make the playoffs, against the odds. It was exhausting watching the numbers and worrying about which driver he had to be in front of to make the Chase. Then, as it were, pit strategy killed the night. Since, Brad has been leading laps at tracks and he managed to get the win at Charlotte. It was a win that all of Brad’s fans needed. Not that we doubted his skill nor the equipment beneath him, but I feel we needed that reassurance that the fight was still there, that fate wasn’t going to give Brad one glimpse of greatness as champion.

Mark my words, Brad Keselowski will become champion again, multiple times. I believe that missing the Chase this year got the metaphorical monkey off of his back. The pressure is gone and that is only proven further by Brad’s best finish this past weekend at Martinsville. While he has three more chances to win this season, I look forward to 2014, and what it will bring. Hopefully, it will start with our driver becoming a Daytona 500 Champion in February.

The best is yet to come for Brad Keselowski.