Say It Like It Is

It’s been well documented that Brad Keselowski has never been shy to voice his opinion on anything, and after the NRA 500 in Texas, that was one of his most defining acts of it.

On the final raceday inspection, NASCAR and their sanctioning body decided that they didn’t like the setup of their rear-end housing assembly. Both Penske Racing teams were found to be working in the gray area, and as vice president of NASCAR competition Robin Pemberton claimed, it wasn’t in “the spirit of the rules.” As a result, neither car could touch the track surface until they were able to replace the rear-end housing, and pass NASCAR’s rigorous inspection process. Both race teams worked feverishly, and up to the last minute tweaking and adjusting the setup until they felt confident in their piece. Once they finally cleared and hit the track, during the pace laps, BK was able to relinquish one last word about the incident. “With adversity, you either define the moment or it defines you. This is an opportunity to define the moment.”

When adversity strikes, lots of negatives come out of it, but from it all, there is a positive. 

And define the moment he did. Through all the adversity of the night, Keselowski and his crew were able to walk away with a 9th place finish. Not what they came to Texas looking for, but it could have been much worse.

Post race, Keselowski simply became emotional. With all the media and reporters egging him on, BK gave them what they wanted. He had enough of all the drama relating him and his team, and let it out. “The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything that I believe in, and I’m not happy about it. I could tell you there is nobody, no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. And the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted.” Right there, the reigning Champion said it like it is. Over the week leading up to Texas, BK had endured a faulty pit call by an official causing him to lose several important positions in Martinsville, taking him out of contention for the win. The list can go on, but the pre-race encounter was the icing on the cake.

Another piece from the night that stood out to me was Brad’s concern for one of his best friends — crew chief Paul Wolfe. “I’m very worried about losing my crew chief, Paul Wolfe,” said BK near teary eyed. Wolfe has helped Keselowski accomplish near everything in his career, and losing him would be equal to losing a steering wheel.

This moment stood out to me because at that moment, I truly realized that Keselowski would give you his real thoughts. Not these sugar-coated answers other drivers give. I was also able to appreciate how Brad wasn’t just worried about himself and making the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, as he had a genuine concern in Paul and the rest of the crew. When adversity strikes, lots of negatives come out of it, but from it all, there is a positive.