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]]>First, I felt bad for him. I take no pleasure in seeing anyone get injured. I suffered a similar injury earlier in my career off a similar hit, and I can still feel the pain of it from time to time.
Second, I was kind of bummed that he was sidelined because I wanted to race against him. I race in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series because I want to compete against the best drivers in the world. That’s what being a true competitor is all about. Kyle is one of the best, and in some ways, it takes away from every driver’s accomplishments if one of the best drivers isn’t in the field. If you play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, you want to play Tom Brady. (I’m not saying Kyle Busch is Tom Brady, but you get my point.)
More than anything, though, not having Kyle around actually made me think about our relationship. Our rivalry is pretty well documented. We’ve made comments about each other that have made headlines. But the strange thing is that we actually have more in common than you’d think. When it comes to the way we race, Kyle and I share a lot of similarities. Our paths to the Cup series, in many ways, were also pretty similar.
Yet somehow, we’ve never had much of a relationship at all. I’m not sure why, and quite honestly, I wish things were different.
Kyle and I first crossed paths in August 2001 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, but I’d heard about him well before that.
Back in 2000, Roush Racing had won the truck championship, and their team — which was very successful — was based out of Michigan. In 2001, they were looking for new drivers. I was 17 years old, and I wanted to be one of their drivers in the worst possible way. My family, as I mentioned in previous blog entries, had a truck team — K Automotive — but we were hampered by a lack of resources. I’d been having some success racing in late models on my own, but if I wanted to get to the next level, I needed a real shot. To my mind, Roush was it.
Roush did what was called a Gong Show. Essentially they’d bring in half a dozen drivers — all young, up and coming prospects — take them to two or three racetracks, and let them run and see who was the best. The crew chiefs would vote on who was the best driver, and that guy would get to drive the next season. It was really an interesting concept that was far ahead of its time, even for today.
I didn’t get invited. At the time, I figured it was because of my age. I was sure that I was the right guy to get at least an opportunity. I simply wasn’t old enough to get a chance. I could live with that. Then I saw Kyle Busch had won the Gong Show. He was 16.
It ate me alive.
By August 2001 in Indianapolis, Kyle had been competing for Roush’s truck racing team. I was working for K Automotive in whatever capacity the team needed — mechanic, engineer, crew member, floor sweeper. We were both Ford truck teams — the two best truck teams in Michigan, actually — and had a rivalry that was unheard of outside of Charlotte. We had been competing against each other all year, and we had been beating them. They actually weren’t running great at that time they put Kyle in. We were ahead of them in points, but only just by a little bit.
Because teams line up at the track by point order, we were actually parked right next to Roush that day, their trailer parked just below ours. I walked out of our hauler, and right there before me was Kyle, sitting just outside his. No one else was around.
I remember looking at him and being stone cold jealous. Still, I tried to tell myself to be the bigger person. It wasn’t easy. Finally, I walked over to him and said, “Hello.”
He looked at me, gave me kind of a stare, and never said a word. So I walked away.
It was one of the first times I’d ever tried to be bigger than my own jealousy and disappointment. Kyle had wound up feeding both, and he definitely didn’t know it. In fact, he probably doesn’t remember that exchange at all. But it actually affected me quite a bit.
I wasn’t a mature 17 year-old, and I was still really struggling with my lack of success and opportunities. It was the first time I’d ever tried to put myself out there with another driver like that, and in my mind, I’d gotten burned.
That first experience with Kyle impacted a lot more than my interactions with him. It shaped the way I dealt with other drivers from that point forward. In some ways, it probably still does.
What has made a lot of our battles significant is that they’ve come when we’ve been racing for the win.
My first time racing against him, something similar happened. It was a truck race at Bristol in 2006, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200. I was in a low-level truck, and he had already had some success at the Cup level. Nothing had changed from our exchange five years earlier, and I’d kind of written that off as a one-time thing between two strangers.
I was running in practice, and Kyle was really fast. So I went up to Kyle, who was sitting on the pit wall, and asked for some advice in between practice sessions. I honestly don’t even remember what I wanted to know — probably something about the track that a more experienced driver could impart to a less experienced one. Whatever I asked, he gave me a one word answer — something like, “Yeah” — and turned his back. That was it.
I finished that race in 34th after having engine problems. Kyle finished sixth.
After that, nearly all our interactions came on the track. There were a lot of memorable ones, but a few stick out for how they shaped our rivalry. What has made a lot of our battles significant is that they’ve come when we’ve been racing for the win.
In 2012 at Watkins Glen, we had an incident where we ultimately just disagreed about what happened. He was really upset about it. I didn’t agree with his version, he didn’t agree with my version. Essentially, there was oil on the track during the race. He drove into the corner, slid through the oil, and drove off the track. I did not, and I was right behind him. I stayed on the track. When he merged back on the track I was underneath him, and we were approaching a corner. As we reached the corner, he just turned down as though I wasn’t there. His take on it was that I never really established position. My take on it was that he went off track, and he needed to reestablish his position.
Who’s to say who was right and who was wrong? It just was what it was.
In the end, he was spun out and I went on to finish second. I know that didn’t sit well with him. A few weeks later at Loudon, right before qualifying, I pulled him aside to talk about what had happened, and he just flew off the handle. There was definitely a high level of animosity over the race that might persist even to this day.
In 2013, things escalated. After winning the championship in 2012, I had decided to race a little differently. At the time, I had in my mind that if I treated my peers the way I wanted to be treated — instead of just racing the way I wanted to race — they would respect me for it.
Early in the year at a Bristol Cup race, we were battling for second late in the race. My car had been faster than his, but he’d run me really hard. I couldn’t get by him without wrecking him. The leader was right in front of us, so who knows — maybe I would have been able to catch him if I’d gotten past Kyle. But I ended up finishing behind him. I didn’t wreck him even though I had the opportunity to do so several times. I understood and respected why he was racing me so hard. Sure, I wanted him to let me go so I could go win the race, but that’s not racing. I was okay with that.
Later that season, back at Watkins Glen, I caught up to Kyle on the last lap. I made a move on him, and he blocked it, which again, was his responsibility. I could easily have wrecked him and won, but I didn’t want to. He won, and I finished second with a faster car. And again, that was frustrating, but I thought that was fair racing.
Then came the Nationwide race at Kansas that fall.
We were running second and third, trailing Matt Kenseth, but Matt didn’t have enough gas to make it the rest of the way without a caution. If the yellow came out, Matt was going to make it on gas, if the yellow didn’t come out, he wasn’t. Kyle was faster than I was, and he ran me down from behind. He got beside me to try to pass me, but I wouldn’t let him go. Instead, I kept positioning myself on the race track so he couldn’t get any air to his car. As a result, his car would slide around really badly, and he couldn’t complete the pass. But he was faster, no doubt about it.
We went through a seesaw battle for probably three or four laps. But eventually, Kyle got tired of racing me, and he intentionally wrecked me off of turn four. I spun off the track and backed the car into a wall. It tore the rear off of it, and ended my day.
I was pretty upset about it. I knew I had raced him hard. I felt like that was my job. I’d also avoiding wrecking him all year when I easily could have done it, and gotten myself a win. The first opportunity he’d had to wreck me, he did. He wrecked me. It seemed like a double standard.
(As it turned out, the two times I decided not to wreck Kyle kept me from making the Chase in 2013.)
The next day before driver introductions, I tried to approach Kyle, but he wouldn’t talk to me. So I walked right up to him anyway and said, “I hope you’re looking forward to next the four or five weeks.” Then I explained, in so many words, that I was going to make things hard on him for the rest of the season.
That was our last real interaction.
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is whether I still think Kyle Busch is an ass. I made that comment at Bristol in 2010 a day after Kyle wrecked me in a Nationwide race. I was angry at the time, and that comment reflected exactly how I felt. It’s also been awhile since then, and I’m trying to move past it.
I have a lot of respect for what Kyle does in a race car. The pure competition aspect of racing is what motivates me the most — more than money, status, or other ancillary things. It’s what I love about racing, and why I want to compete at the Cup level.
And again, it’s why I want Kyle back on the track.
Kyle runs an extremely fast paced race. He makes very aggressive traffic moves, and more times than not, he succeeds a higher percentage of the time than anyone who makes those moves. If he was a poker player, he’d be the guy that goes all in on a pair of twos and wins. That’s just who he is. When you win that way, it’s really impressive.
One day, I imagine both of us will kind of open our eyes, and realize that there’s really no need for everything that has and hasn’t happened between the two of us. I’ve had moments where I’ve been jealous of him. Maybe he’s had the same kinds of moments about me — I don’t know. But hopefully, one day, we’ll be able to get along. When it comes to racing, it seems like we have too much in common not to. I just have to believe that eventually, we’ll get past everything that we’ve been through, and get to someplace better.
I’m looking for ways to get there. Maybe this is one of them.
In the meantime, congrats on the coming addition to your family, Kyle, and get well soon.
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]]>The post BK v. KB: Just Short Track Racing appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.
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]]>The post Doing the Double appeared first on BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bk30beta.www.bk30beta.bradracing.com.
]]>Brad qualified second, with a speed of 193.099 and a best time of 27.965. In practice, Brad finished 17th, with a speed of 189.480, a best time of 28.499 and -.371 seconds behind practice leader, Carl Edwards, who has won at Las Vegas before.
I believe that this week is the week. After Brad finished third in the past couple of races, I believe that the third Cup race will be the charm. Brad has a fast car this week and starting up front with his teammate will help Team Penske greatly. Brad and Joey have got the new qualifying sessions beat, and seem to do best at it so far. Hopefully we can get a Team Penske top two, with Brad getting his first win of the season.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is located in Clark County, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Some reasons why Las Vegas is different than other NASCAR tracks:
Brad’s best finish at Vegas was last year, where he started on the pole and led 12 laps, finishing 3rd. Hopefully this year, he will be starting 2nd, and finishing first!
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]]>Running second and third with 13 laps left, it was likely that Keselowski and Busch would end up going for the checkers. Race leader Matt Kenseth would be unable to make it the distance on fuel, without some help. Brad was trying to balance and master two arts at once: saving the slightest amount of fuel, and holding off Kyle Busch. In the end, the fuel saving effort was done all for nothing as the No. 54 decided it wanted no part of driving behind the No. 22.
After all the racing accidents this year, you never want to see any driver — forget your favorite driver — get involved in a crash. I didn’t have any reaction to the incident until I saw Brad get out of the car and walking away from it. Far away from it. Being so frustrated, BK wanted no part of taking a ride to the care center, so he went on foot.
For my take on how Keselowski should return the favor, take a look at the video below.
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]]>I’m not an angry person, nor am I a violent person. But my first reaction in response to this question if you were to have asked me this right after the incident would have been: Pop him one and be done with him. But would this show the results needed? Probably not.
My second and more strategic response would consist of a few different steps.
Pay back, getting even, call it what you will. I call it teaching someone a lesson who has done you wrong.
Be that pain in his side that just won’t go away. Wherever he is, be there. Get in his head, Brad. This will set-up the beginning of teaching him a lesson. Once you’re in his head, he will always be on edge, bound to make countless mistakes.
Be kind, be nice, be civil. We all know it will be in a sarcastic, smug way, but that will be what ticks him off the most. It doesn’t take much to get Rowdy in a grumpy mood, but this will certainly help.
It doesn’t matter what position it is for: 30th, 15th, 10th, 5th or FIRST. It will eat away at Kyle Busch knowing that Brad is beating him in every way possible. No driver likes being beat, but no other driver handles defeat the way Kyle does. This will tie in with the “Get in his head” part of the strategy.
And if all else fails; and Kyle Busch doesn’t ruin things for himself with all of these things going on..
I am not one for violence, and I would never wish actual harm on a driver. But Brad said it himself: there may be carnage. Brad’s guys have had to fix countless cars and trucks due to Kyle Busch, so maybe it’s time to reverse the roles and see how they feel about it. Pay back, getting even, call it what you will. I call it teaching someone a lesson who has done you wrong.
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]]>A lot of these pieces have come from good friends who have been kind enough to send me these. The hats were all gifts, and the trading cards are from a very good friend who sends me these with every birthday/Christmas gift. These specific hero cards out of many some how stand out among the rest; these were a Christmas gift one year from a friend who I share a very uncommon driver interest with.
I’m very lucky to have such great friends in my life who think of me when they spot Brad memorabilia, and that’s why these pieces in particular are so special to me. The stand up Brad Keselowski is obviously a favorite because it’s very uncommon, and not everyone has one of these hanging around their house. It’s also from a weekend in Watkins Glen, NY, that was kind of monumental for me as a Keseowski fan: one of the first races I went into as an actual 2 fan.
Last, but certainly not least, are my certificate and truck sheet metal of my Twitter handle. Directly off of Brads “Twitter truck” from Daytona last year, I was able to obtain this piece by donating to the BKCFF.
I hope you all enjoy my mini-collection of special pieces!
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]]>In one of my posts, I mentioned that my mom became a fan of BK when we met him in Indy for the Brickyard 400.
My sweet grandmother, who honestly knows nothing about NASCAR (she thought the Chase meant that only 12 drivers would race at the tracks for the rest of the season), continually asks me how Brad has been doing each week. When he won the pole in New Hampshire, she found an article about it in our local newspaper, cut it out, and gave it to me.
Recently, I’ve even gotten my dogs involved in my Brad Keselowski rally.
I would I also like to point out a recent significant moment: my dad took Cobalt for a ride the other day, and he actually let him keep his Brad Keselowski bandana on. He usually hates when I put bandanas on Cobalt, and he used to take the bandana off before leaving for their trips. So I believe my dad is becoming a BK fan, as well.
We’ve become a family full of Brad Keselowski fans, and I’m loving every minute of it!
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]]>“Wow, man,” he said, “you’ve been following me everywhere. Thanks for being a fan.”
One of my two brief moments with the champ occurred later on in the day just before qualifying. Emerging from the garage in that awesome blue and white suit was the Champ with sharpie in hand, ready to meet and sign for his hometown fans. An enormous crowd gathered, but that didn’t deter the Champ. He made his way all the way down pit road until he reached his car, where he would strap in for qualifying. The crowds were cheering, and my cousin and his girlfriend were extremely excited because they have not had a chance to meet BK before. They both said what a cool guy he was. When BK made his way to me, he signed the picture that I had made from when I met him last week at Wal-Mart in Watkins Glen. BK asked where the picture was from, and I told him.
“Wow, man,” he said, “you’ve been following me everywhere. Thanks for being a fan.” I thanked him again for signing. How cool was that? BK thanking me for being one of his fans? It’s another example of how BK is one of those drivers who truly takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate the support he is shown.
Another exciting part of Saturday’s festivities was being able to see Brad’s trucks qualify and race later that afternoon. The No. 19 was being piloted by Joey Logano, and of course, Ryan Blaney was in his No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford. Unfortunately, Blaney was taken out on the first lap, which was disappointing because he had a strong truck and the effect on the points championship. Logano mixed it up with the front runners all day, and came home with a 4th place finish. I would like to also give a shout out to Aj Allmendinger, who brought home another road course win for Penske in Mid-Ohio and helping to move the No. 22 Discount tire Ford to first in owner’s points.
Sunday was the day I was waiting for, with the big dogs going for the win in the Pure Michigan 400. My second moment with Brad came after the drivers’ meeting. I was waiting at the back door of the conference room were the meeting was being held. I saw lots of security, so I assumed the big guys coming out of this door. Sure enough Dale Jr, and Jeff Gordon ran out and jumped into a SUV, and were whisked away without evening waving to the fans. Then was the 5x champ Jimmie Johnson, and the ever popular with the ladies Kasey Kahne. They both stopped and signed for fans, which was really cool. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Penske golf cart, and I stealthily made my way over. I had my collaborative photo I had made with all the 2012 champs on it ready to be signed, and at that point, I was lucky enough to get Ricky Stenhouse and James Buesher to sign it already. All it needed was the Cup champ BK. Emerging from the media center was the Champ, and with a huge cheer BK began to sign for his fans. His last autograph before he drove off was my 8×10, and I wished him luck and thanked him for the autograph.
Overall it was another great weekend at MIS, I got to meet my driver again, he ran up front and with a few more caution laps could have won and I got to see Penske bring home another cup victory. I look forward to sharing my final personal experience at a race when I will be in Homestead, hopefully standing on the track celebrating with Brad and the team after they won their 2nd Championship.
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]]>Prior to the start of the 2010 season, Penske Racing had 100 starts in the Nationwide Series, accumulating three wins (one in 2001, two in 2006). Since Brad’s arrival to the team, the Nationwide program at PRS has evolved dramatically.
If it wasn’t for Brad choosing to go for the Nationwide title, none of us Penske fans would have anything to cheer for on Saturday’s.
Before signing a contract with Penske Racing, one of Brad’s requirements was that along with running the Sprint Cup Series full time, he wanted one final shot at a Nationwide Series championship run. From there, the rest is history. Later in that season, Brad Keselowski was able to bring Penske Racing their first-ever NASCAR championship, clinching it several races before the season finale in Homestead. After going on to win six races that year — tripling the Penske win total — the Nationwide Series was in Roger’s blood.
Since the 2010 season, Penske Racing has visited victory lane 26 times with six different drivers: Brad Keselowski, Justin Allgaier, Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Joey Logano, and AJ Allmendinger. The only thing more impressive than that is the varying styles of tracks the team has won on. Brad’s first win with the team came at the restrictor plate brawl in Talladega, using a last lap pass to capture the victory. Victories have also been recorded on the short tracks of Bristol, Richmond, Iowa, IRP, Loudon, and Dover; intermediate tracks such as Charlotte, Las Vegas, Chicagoland, Homestead, Kentucky, Nashville, Kansas; and not to mention the speedways of Michigan and Indianapolis. What may be the most impressive of all is the three-race road course sweep in 2013, with Brad playing a hand in the 82-lap thriller at Watkins Glen.
If it wasn’t for Brad choosing to go for the Nationwide title, none of us Penske fans would have anything to cheer for on Saturday’s.
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]]>