Beyond the Cockpit: Brad Keselowski on Racing Cars, Reputation…and Fireworks

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_If it’s true that a real racer eats, sleeps and breathes racing, then Brad Keselowski is as real as it gets. The 28-year-old Michigan native is a second-generation racer along with his brother Brian. Their father, Bob, is a winner in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series (ironically, the only national touring series that Brad has yet to win in) and uncle Ron raced in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. Brad Keselowski has been racing since the age of 14 and his passion for the sport is evident—Keselowski races several Nationwide Series races a year and owns a Truck Series team. His three Sprint Cup wins this year is tied with Tony Stewart for best in the series. With a reputation for being aggressive on the track and brutally honest off it, his star in the sport is clearly on the rise. Keselowski sat down with Frontstretch.com Senior Writer Amy Henderson at Loudon to talk about his Penske Racing team and crew chief Paul Wolfe, his aspirations as an owner, and his favorite things to do away from the track (hint: even then he’s thinking about racing…online). Unless he’s busy blowing things up…_

The Comeback of the American Driver: Ryan Hunter-Reay

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Ryan Hunter-Reay is in many ways the poster child for the plight of the American driver in open wheel racing. He currently sits atop the driver standings in the IZOD IndyCar Series and if he can hang on to win the championship, it will not only be the realization at last of the wealth of potential Hunter-Reay has always shown, but perhaps it will also signal the comeback of the American driver.

Here’s an encouraging stat: of the 21 drivers to win three races in a row from 1979 to 2011, only three (Paul Tracy, 1997; AJ Allmendinger, 2006; Scott Dixon, 2007) failed to win an Indy car title in the same year. In defense of Tracy and Allmendinger, it might be worth noting that in 1997, Alex Zanardi, who also won three in a row, took the title and in 2006 it went to Sebastien Bourdais who won the first four in a row.

Did You Notice? … The Norris Factor

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*Did You Notice?…* Chad Norris wasn’t informed he would be Carl Edwards’ new crew chief until yesterday morning? That’s the biggest nugget from Tuesday’s big surprise, No. 99 head wrench Bob Osborne stepping down after spending more than eight of the past nine seasons atop that pit box. That alone should tell you this decision was not as pre-planned as some out in the racing world might surmise. Yes, the duo had been having a bad season together but as recently as Kentucky, after poor pit strategy doomed them both sides were adamant about the pairing continuing over the long-term. Edwards and Osborne have always been close, the outgoing driver a perfect match for the introverted, ultra-intelligent engineer who brought them within one position on the racetrack of a championship last season. Consistently, through the years Edwards has told me in interviews how much their relationship has been the key to remaining at or near the top of the Cup Series. So, until all the facts come out, or sources explain differently let’s take the press release at its word and wish Osborne well while dealing with undisclosed, health-related issues behind the scenes.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Loudon

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BREAKING: Wins really do matter! Kasey Kahne’s victory in New Hampshire practically signed, sealed, and delivered a wild card spot to the Hendrick Motorsports driver. It came at the expense, however, of dominant driver of the day Denny Hamlin, whose four tire mix up with crew chief Darian Grubb cost them a near sure trip to Victory Lane. I guess there is always September!

Did Kasey Kahne’s “stolen” victory bump him up in our rankings? Did Hamlin and Grubb’s flub knock them down? Continue reading to find out:

Mirror Driving: Kyle’s Recovery Prospects, Amber In The Way And Drug Bans

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*What looked like a dominant day for Kyle Busch early went away after a speeding penalty and an untimely caution. Can Busch recover to win a championship, or is even his Chase berth in danger?*

Amy: Here’s the thing with Busch this year. He’s had some bad luck lately but is fast enough to win, and another victory would solidify the “wild card” for him. The thing I still see with Busch is that sometimes you have to back off a notch and be patient to be fast at the end, and I don’t know that he can do that for 10 races. The Chase is just not suited to his style.

Choquette’s NASCAR Truck Debut at Iowa A Promising Start

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Excluding a talented (and well-funded) rookie following in his elder brother’s footsteps, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie battle has been less than spectacular in 2012. Few drivers who declared for the Rookie of the Year distinction prior to Daytona have stuck around for all nine races, with some early bright spots (see: John King, Jeb Burton) succumbing to sponsorship woes.

So, aside from one Ty Dillon, where can Truck Series fans look for budding talent (aside from the Nationwide Series, of course)?

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Top Ten First Tweets From Keelan Harvick

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*10.* I’m not even a month old and already I’ve got an offer to replace the E-Trade baby in this year’s Super Bowl commercial

*9.* No, Dad, actually I doubt I’ll be ready to run the Legends race at Daytona this February.

*8.* Do you get frequent flyer miles if your dad owns the plane? Hello Cancun!

*7.* If you cry long enough eventually Dad will but Budweiser in your bottle… #Imontothem

5 Points to Ponder: Talking NASCAR Trash, Tires and Tracks

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Yes, Sunday’s race was far from a classic, with rock hard tires again making track position the sole dictator of everyone’s race strategy. But this one was shaping up awful nice before a communication breakdown between Denny Hamlin and Darian Grubb put the No. 11 car that was the class of the field back far enough in the field that even a brilliant late-race charge couldn’t produce a checkered flag. And there’s not many race tracks out there that can overcome hard tires anyhow…or the mentality that every driver that didn’t win had, that they’d win in September…when it counted for something.

Who’s Hot / Who’s Not in NASCAR: New Hampshire – Indy Edition

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Kasey Kahne’s victory at New Hampshire sure shook up the wild card race. Kahne basically assured himself a spot in the playoffs, while he put other drivers who were looking good heading into the weekend on less solid ground.

Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon are those drivers on thin ice. Newman and Logano have a very slim chance of winning another race before The Chase, and Gordon’s chances of winning twice also seem unlikely.