Professor of Speed: Let’s Talk NASCAR Current Events
When the legend of Brad Keselowski is written down for the ages, we’ll likely see the shaping of a hero’s journey.
When the legend of Brad Keselowski is written down for the ages, we’ll likely see the shaping of a hero’s journey.
With his most recent win at Pocono Sunday, you could say Brad Keselowski’s chances of qualifying for the Cup championship comes with a Brad-isfaction guarantee.
Brad Keselowski’s Pocono win may have him set for the postseason, but did it give him a push into the top half of the Power Rankings?
Despite the inclement weather this past weekend, we got there in the end with a truly packed day at picturesque Pocono Raceway on Sunday (Aug. 7).
Hot tempers, cooler temperatures, and tons of bent sheetmetal aside, let’s take a look at the drivers with (and without) momentum heading out of Pocono.
What a nice little assist Brad Keselowski got from Mother Nature, right?
0 Top-10 finishes for Jeff Burton in 21 starts this season. He is the only driver in the top 30 in the standings who hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish. He was 17th at Pocono. 0 Top-10 finishes for Brad Keselowski through 21 races in 2010. He has two wins and six top-10 finishes through 21 …
I read the reports Thursday morning (Aug. 4) of Brad Keselowski’s wreck at Road Atlanta, wincing at the images of his elephantine ankle displayed on Twitter. We discussed the ramifications if he wouldn’t be able to race at Pocono, and you have to admit, that ankle didn’t look good at all. And then I wondered… …
Kyle Busch got so preoccupied with Jimmie Johnson’s attempted divebomb pass to the inside, a quick move on Turn 1 of the final restart they both flat out let Brad Keselowski get away.
Joey Logano was so close to victory he could smell it, and it smelled a lot like rain on a humid summer day. Unfortunately for Logano, who had grabbed his third career pole on Saturday, the rains let up, the race ran its complete distance, and the third-year driver faded to a disappointing 26th. For Logano, who is breathing a sigh of relief now that Edwards is no longer a threat for his ride, Silly Season isn’t quite over until other potential replacements like Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Mark Martin have contracts somewhere else. Good finishes still have extra importance for the No. 20 right now.
I’m a stats guy living in a writer’s body, a failed mathematician with a healthy dose of superstition on the side. So it’s no surprise to me that as Brad Keselowski crossed the finish line, completing one of the great “iron man” performances in recent history all that I could think about was similar to a closing line from Sesame Street:
_This race has been brought to you by the letters K, J, and the number two._
Sounds silly, right? Especially considering what Keselowski did was a physical feat rarely equaled in NASCAR’s Chase era; only Denny Hamlin’s torn ACL, then seemingly instantaneous recovery post-surgery in Victory Lane at Texas last season can compare. It was a _two-pronged_ lift for the driver in his sophomore season – comments after the race, humbly praising soldiers killed in Afghanistan as the real heroes also moved mountains in establishing himself as a role model, not a rebel amongst the fan base. Off the track, Keselowski can no longer be viewed by his peers as a one-hit wonder; he’s the first driver in years to move up the ranks the right way, from Trucks to Nationwide to Cup and develop into a proven major-league talent.
Best Quote “It’s not me, its good people. It’s having Paul Wolfe [crew chief] and a team that digs. There are so many people to thank for being in victory lane, from Miller Lite to Sprint to the fans. I’m no hero. The heroes are the guys that died in Afghanistan this weekend and I …
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