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Brad Keselowski Is France Family's Worst Nightmare, and the Guy Who's Going to Save NASCAR
Reigning Champ Not Afraid to Speak His Mind, and NASCAR Is Better Off for It
By Matt Myftiu
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COMMENTARY | On one hand, Brad Keselowski is the worst nightmare for the leadership of NASCAR.
Fresh off his first Sprint Cup title in only his third full season, a feat previously accomplished only by Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, he came into 2013 feeling even bolder than usual. He's never been afraid to say what he believes, and in a sport where most drivers (well, everyone except Tony Stewart) tend to bow to the company line, a brash young man like Brad will raise some eyebrows.
This year, he came out blazing from the gate, laying out his own manifesto to the media about everything that's wrong with the sport and what needs to be done to fix it. That's a pretty bold thing to do and led to Brad being called in for a meeting with the France family braintrust, who were no doubt a little peeved by some of his comments about them.
But the NASCAR brass needs to get past any fears it has about the 2012 Cup champion, because in all seriousness he may also be the guy who saves NASCAR from becoming less relevant and helps make the sport more to the attention of a whole new generation.
The undeniable fact is that most of the big-name drivers out there today (cough, Jimmie Johnson; cough, Carl Edwards) are very predictable and only driven by making their sponsors happy. Anything along the lines of Brad's manifesto, and the controversy it would create, wouldn't even remotely cross their minds. (Not that Brad doesn't want to please the sponsors, but he's also got the future of the sport on his mind -- I'm not sure other drivers do).
Perhaps these other drivers might mention something in passing to a NASCAR official they might come in contact with, but an overall vision like this isn't something they're going to think about. They're too busy being "fat and happy," as the saying goes (fat = rich in this situation, of course).
Why rock the boat, right?
Well, Brad Keselowski definitely is not afraid of rocking the boat. In fact, he thrives on it. And for anyone who wants to claim he's just a troublemaker, he or she is missing the point. NASCAR needs a guy like Keselowski to bring important issues into the forefront.
He's young, he's almost single-handedly ushered in the era of social media to NASCAR, he's hip to what younger people are interested in, and he has some very good suggestions as to what NASCAR can do to attract more fans in an era where attendance and ratings haven't always been too peachy.
Keselowski had the gall to say some common-sense things other haven't, such as:
-- TV networks and tracks shouldn't be arguing over what sponsors are allowed to be mentioned in a broadcast; that kind of nonsense just drives sponsors away.
-- Any track that doesn't have Wi-Fi is behind the times, and that's unacceptable in this modern age of social media and constant connectivity that helps spread word about the sport.
-- Any track that doesn't have proper reception for non-Sprint phones (again, a sponsor issue screwing things up) is shooting itself in the foot by angering its fans.
-- Some tracks with 2 races need to have one of their races taken away and moved to more exciting racetracks. Many race fans have said this for years, and Brad's probably not the only driver who would support this (I'd trade a Pocono race for an Iowa Cup race any day).
Some elder statesmen of the sport, like 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson, don't seem to get Keselowski. Johnson said earlier this year that Keselowski has good intentions, but needs to "mature a little".
Sorry, Jimmie, but you're completely off base here. I've watched Brad mature quite well from the time he first started running Trucks with his family team, through the time he developed at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team, to his full blossom into a champion in two series at Penske Racing.
Point blank: If Brad wasn't mature, he wouldn't have beat Jimmie for the championship last year. Sure, Brad has ticked some people off along the way, but by now everyone knows he's a talent to be respected.
His presence in the sport has brought a bunch of people on board because he seems like a genuine person; not a carbon copy driver who just lists off sponsors in a drone-like state.
Getting back to the crux of the matter, the reason NASCAR needs Brad Keselowski is that he truly does care about the future of the sport. He plans to race for a long, long time, and he wants those years to feature better competition, a larger fan base, and a more unified approach to promoting the sport with less infighting over every last dollar.
These are common-sense ideas, but Brad's the first guy to really bring them all out the public's attention at once, and I applaud him for that.
Unlike the drone drivers, he has a personality (imagine that) and speaks his mind on pretty much anything, and that scares NASCAR's leadership a little bit.
But to fear him would be a mistake; Brad Keselowski, and other drivers like him who emerge, are going to help this sport remain relevant for a long time to come.
Matt Myftiu lives in Michigan and has been a NASCAR fanatic for over 15 years and a journalist for two decades. His blog on the sport, NASCAR: Beyond the Track, has been published for the past 5 years by The Oakland Press.
Reigning Champ Not Afraid to Speak His Mind, and NASCAR Is Better Off for It
By Matt Myftiu
- Posts
- Website
<img width=1 height=1 alt="" src="http://csc.beap.bc.yahoo.com/yi?bv=...L4HU-,bi$1643451551,cr$3184298051,ct$25,at$H)">
COMMENTARY | On one hand, Brad Keselowski is the worst nightmare for the leadership of NASCAR.
Fresh off his first Sprint Cup title in only his third full season, a feat previously accomplished only by Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, he came into 2013 feeling even bolder than usual. He's never been afraid to say what he believes, and in a sport where most drivers (well, everyone except Tony Stewart) tend to bow to the company line, a brash young man like Brad will raise some eyebrows.
This year, he came out blazing from the gate, laying out his own manifesto to the media about everything that's wrong with the sport and what needs to be done to fix it. That's a pretty bold thing to do and led to Brad being called in for a meeting with the France family braintrust, who were no doubt a little peeved by some of his comments about them.
But the NASCAR brass needs to get past any fears it has about the 2012 Cup champion, because in all seriousness he may also be the guy who saves NASCAR from becoming less relevant and helps make the sport more to the attention of a whole new generation.
The undeniable fact is that most of the big-name drivers out there today (cough, Jimmie Johnson; cough, Carl Edwards) are very predictable and only driven by making their sponsors happy. Anything along the lines of Brad's manifesto, and the controversy it would create, wouldn't even remotely cross their minds. (Not that Brad doesn't want to please the sponsors, but he's also got the future of the sport on his mind -- I'm not sure other drivers do).
Perhaps these other drivers might mention something in passing to a NASCAR official they might come in contact with, but an overall vision like this isn't something they're going to think about. They're too busy being "fat and happy," as the saying goes (fat = rich in this situation, of course).
Why rock the boat, right?
Well, Brad Keselowski definitely is not afraid of rocking the boat. In fact, he thrives on it. And for anyone who wants to claim he's just a troublemaker, he or she is missing the point. NASCAR needs a guy like Keselowski to bring important issues into the forefront.
He's young, he's almost single-handedly ushered in the era of social media to NASCAR, he's hip to what younger people are interested in, and he has some very good suggestions as to what NASCAR can do to attract more fans in an era where attendance and ratings haven't always been too peachy.
Keselowski had the gall to say some common-sense things other haven't, such as:
-- TV networks and tracks shouldn't be arguing over what sponsors are allowed to be mentioned in a broadcast; that kind of nonsense just drives sponsors away.
-- Any track that doesn't have Wi-Fi is behind the times, and that's unacceptable in this modern age of social media and constant connectivity that helps spread word about the sport.
-- Any track that doesn't have proper reception for non-Sprint phones (again, a sponsor issue screwing things up) is shooting itself in the foot by angering its fans.
-- Some tracks with 2 races need to have one of their races taken away and moved to more exciting racetracks. Many race fans have said this for years, and Brad's probably not the only driver who would support this (I'd trade a Pocono race for an Iowa Cup race any day).
Some elder statesmen of the sport, like 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson, don't seem to get Keselowski. Johnson said earlier this year that Keselowski has good intentions, but needs to "mature a little".
Sorry, Jimmie, but you're completely off base here. I've watched Brad mature quite well from the time he first started running Trucks with his family team, through the time he developed at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Nationwide team, to his full blossom into a champion in two series at Penske Racing.
Point blank: If Brad wasn't mature, he wouldn't have beat Jimmie for the championship last year. Sure, Brad has ticked some people off along the way, but by now everyone knows he's a talent to be respected.
His presence in the sport has brought a bunch of people on board because he seems like a genuine person; not a carbon copy driver who just lists off sponsors in a drone-like state.
Getting back to the crux of the matter, the reason NASCAR needs Brad Keselowski is that he truly does care about the future of the sport. He plans to race for a long, long time, and he wants those years to feature better competition, a larger fan base, and a more unified approach to promoting the sport with less infighting over every last dollar.
These are common-sense ideas, but Brad's the first guy to really bring them all out the public's attention at once, and I applaud him for that.
Unlike the drone drivers, he has a personality (imagine that) and speaks his mind on pretty much anything, and that scares NASCAR's leadership a little bit.
But to fear him would be a mistake; Brad Keselowski, and other drivers like him who emerge, are going to help this sport remain relevant for a long time to come.
Matt Myftiu lives in Michigan and has been a NASCAR fanatic for over 15 years and a journalist for two decades. His blog on the sport, NASCAR: Beyond the Track, has been published for the past 5 years by The Oakland Press.
