Why you should never count out Brad Keselowski

This incident took place during another testing crash at a road course, while he was shaking down his car in preparation for next weekend’s race at Watkins Glen. 

As Keselowski tweeted, he had just posted the top lap (70.802-sec.) of the 15 drivers attending the two-day test before his brakes failed on the newly repaved 2.45-mile circuit. 

This time, he walked away

Keselowski had slowed his car down to 81mph — compared to the 100mph he was traveling when he lost his brakes at Road Atlanta.

And this time he walked away. 

With the safety advances NASCAR has made over the last five years and Team Penske’s implementation of innovations with Keselowski’s helmet, foot box, seat, pedal and steering wheel, this time he did not have to be airlifted out of the race track. His team pulled out the back up car and it was back to business for the No. 2 Miller Lite crew. 

But it was Keselowski’s Road Atlanta wreck that offered a glimpse of the young driver’s determination. After he was diagnosed with an avulsion fracture of the left ankle — and cleared to drive at Pocono Raceway two days later — Keselowski qualified 13th then went on to win the 500-mile race.

2011 injury propelled him to new heights

Keselowski, who was 27 at the time, hobbled gingerly from his transporter to the car throughout the weekend. His team placed a director’s chair in the garage bay so the driver could keep an eye on the car’s progress without putting additional weight on his left ankle. Keselowski attempted to put on a brave face and remained affable despite the pain. That Sunday, he beat Kyle Busch on the final restart and led the last 16 laps to the checkered flag. 

Prior to that event, his best result was 20th at the 2.5-mile track. Keselowski entered the weekend 21st in the standings. After his Pocono win, he pulled off something even more impressive the following week at Watkins Glen. The left-foot braker finished second to Marcos Ambrose on the road course with Busch again in his rearview mirror. 

Never give up attitude

When the Sprint Cup tour rolled into Michigan the following week, the Rochester Hills native offered a tour of his hometown. That’s when Keselowski offered a glimpse of what motivates him.

“My dad taught me from an early age is when you get into a race car, everyone weighs the same,” Keselowski said. “You’re all equally as tough as you are in your mind. So what that means when you get in there, it’s all about heart, it’s all about mind, it’s all about skill. 

“No matter what you do, no matter what size you are, you’ve got the same fight or more if you got it in your mind and you’ve got it in your heart“.

Keselowski’s third-place finish at Michigan vaulted him into the Chase Zone. For playoff insurance, he won the next week at Bristol — all the while nursing a bum ankle. After the regular season, he was ranked ninth entering the Chase. 

One year later, he was crowned champion

While Tony Stewart went on to win the 2011 title following a remarkable five-win run in the final 10 races, the momentum the No. 2 Team Penske crew gained over their 16-race comeback propelled the team to the title the following year — in just Keselowski’s third full season in Cup. 

“I don’t think the judge of my career will be tomorrow or next week or next month,” Keselowski said during that same interview in 2011. “It will be in the next three years as it will be for any new driver that comes into the sport.”

In addition to his first championship, Keselowski earned 12 wins, six poles, 39 top fives and 59 top 10s over those three years. While he missed the 2013 Chase —the first and only time Keselowski failed to qualify for the playoffs, he finished fifth the following year. 

Currently, Keselowski is second in points and leads the Chase standings. Although Joe Gibbs Racing appears to be the dominant force in the Sprint Cup Series right now, don’t count Keselowski out. The racer has proven time and again, he isn’t one to give up a fight.