Bad Brad often at his best when backed against a wall
When Brad Keselowski left Charlotte Motor Speedway last Saturday night, he did so with slim hopes of advancing in the Chase, few friends in the Sprint Cup garage, and the overseeing eye of NASCAR closely watching his actions.
When the Team Penske driver left Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday night, he did so in dramatic fashion, with his sixth trophy of the season, and renewed championship hopes.
Throughout his NASCAR career, Keselowski has always played the role of the underdog or outsider. During his days in the Nationwide Series, the second-generation driver fought on -- and off -- track with the likes of Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards as he tried to gain respect and solidify his name in the sport.
That combative nature followed Keselowski to the Sprint Cup Series, where those rivalries continued and he often became outspoken about the sanctioning body itself.
Yet, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion continues to rise to the occasion when backed against the wall. He entered Sunday's race at Talladega needing a win to advance in the Chase, with few friends on the track, and he knocked it out of the park.
This is not the first time Keselowski has overcome adversity and rose to the occasion.
When he badly broke his ankle during a 2011 testing wreck days before the Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway, Keselowski showed his tenacity by going out and scoring the win that Sunday.
Throughout his 2012 Chase title run, he had to battle the likes of then five-time champion and ambassador of the sport Jimmie Johnson. To the surprise of many, he came out on top to give team owner Roger Penske his first Sprint Cup title.
Despite his run-ins with other drivers, critical comments about NASCAR and other off-track controversies, Penske is proud to have Keselowski on board and willing to deal with his unique and outspoken personality.
"Look, I like him. He's a great driver," said Penske. "We have a long-term relationship with him. If he wants to get a little upset sometimes, that's okay with me. We'll let NASCAR figure out if he's over the line or not. I guess it cost us 50 grand. I'll take 50 grand and the win this week, wouldn't you?"
For crew chief Paul Wolfe, Keselowski is often at his best when surrounded by controversy and under the microscope.
"I don't think this is the first time we've seen Brad step up to the plate," Wolfe said after their win at Talladega on Sunday. "Seems like everyone is against him. Seems like that fires him up more. I've got his back 100 percent. I didn't see anything that he did out of line last weekend. I told him that. He does a great job and races hard. That's why we like him driving our car."
While he remains outspoken and polarizing both in the garage and in the grandstands, Keselowski does not go out there trying to make enemies.
"It's not something I enjoy. I don't look to go out there and have to fight those battles," he said. "That just makes life a lot harder. But there's a part of me that's come to accept that this isn't going to be easy, that I didn't come into this sport in an era where it was going to work out any other way."
Keselowski scored his first career Sprint Cup Series victory in dramatic and controversial fashion when he and Carl Edwards wrecked coming to the checkered flag at Talladega in 2009. Then driving for Phoenix Racing, Keselowski held his line when Edwards threw a block and Edwards flew into the fencing while Keselowski score the win.
He fought battles with Edwards and Hamlin throughout his first full Sprint Cup season in 2010. After scoring the series championship in 2012, Keselowski felt his team was being unfairly scrutinized by NASCAR and did not hold back his opinions.
For the 30-year-old Michigan native, a lot of those battles were a product of his refusing to back down to the biggest names in the series at the time.
"I came into this sport, my first win was 2009, first full season 2010," he said. "Besides my teammate Joey Logano, what other drivers came from that era and are successful? There isn't one. There's not one that came through those four or five years. That's for good reason. They've been ran out of the sport. I'm not going to let that happen."
Keselowski feels as long as the "old guard" remains in the sport, controversies and "uncomfortable moments" will continue to occur.
However, his team owner believes it is not so much the old guard that has been the issue, instead he feels the garage is jealous of all Keselowski has accomplished.
"Number one, these guys are jealous of the job he's done this year," said Penske. "He's won six races. He's made poles. He's been up front. Nobody likes to see a guy win like that. The fact that he has a little edge on him, he's continually delivering, obviously I think makes a difference.
"If everybody understood what happened on the racetrack last week, when you get your rear fender knocked off on a restart, you get your front fender knocked off on a pass-by, I want him to get mad," he said. "I don't want him to take it."
Keselowski showed Sunday at Talladega that no matter what controversy surrounds him or adversity he faces from the week before, he and the No. 2 team remain focused on the job at hand and are fully capable of rising to the occasion.
Unfortunately for the rest of the Chase competition, Keselowski, Wolfe and Team Penske show little signs of slowing and even fewer signs of bowing out of the title fight. With tracks like Martinsville and Phoenix determining who advances out of the Eliminator Round, the team's fighting days may not be over before the end of the 2014 season either.
VIDEO: NASCAR Victory Lane - Brad Keselowski at Talladega
