What makes Keselowski tick?
Posted Mar 10, 2010
By David Newton
ESPN.com
It is the last day of school and everybody is excited about getting out for the summer — except for one shy eighth-grade boy. He is nervous, having been told by a group of kids they are going to “get [him]” on his two-block walk home.
So he goes to one of his teachers with whom he has worked closely as a student assistant and they successfully devise a plan to sneak him out.
“He always was the square peg in a round hole,” said the teacher, Christine Owoc, now retired. “He was the one that always got bullied, who always got picked on.”
Flash forward. The now 26-year-old kid is driving a Sprint Cup car at more than 190 mph down the frontstretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway when a fellow competitor clips him from behind. That picked-on kid spins and goes airborne, the car landing on its top so violently it bends the roll cage.
The competitor makes no secret it was deliberate, that he was trying to send a message. Many of his fellow competitors agree it was well deserved because of the problems the kid has caused others in the past year.
The kid still feels picked on.
You’ve probably figured out that the kid is Brad Keselowski. This piece starts in middle school because that is where the driver of Penske Racing’s No. 12 Dodge suggested prior to the 2010 season was the best place to find out what makes him tick.
Without a doubt, Carl Edwards got preferential treatment
Posted Mar 10, 2010
Jay Busbee
Yahoo Sports
Imagine for a second if it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. flying through the evening Atlanta air Sunday night instead of Brad Keselowski.
Imagine if it was a start-and-parker who sent Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson airborne with a deliberate tap to the bumper.
Still think we’d be talking about a three-race probation?
When NASCAR handed down its penalty for Edwards on Tuesday — three races of probation, the equivalent of being told “I’ll let you go this time, but next time, mister, next time … ” — reaction was immediate and split right down the middle. Some fans and media indicated they were satisfied with the punishment (particularly the media who made sure to pat themselves on the back at how right they were in guessing the sentencing). Others screamed that this was far too weak of a punishment for such a violent act of retaliation.
But those were the fans. Let’s look at some of the drivers’ reactions, via Twitter (all responses sic’d]:
• Robby Gordon: Just heard the news. I wonder what would of happened to me in that situation? Hmmm someone playing favorites? 
• Kevin Harvick: huh! suprised by the penalty lack there of … i’m thinkging about asking for a refund for all of my penalties!!!!
• Kyle Busch (responding to Harvick): Me too! Let me kno how that goes. Lmao.
• Regan Smith: Gotta say I think NASCAR handled the situation the right way, glad 2 c they ackowledged the car getting airborne is the biggest issue
• Kyle Petty: For me I am deeply saddened by the decision that #NASCAR made on this issue. I love this Business,will always support it, but not this…
Tire questions loom for Goodyear
Posted Mar 09, 2010
Associated Press
HAMPTON, GA. (AP)
Goodyear is facing more questions about the quality of its tires.
At least a dozen drivers were affected by tire problems during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, stirring up complaints that Goodyear supplied a compound that was good for speed but low on durability at the high-banked track.
“When they come here and test, you expect them to build a tire that we can abuse and that we can race hard with,” said Jeff Gordon, one of those affected. “That obviously wasn’t the case. There is a good chance we were too aggressive, but until we go back and analyze everything it’s hard to say.”
Report: Edwards won’t be suspended for intentional wreck
Posted Mar 09, 2010
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) NASCAR will not suspend Carl Edwards for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski’s car during last weekend’s race at Atlanta.
There had been a loud cry for NASCAR to punish Edwards for returning to the track Sunday after an earlier wreck with Keselowski and then deliberately causing a crash. The contact sent Keselowski’s car flying into the air, and it bounced on its hood off a retaining wall. No one was injured.
A person familiar with NASCAR’s discussions said Edwards will not be suspended for his actions.
NASCAR president Mike Helton is to address the Edwards accident later Tuesday. The person familiar with the decision spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Helton will be making the official statement.
Richard Petty Motorsports Gaining Ground
Posted Mar 09, 2010
By Terry Blount
ESPN.com
I went to see “Alice in Wonderland” on Saturday night. Surprisingly, that theme continued into Sunday afternoon with all the upside-down happenings in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta.
And I’m not just talking about Brad Keselowski’s car.
Richard Petty Motorsports had a Hendrick Motorsports kind of day. And the Hendrick boys had a race like the RPM guys experience all too often.
RPM placed three drivers in the top six: Kasey Kahne fourth, Paul Menard fifth and A.J. Allmendinger sixth, Allmendinger’s best finish in a non-restrictor-plate race.
Three in the top six didn’t happen once all last season for RPM, so this is an encouraging sign for the merger with Yates Racing and the new alignment with Ford.
“I think Richard Petty Motorsports is back,” Menard told reporters after the race.
“All of our cars were fast this weekend. It was a lot of fun out there today.”
Sport Reacts in Wake of Edwards-Keselowski Dust-Up
Posted Mar 09, 2010
Holly Cain
fanhouse.com
While the verdict is still out from NASCAR officials on whether to penalize Carl Edwards for a dangerous retaliatory crash he caused late in Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, there has been plenty of judgment rendered elsewhere.
Opinions have varied from those calling for Edwards’ suspension to others shrugging off the whole matter with a wink-wink, “boys will be boys.”
On the far extremes, fan reaction on FanHouse has ranged from calls for this to be considered a criminal matter to those who think Edwards’ target, the young driver Brad Keselowski, “had it coming.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fielded a car for Keselowski in the Nationwide Series the past two seasons, said he didn’t see what happened but was glad Keselowski wasn’t injured.
“What happened there is between them,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve got nothing to do with that.”
Third-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya didn’t witness the accident either but didn’t sound entirely surprised it happened either. Last year, he even suggested that Keselowski’s team would be well-advised to bring older cars to the track.
“I said that last year because he wrecked a lot of people,” Montoya said. “I’m sure a lot of people wanted to pay him back. And looking at the TV, somebody did.”
NASCAR Writers Needed!
Posted Mar 08, 2010
Dan Williams
nascarfrontpage.com
We’re looking for a few folks who are interested in writing opinion pieces for the site so if you – or someone you know – like to write and would like to see your stuff published, please let me know.
What we’re looking for:
Opinion pieces which are worthy of posting on the home page and discussion on the forum. It doesn’t need to be controversial, just thought provoking. It must be NASCAR related.
I’d prefer to receive regular submissions from you, but the interval is negotiable. If you want to write something once a week, that works. If you only want to write once a month, that works as well.
All articles will need to have a “real” name attached – forum usernames won’t do. Now, this does not mean you have to use your real name; you’re free to make one up.
Poll: What Should Happen To Edwards For Wrecking Keselowski?
Posted Mar 08, 2010
NFP Member: 2putt
nascarfrontpage.com
How do you believe NASCAR should handle Carl Edwards’ admitted intentional wrecking of Brad Keselowski during the Cobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway?
NFP member 2putt has set up a poll and you’re invited to vote and share your opinions.
Click here to visit the forum and share your thoughts.
Kurt Busch holds off Kenseth to win in Atlanta
Posted Mar 07, 2010
Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. – Kurt Busch won again at Atlanta Motor Speedway, pulling away on a second restart Sunday after a couple of wild wrecks to capture the Kobalt Tools 500.
Busch won the spring race at the 1.54-mile trioval for the second year in a row, beating Matt Kenseth to the line by nearly half a second. Juan Pablo Montoya was third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard.
The race went 16 laps past its scheduled 325 because of two big crashes. The first came when Carl Edwards, running 156 laps behind, clipped Brad Keselowski and sent him flying toward the grandstands upside down. Keselowski was OK, but NASCAR ordered Edwards to park his car and summoned him to its trailer for a tongue-lashing.
On the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, another crash took out seven cars coming through turns three and four. Finally, they got in two clean laps, and it was Busch all the way for his third career win in Atlanta.
“Even with all the restarts, I thought we had the strongest car,” said Busch, who claimed his 21st career win and snapped Jimmie Johnson’s two-race winning streak.
Keselowski clipped Edwards early in the race, which sent him smashing into Joey Logano. Edwards spent much of the day in the garage, but returned to take out his frustration in what appeared to be an intentional tap on Keselowski coming across the start-finish line.
Harvick “Happy” Once Again
Posted Mar 05, 2010
By David Newton
ESPN.com
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — The door to the conference room cracked just a hair and a Chihuahua wearing a knit sweater ran in. The man at the head of the table plucked up the tiny dog in mid-sentence and gently cuddled it in his arms as he talked about the recent death of another pet and destroying the kitchen while preparing a seafood dinner for his wife.
“I tried to get it all cleaned up before she got home, but it didn’t work out,” Kevin Harvick said as he stroked Lo’s head.
This hardly is the image one normally has of the man whose steely-eyed stare behind the wheel of a stock car or truck is as intense as that of a boxer trying to intimidate an opponent before a bout.
He’s so focused at the track that autograph-seeking fans and even friends often are passed without him realizing they’re there. He’s sometimes so short with reporters that one recently wrote he hates the media.
It’s not hate. Harvick is just so intent on being the best that everything outside the car is an unnecessary distraction that he doesn’t deal with as well as others. It’s a passion that stirred some controversy last season when there were reports that he wanted out of his contract with Richard Childress Racing because the performance of the organization was underwhelming.
