Brad Keselowski spent the majority of Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway running inside the top 10 and battling for the lead. But he still noticed something mid-pack, something he called the “single biggest change I’ve seen in cup series drivers over last 10 years.” “Complete willingness to semi-intentionally wreck each other running 15th or worse,” […]
Brad Keselowski spent the majority of Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway running inside the top 10 and battling for the lead. But he still noticed something mid-pack, something he called the “single biggest change I’ve seen in cup series drivers over last 10 years.”
“Complete willingness to semi-intentionally wreck each other running 15th or worse,” Keselowski wrote on X. “I see it almost every week and none worse than this week in Iowa. Not sure what to make of it…”
We saw a number of incidents at Iowa which resulted in some upset drivers. Most notably, Carson Hocevar wrecked Zane Smith running for 23rd, while Kyle Larsonaired out his frustrations following a Stage 3 wreck.
Perhaps it’s NASCAR‘s much-maligned elimination style playoff format, which was introduced in 2014. With just a handful of regular season races left on the schedule, drivers in need of a victory to make the postseason are pushing the limits. Inevitably, that’s going to lead to contact and hurt feelings. While answering questions below his tweet, Keselowski was adamant that the Next Gen car is not the issue.
Brad Keselowski explains biggest difference in today’s NASCAR
“Car owners used to be much more present and accountability driven,” Keselowski wrote. “They would surely fire you for one of two reasons- Wrecking & Not running well If you did both as a driver, no chance of making it. This made all the drivers not want to wreck when they weren’t running well.”
Chris Gabehart, Joe Gibbs Racing competition director, chimed in as well. Gabehart explained why the car is playing a role in what Keselowski was saying.
“To be fair [Keselowski], I do think some of it is ‘the car’ and how important it has made track position due to its inability to pass,” Gabehart wrote in response to Keselowski. “But, to be fair to you, I think most of it is due to the lack of dirt under fingernails to earn the opportunities and the lack of ‘boys have at it’ when those opportunities are wrongfully taken away.”
Clearly, Keselowski wants to see things change on the racetrack. Early in his career, he was the young driver wreaking havoc on the racetrack. Now, he’s the wise car owner and veteran, just trying to do his part to make the sport better.
Category: General Sports
