Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012
NASCAR Media Day
Dodge PR
Daytona International Speedway
Brad Keselowski Open Interview
BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR WIN AT KANSAS LAST YEAR? “Kansas was a great weekend for us. It helped start us in the right direction for sure. It was a great moment for Paul Wolfe, my crew chief, to really gain a lot of credibility within the Penske organization. That credibility is what helped us gain so much momentum during the summer months. Paul being able to make the cars better, I think he deserves a lot of credit for that weekend.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT MARTINSVILLE CELEBRATING ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR? “When I look at Martinsville, I look at the roots of NASCAR. You can’t help but think how much the sport has changed. I go to Martinsville and think about how small it was or is. It’s a half-mile and you think about some of the tracks that NASCAR went to that were a quarter-mile or smaller. You can’t help but think about how much this sport has changed and how much it has evolved. It’s great that a track like Martinsville is still a part of our sport through that evolution.”
WHAT CHANGES FOR A DRIVER WHEN YOU WIN FOR THE FIRST TIME? “It’s something that’s different for each driver. I think it’s really the manner in which you win. Mark Martin always said something that I agreed with which is that it wasn’t his first win that verified him, it was his second win. I really agree strongly with that comment. Looking back at my first win, I felt like it helped me get my foot in the door a little bit. I didn’t feel like I got through the door. I may have got an elbow in the door, but it wasn’t through the door. That’s what it means to me.”
DID YOU EVER REACH A POINT WHERE YOU FELT LIKE YOU GOT MORE RESPECT ON THE RACE TRACK? “Sure. I don’t know necessarily if I would associate wins as I would associate that with performance in general. I think that success will breed respect. Performance is a part of success.”
DO YOU LET YOURSELF DAYDREAM ABOUT WINNING THE DAYTONA 500? “Yes. Absolutely.” WHAT WOULD THAT BE LIKE? “I think about a moment. To me, when I look at a win, I always think of a moment that created the win. Do you allow yourself to win the 500? Yes. I think about the pass for the win or whatever moment it takes to get the win. That’s the moment that I think about. The wins that I have been fortunate to have, the memories that I have from them are those moments; the moment that you take the lead. Those are the moments that I dream of.”
DO YOU FEEL MORE PRESSURE ON YOU THIS YEAR TO BE THE TEAM LEADER? “I’m sure there will be more media pressure. I feel like I’m my own worse critic. I think that you guys can write some really mean stuff about me that wouldn’t be in comparison to what I’d say about myself. I’m happy to have the role. I think pressure is good. I think pressure keeps you honest. I think that it’s the next step for me to accomplish the goal that I have of winning a Sprint Cup championship and I think that you have to be a leader to do that. I’m now in a position to do that and I’m very proud of that. I’m ready for that pressure.”
DO YOU JUDGE SITUATIONS DIFFERENTLY NOW AS LEADER OF THE TEAM? “Yes. I think with age, you judge situations differently. Experience is part of age. You’re always learning. I look at the path that I took in my career and I’ve been very fortunate to be successful at the Nationwide and Cup levels. Success has not come from lacking mistakes; I’ve made plenty of those. Success has come from not repeating mistakes. For me, I get on myself when I make a mistake. I’d like to think at the end of the day that the pressure that I apply, my own worse critic, has forced me to learn from my mistakes and be better the second time around. I think that’s the secret to my success. It’s not from the lack of making mistakes, it’s learning from them.”
WHAT’S YOU APPROACH TO SOCIAL MEDIA? “I was thinking about this the other day when I was around my dad. I grew up with him and the race team in the Camping World Truck Series. I was thinking about his approach and remember thinking about how that was so 1990’s. I was thinking about how it’s a reflection on social media and how much from just five years ago the world has changed and social media is a large part of that. It affects the sport of NASCAR and how we engage our fans and our sponsors. I think those that are able to be leaders in that matter will come out on top. This new age of NASCAR that’s coming where social media has so much power, I’m committed to being one of those guys, committed more than just in words. I spent a pretty good chunk of money on the Twitter stuff that I have for the truck campaign.”
DO YOU HAVE A SECOND THOUGHT BEFORE YOU SEND A TWEET? “Absolutely not. If I have to think about it twice, it’s not authentic. If I have to stop and think, ‘If I should cut out this world not to make so and so mad’, I’m a big believer in authenticity. I’ve had a few moments where I’ve had to explain myself.”
HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR THOUGHTS ON EFI? “I said as much as I needed to say; as much as I could afford to say (laughs).”
DID YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT EFI CURB YOU OUTSPOKENESS? “I think looking back, I was having a really bad day that day. For me, it’s hard to say that it doesn’t affect. I think you understand better, after going through that process, that words you say carry more weight than you thought they did. Quite honestly, I didn’t think my words carried that much weight where people wanted to print that about the particular story. I think it’s an opportunity to reflect on that and realize that my words do carry a little bit more weight. Maybe I should care a little bit more about how people care about it.”
HAVE YOU TALKED TO GUYS LIKE TONY (STEWART) OR KYLE (BUSCH) WHO HAVE GOTTEN IN TROUBLE FROM THINGS THAT THEY’VE SAID IN PUBLIC? “No, not really. I probably should. It’s not a bad idea. There’s no shortage of people that have gone through it.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG DRIVERS? “I don’t think that it’s reasonable for any young driver to not make mistakes, but I think that it’s important to learn from them.”
HOW DO YOU GO FROM SUCCESS TO BEING HUMBLE? “For me, what’s tough as a driver, of being a member of a team, Penske Racing has sponsors worth millions of dollars. To get those sponsors, you have to make people feel like you’re worth a million bucks. So you better be pretty damn confident, right? How do you ask a guy, ‘Hey, I need $1 million for this race team’ and then tell him I don’t know if I can win? That ain’t going to work. You better walk into that room and say, ‘You know what, not only am I going to win, I’m going to win all the damn time! If not, you’re not going to get those big sponsors. That’s one reason confidence is so important. You have to balance it because that same confidence can come back to the pool of fans and media and be perceived as cockiness. You’re living almost duel lives trying to do that.”
WHY DID YOU DECIDE SO EARLY IN YOUR CAREER TO BECOME AN OWNER IN THE TRUCK SERIES? “Because I enjoy it. I really enjoy being a part of a group of people and being able to point the direction. There were opportunities to help out the Cup and Nationwide efforts at the same time and it just seemed like a win-win at the same time. The Truck series has always meant a lot to me. A lot of win-wins.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THIS BEING A BREAKOUT YEAR FOR PARKER KLIGERMAN? “There were some success and failures last year for Parker and the truck team. It goes back to can he learn from those mistakes and be better? If he can do that, the skies the limit for Parker. He’s got the talent. It’s all about his approach and can he learn from his mistakes?”
CAN YOU REFLECT ON THE DEPARTURE OF KURT (BUSCH) AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM AS A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR YOURSELF? “When I look at Kurt, I think about a guy who was an excellent teammate to me. He didn’t get a lot of credit for that. The events of the last few months have not been easy for him or anyone else. I have a lot of respect for him and his talent and his commitment of being a good teammate to me. It’s with those thoughts that I feel like I would be a real jerk if I kicked him when he was down. I don’t want to be that guy. I think there is always something to be learned, whether in success or failure. As to what that is for Kurt, we won’t know for a few more years. It could have been the break that he needed. Who knows? It just depends on what outlook he has and where it goes from here.”
