[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”216″]
[/media-credit]In just his third full-time season, Brad Keselowski is crowned champion. The road to the championship hasn’t been easy but Keselowski has gone down the path and conquered the end result. Keselowski is one of the most popular champions among the fans due to his driving style and personality. Keselowski is one of the more out spoken drivers and the fans enjoy that. For the first time in seasons, most fans have to agree they like the champion.
When Brad Keselowski sent the “Tweet Heard ‘Round the World” from his race car in Daytona during a red flag period, he became more of a likeable driver among the fans. When the tweet was sent, very few people would have believed that 36 races later, he would be holding up the championship trophy. A very dominant Chase, left Keselowski on top after ten races and he can now say he beat a five-time champion.
With just two races left in the season, Keselowski was trailing Jimmie Johnson in the point’s standings and no one though Keselowski could catch up and beat Johnson but he proved he can in the final two races. It took some mistake by his opponent but a championship is a championship and Keselowski has conquered that goal. One of the most incredible things to come out of the Chase this past season was that Keselowski beat a five-time champion in the same game the champion (Johnson) has won five times before. Somehow, Keselowski did it and that is one reason for celebrating.
In forty plus years in the sport, Roger Penske was unable to have one of his drivers win the championship but the forty years of trying ended Sunday evening when Brad Keselowski held up the championship trophy. For over a decade, Roger Penske put three different drivers in the iconic No.2 Miller Lite Dodge and he thought he could get a championship with each of those drivers but reality has it that a young, fan favorite driver was able to get the championship.
Every action, good and bad, Brad Keselowski made this season led people to like him. Over the last seven seasons, I don’t believe we have had a fan’s champion but in 2012, I think we accomplished the goal. Would Brad Keselowski consider himself a fans champion? No but once he realizes that the season he has had was incredible he will come to believe the fact that he is a fans champion. One of the scariest things about “Bad Brad” winning the championship is that he is only 28 and he has years of racing ahead of him.
Keselowski’s unique personality and attitude attract people to like him and if Keselowski will be dominating the league for years to come, NASCAR will be a sport filled with fans enjoying a fans kind of champion in seasons to come.
