Watkins Glen and Penske Racing are becoming synonymous with each other. That being synonymous with finishing second as the No. 2 Miller Lite car has wound up there the last four consecutive years.
Defending Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski had been behind the wheel for the last three of those. Sunday he had the chance to beat Kyle Busch for the win in the Cheez-It 355 coming to the checkered flag off the final turn. He could have moved him out of the way. Actually, he could have flat out run him over if he wanted to.
Instead, Keselowski decided to race the hard way for the win. And he came up short. While the disappointment of still being winless on the year sunk in, the satisfaction in feeling he made the right choice meant much more.
“In my mind, points are great when you’re in the Chase. Before that, to me it’s about wins, even if you don’t end up in the top 20,” said Keselowski afterwards, who won at The Glen on Saturday in the Nationwide Series.
“I’d rather be a wild card with four or five wins than be a guy in the Chase with zero wins … I could have definitely dumped Kyle and won the race. That stuff goes back and forth, and I’m sure someone in the tabloid side of the media will make a big deal about that, but it won’t be me because I know I did the right thing.”
Upon climbing from his car and watching Busch celebrate with a large burnout, Keselowski noted that he’s had enough drama in his short career. He wasn’t about to add more on Sunday. There’s been past run-ins with Busch, including this race last season in which Keselowski spun Busch – who was leading – on the last lap.
A year later, Keselowski defended that move, saying it was just racing. Busch had made a hole and he went to fill it when the two made contact. Keselowski’s also had his share of controversy with Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin, both in the NNS and NSCS.
So when the opportunity present itself on Sunday to set Busch aside and take the victory, which would go a long way in helping him make the Chase, Keselowski fought off the temptation. And trust him, he says; there was plenty of temptation.
“It doesn’t mean there isn’t temptation, but there’s a level of respect and a code of honor that you have to have as a man,” Keselowski said.
Busch won at Watkins Glen for the second time in his career. It comes after two years of his own frustration since he had been leading before being passed with two laps to go in 2011 and spun by Keselowski last year.
As Keselowski battled his own inner drama, Busch was battling thoughts of his own, watching as Keselowski hounded him the final half of the race. Busch said he “commended” Keselowski for having a cleaner race this year and enjoyed how the two ran each other at the finish, even if he couldn’t get away from him.
“Certainly when you get wrecked by somebody you’re not all too happy with it. But then you come with races like this and you come towards the end of the race and a guy can get in the back of you and spin you out, I guess, yeah, you cut that guy a little bit more slack maybe the next time you race him,” Busch said of the chain of events.
“You try to race as best you can, as clean as you can and get the win for yourself and not by moving people out of the way. That’s where the real talent comes in. There’s not much talent in just driving through somebody and then taking a checkered flag that way.”
So, while Busch goes home with his third victory of the season, all but assuring himself a spot in the 2013 Chase, Keselowski looks ahead to four more hard weeks in hopes of getting to defend his championship. In a way, both happy with how a trip to upstate New York played out over 90 long, winding laps.
“If I would have wrecked him today, in my mind it wouldn’t have been a racing deal, it would have been just wrecking, and there’s a huge difference,” said the Michigan native.
“When somebody blocks you, that’s different. When somebody runs off the track, pulls down in front of you, that’s racing. Those are all just racing deals. When you just run into the back of someone and drive them headfirst into the wall, that’s bulls— racing, and I just don’t like it.”
Brad was smart. If he had tried to turn Kyle and they both crashed … Kyle would still make the Chase but without any wins Brad would have been outside the top 10 and have a good chance of not making the Chase.