Brad Keselowski heads into the 2016 Chase looking for his second career Sprint Cup championship. The 2-seed heading into the opening round spoke with media members Thursday at the Chicago Chase event.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion — DO YOU THINK COLORADO IS A TRAP GAME FOR MICHIGAN THIS WEEKEND? “Wow, okay, let’s do this. I think they are all trap games if you aren’t focused. Kind of like the Chase. Any race can be a trap game. I don’t know. Colorado, where are they ranked? Like 75 or something? They are not ranked in the top-25 right? We are at home, so I feel like we have a pretty good shot.”
THE LAST TWO YEARS YOU HAD A CAR THAT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND AND IT DIDN’T HAPPEN. ANYTHING YOU TAKE FROM THOSE YEARS INTO THIS YEAR? “Yeah, don’t break down at Martinsville or win Texas. No, we have had two really good years the last two years and really three of the last four years have been really good with the exception of ‘13 which wasn’t what we wanted it to be. I am really proud of that. This has been a good year as well, to go with that. You never know how it will play out with these formats.”
ANYTHING YOU LEARN FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES? “There is always something to learn but not anything like big picture. It is all kind of detail stuff on the cars and that kind of stuff.”
MATT KENSETH WAS UPSET AFTER LAST WEEK. HAVE YOU HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM? “I don’t want to play the conversation game. I don’t think i need to have a whole media discussion anytime there is a small bump on the racetrack, whether it is me or somebody else. That is just how racing is going to be. When it is egregious and things happens, that is one thing. When crap just happens, crap just happens. We don’t have to play drama queen for everything. That is how i feel about it.”
TWO THINGS LIKELY TO BE IMPORTANT IN THE CHASE ARE PIT STOPS AND PIT ROAD SPEEDING. DO YOU HAVE THOSE HANDLED PRETTY WELL? “Yeah, I think I do. I guess that is why we run the races because those are things that can change week to week and there are more timing lines at some of these tracks which makes it more perilous than before. There are a lot of different things going on in general. The restarts continue to be an evolving target. A lot of things all come together and it is hard to pick one and say that is going to determine a champion. It is going to take a collective effort and probably quite a bit of luck.”
KYLE BUSCH MENTIONED YOU AS SOMEONE THAT COULD STOP THE TOYOTA DOMINATION. WHAT DO YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO TO BE ABLE TO STOP THE TOYOTA’S COME HOMESTEAD? “We need to find a little bit of speed. I think we have good cars. We haven’t been the best cars but we have been kind of keeping everybody honest. Of course we want to evolve to be the best cars but you don’t have to be the best car to win. That is one of the great things about racing. We are just going to have to keep doing what we think is best. I think more than anything we don’t want to rest on our laurels.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE NEW RULE PARAMETERS FOR POST RACE? “I read part of that but honestly the whole LIS thing is a little over my head between thousandths of inches and a few more thousands of inches and P3, 4 and 5. I don’t know what any of that stuff means. My team seems to feel it is pretty good so I will kind of lean on them. As far as lugnuts and so forth, I think the sport is kind of in a box and had to do something for a number of reasons. It seems like they worked to find something that is pretty fair. I don’t know if there is anything really that important in there.”
YOU HAVE THE 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP ON YOUR SHOULDERS, YOU HAVE MENTIONED YOU WANT A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP. IS THERE DISAPPOINTMENT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO GET A SECOND ONE YET? OR IS IT UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TOUGH IT IS TO DO? “I want to win another championship. I think we are capable of winning another championship. I have had a handful of years now to reflect back on it and I don’t know if I feel like the drive that deserves to win the championship always wins the championship. I have kind of taken some solace in that. I felt like Jimmie and I were probably equal in 2012 and I won it. I felt I deserved to win it in 2014 and I didn’t. In my heart I feel good about where I am at and where our team is and the things that we have done. The title is great and the badge is great but I think being a champion or not being a champion is, although labeled on the outside by a badge, to me is about how I feel inside. I feel inside like I have won a championship in the last two years. I feel good about that. I feel like in 2012 there could be an argument we were pretty split between Jimmie and I. I guess maybe that is how I have looked at it and perceived it. I think this year, if we can win another race or two and have the consistency we have had over the last 15-20 races that I will feel like a champion whether I win it or not.”
HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THE 2014 CHASE WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT? “It is a formality of basically the format and what it rewards. I feel pretty good about where we are at and the things we have done and I am not looking back complaining.”
