BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Ford Fusion – ARE THE PENSKE GAMES GOING TO BE PART OF THE 2018 SEASON? “Yes, in fact I filmed it yesterday. All day. For about 10 hours. We are trying to have some fun. I was telling another group earlier that sometimes we have been accused at Penske of putting the F.U. in fun. This year we are trying a little harder.”
IF YOU COULD BE A NASCAR OFFICIAL FOR A DAY AND CHANGE SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? “If I could be a NASCAR official for a day, what would I change? Well, I would never want to be a NASCAR official. As much as we rag on them, that looks like one of the worst jobs ever. It does not look like any fun at all. If I was sentenced to that position, I would say that I would change – I only get one thing? There is a lot of trouble I could get into with this one. Before I answer this, has anybody said anything more controversial today than Kyle and Kevin did yesterday? No? Damn. You all need something to get some clicks. See, there are two levels of trouble I can get in. The trouble I can get in with NASCAR and the trouble I can get in with my wife. One is going to cost me a lot financially and the other is going to cost me a lot more financially.”
“If I could make one change it would be that the leader of the sport is at the race track every weekend. That would be my change.”
YOU MENTIONED THAT KYLE MAY HAVE SAID SOMETHING CONTROVERSIAL AND I WANT YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT. YOU HAVE TWO YOUNGER TEAMMATES. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON NASCAR’S MARKETING PUSH WITH THE YOUNG DRIVERS? “I am not a marketing whiz and I will say that first off. Beyond that, marketing is a form of promotion which there is no coincidence that the word promotion in jobs is the same word but with a slightly different meaning. I have always kind of held the same belief, whether it is in this motorsports circle, marketing circle, or outside in business that we should be promoting people based on their skills. Nothing else. Not any of the other forms of whether it is race, diversity, age, whatever. It should always be based on skill. With respect to that, as long as people are being promoted based on skill and have earned that, I am cool with it.”
DO YOU BELIEVE THE NEW HAWKEYE INSPECTION SYSTEM WILL EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD FOR THE FORDS? “Yes, if the new Hawkeye system is put in place and implemented for 2018 fully, not partially, fully, it would certainly level the playing field for Ford by enforcing the rules.”
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR ROLE IN PROMOTING THE SPORT? IS THAT PART OF YOUR JOB? “I think it is a part of my job. If you think of it metaphorically, I have a very good lifestyle and am very privileged. It is not lost on me. I am eating the fruits off a tree produced by generations before me. By Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and the list goes on. I am living off of what they have created in this sport that is so successful. In return for that, there is a question I think that isn’t just for me and not just for race car drivers but for all of us on what we are leaving behind for the next generation. The reality is that what I do today to promote the sport most likely makes very little difference in this time span and this era. I am not saying it makes no difference, but very little difference. What we all do to promote our sport makes a huge difference for decades beyond that and I believe that. The role that I feel responsible for is the same role that I would feel responsible for if I wasn’t a race car driver and that is to make sure I haven’t done something to the sport to damage it for future generations. I am trying the best I know how. Dale and Richard and all those guys left a hell of a legacy that I am not so sure any of us will be able to fulfil for the next generation. But I do feel an obligation to replant the seeds to grow the next orchard that the next generation will eat off of.”
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR FREE TIME NOW THAT YOU AREN’T OPERATING A TRUCK TEAM? “Well, I am trying to raise a daughter. That is fun. She is getting to the age where even though she loves mom a lot, she is moving about more and I want to be more involved in her life than what I was able to do before. Hopefully I will be able to do that. I have some other outside interests that I am pursuing too that I am not ready to make any announcements on. That will fill some of my time as well.”
DO YOU THINK THAT EVERYONE IS AS ON BOARD WITH THAT BIG PICTURE VIEW OF GROWING THE SPORT? “No. There are definitely not enough on board and it is not a predominant line of thinking. Credit to those that are actively engaged in doing it because I think it is great that they are but I absolutely wish there were more that cared about the future generations opportunities in this sport. I think a number of them feel there is not a lot they can do. That a lot of this sports success and failure is out of their hands. So I can understand that too.”
HOW WILL YOU HAVE TO ADJUST FOR THE NEW PIT STOP RULES? “I think adjusting for one less crew member is certainly going to be a challenge. I am so thankful that change coincided with Team Penske picking up another race team and those people that were displaced we were able to keep. The last thing I wanted to see was people lose their job. I would say that is the first way they are handling that new rule, that we were able to place those people in our company. Beyond that, I don’t think it is going to be that big of a change. The pit stops are going to be a little slower, probably about a second or so. I would expect that to affect the strategy. No more so than the pit gun rule which will slow down the pit stops probably another one or two seconds. Between the two changes I think you will see us where last year a good pit stop was something in the 10-second range, a good pit stop this coming year will probably be in the 12-second range.”
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR NASCAR TO OPERATE WITHOUT A TITLE SPONSOR IF NEED BE? “I think it is very possible to operate without a title sponsor and a lot of times I think the sport would be better off without one. That is just my personal opinion. I think that of course that revenue stream is great and sometimes those partners put us in a position of strength with being able to leverage outside opportunities that maybe the sport wouldn’t have gotten on its own. Other times they are a bit of a liability. I think we saw that with some of the telecommunications lawsuits over the last decade and other lawsuits going on right now. With respect to that, I think it is a bit of a neutral position for me.”
DO YOU FEEL THE SEASON IS TOO LONG? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD CHANGE? “There are a lot of things I would like to see different with the schedule and I think Kevin (Harvick) to his credit addressed a lot of them yesterday and did a good job with that. Yeah, I do feel like honestly we should race more under a shorter time span. If we raced twice in a week in the summer months especially when the weather is great and kids are out of school, it would be a great opportunity. You have that MLB All-Star break where there is essentially a week without any activity that I think is a tremendous miss for us not capitalizing on that week of sports basically being dormant. On the flip side of that, there is no reason in my mind for us to compete so frequently with the NFL in the fall months. I would like to see our schedule condensed time wise, even if it meant we ran more races. I think that would be very healthy for us.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT? “There are some bright spots and some dark spots too. I think we would be arrogant to not think there aren’t some spots that could use some work. The sport isn’t going away tomorrow. I think I told Bob Pockrass over here a few months ago that we are still on the airplane, we just might not be sitting in first class seats. But we are still on the airplane and that is great. I am grateful for that.”
TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOUR DAD INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION TO PURSUE NASCAR AS A JOB? “My dad and uncle were the two biggest influences in my decision to be in racing and be a race car driver. I am so thankful that I had them in the early days of my career to teach me the ins and outs of what matters, what doesn’t matter. Without them I just couldn’t be here. They taught me the work ethic and the savvy of how to make things work. I don’t think I would be here without them.”
AT HOMESTEAD YOU SAID THAT 2018 COULD BE A LONG YEAR FOR FORD. HAS ANYTHING CHANGED YOUR MIND ON THAT BETWEEN THEN AND NOW? “I think the biggest thing to me is seeing what happens with the Hawkeye system. That will be the determining factor on what manufacturer is successful this year. If the Hawkeye system comes in working fully I think we will see a very level playing field in 2018 and we are capable of winning.”
“It is inherent to the designs of the cars that some things weren’t able to be policed before that were designed into other cars that, with this system, it will eliminate it.”
WHAT HAS FORD DONE, SINCE YOU GUYS ARE RUNNING THE SAME BODY THIS YEAR, TO TRY TO CATCH UP TO CHEVY AND TOYOTA? “I think going back to what I was just saying. I think everyone at Ford is fully endorsing the Hawkeye system to fully and properly police the cars aerodynamic capabilities. That will level the cars to the submittal process. Basically when the cars are submitted to NASCAR they have to all have the same performance criteria but there has not been a system to enforce that that is what you actually race. To fully enforce that is what you actually race. The Hawkeye system is intended to fully enforce that.”
GOING BACK TO YOUR COMMENT EARLIER, BRIAN FRANCE HAS SAID THAT HE DOESN’T FEEL HE NEEDS TO BE AT THE TRACK BECAUSE HIS LEIUTENANTS HANDLE THE STUFF AT THE RACES. WHY DO YOU FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO BE AT THE TRACK? “It is important for any company that relies so heavily on outside partners to have a direct interface. This is such a big ship with so much going on week to week. With some respect, I would say that it is impossible for the sport to be managed with someone being here every week because of the travel situations being what they are and different things that come up. I completely understand that. But to some extent you have to be here.”
LAST TIME WE SAW TEAM PENSKE FIELD THREE CARS, AT TIMES ONE CAR OR ANOTHER WOULDN’T BE QUITE UP TO SNUFF. DO YOU FEEL LIKE TEAM PENSKE IS BEST EQUIPPED NOW TO FIELD A THIRD CUP CAR? “I think Team Penske is better equipped now than ever before to have three Cup cars. Is it perfect? Probably not. There is probably nobody at Team Penske that would deny there won’t always possibly be better ways. From a management and culture level there is quite a stark contrast form the three-car team in 2018 to the three-car team in 2010 which was the last time.”
