Brad Keselowski Wins Verbal Spat With NASCAR … For Now
By Daryle Hier
Any racer hates the words: ‘not in the spirit of the rules.’ Yet that is what Robin Pemberton said after confiscating rearend parts from Penske Racing just prior to the NRA 500 last Sunday in Texas (source: Sporting News). There’s nothing worse than to be penalized when you didn’t technically do anything wrong.
Said Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing regarding the confiscation of rearend housing parts from his and teammate Joey Logano’s car (source: ESPN), making Logano almost late to the start of the race,
"“There’s so much stuff going on, you guys have no idea – you have no [expletive] idea what’s going on. I can tell you there is no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. The way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolute shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted in my life.”"
For the record and as a racer, I’m glad NASCAR didn’t fine Brad Keselowski for his outburst. I’ll admit I like Keselowski. However, I’m someone who will turn on even those I like if the story demands it. A couple friends of mine in writing circles, who know more than I, said that it’s possible that Brad K was dead on. Again, I don’t know if it’s true or not, so we’ll have to leave it at that.
What exactly are the rules?
Keselowski can be articulate and always appears to be informed on the latest, whether it’s in the garage, media or even what the heck is going on with social media like Twitter. His diatribe regarding his and Logano’s cars being over-aggressively checked by NASCAR officials, on the surface, appears to be against the association’s rules.
NASCAR stated that they prohibit anyone who is a part of NASCAR from disapproving remarks about the racing product. Denny Hamlin lambasted the Gen 6 car last month (see related articles) and was subsequently fined for the criticism. Said NASCAR’s Chairman Brian France to FOX Business News,
"“No, we’re not (fining him), because that’s the beauty of NASCAR: We do allow the drivers to express themselves in that way, even if they say things we disagree with. The line we draw is you can’t criticize the racing product.” And further he stated, “You can criticize our decisions, you can criticize everything else – which is more than every other sport might allow – but just don’t go talking about (how) our racing product isn’t the best in the world, because it is.”"
Some might say this is a fine line and that NASCAR is actually giving the current championship team – Brad Keselwoski is the reigning Cup champion – a break by not fining them. Back at the beginning of the season, Keselowski let anyone who wanted to hear know that he didn’t think much of the way NASCAR did business. Brad K was not fined for his observations.
As far as the Texas race was concerned, after the pre-race inspection and having to remove the parts in question, both Logano and Keselowski started in the middle of the pack and struggled for most of the race before finally improving at the end. Logano was able to grab a top five while Keselowski managed a Top 10.
Penalties still to be determined
There’s still a question as to whether the team will be fined for not being in the spirit of the rules. In laymen’s jargon, that means they didn’t actually break any rules but instead, may have done something that isn’t in the rules. Penske Racing was also involved in a technical inspection the week before at Martinsville, plus Keselowski was penalized for pitting outside his box when in fact he wasn’t.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing #2) and Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick
Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Brad Keselowski has become the Penske Racing mouthpiece. To state you are being targeted by the sanctioning body but not be fined is somewhat unusual. Could NASCAR have decided to give Penske a break for the official’s bad call at Martinsville? If so, then what are all the insistent inspections about? And will there be penalties for the so-called illegal rearend parts?
There are times as a race team and driver when it appears everyone is out to get you. And sometimes they are. Remember, Penske and Keselowski are the defending champion right now. Rumors are running rampant that Hendrick Motorsports clued NASCAR in on the purported violations (source: Associated Press) that were ‘not in the spirit of the rules’.
Whether Penske Racing endures this storm may have a large influence on the rest of the season and the championship. Stay tuned.
Additional Sources: NASCAR
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