NASCAR: Brad Keselowski Calls Penalty ‘A Pretty Big Deal’
After NASCAR hit Brad Keselowski and his No. 2 team with a series of penalties on Wednesday, Keselowski reacted to the penalties by pointing out how big of a deal they truly are.
Following this weekend’s race in Phoenix it was announced that the No. 2 machine of Brad Keselowski failed post-race inspection. On Wednesday Keselowski and the No. 4 team of Kevin Harvick were both hit with penalties from NASCAR due to their cars having issues that were discovered post-race.
The No. 2 machine failed post-race inspection measurements while the No. 4 machine had an issue with their track bar mount and supports. The result is that Keselowski’s 5th-place finish and Harvick’s 6th-place finish are both encumbered. Additionally, the crew chiefs of both teams were fined and suspended (Rodney Childers for one race and Paul Wolfe for three). NASCAR also took away driver points (35 from Keselowski and 10 from Harvick) and owner points (35 from the No. 2 team and 10 from the No. 4 team).
There is no word yet as to whether or not either team will appeal, however Brad Keselowski was live on Race Hub when the news of the penalties broke and he took the time to talk about how big of a deal the loss of Wolfe and the points are for the No. 2 team.
"Well, first off, my crew chief, Paul Wolfe, is an elite crew chief, and I feel really lucky to have him. To lose a guy like that, it definitely hurts. He’s a great asset to our team, but this is one of those setbacks that I think every team faces and we’re just going to have to get through it. It looks like it’s going to be a handful of races and we’ll do the best we can during that time.I think it’s real important to explain why points matter this year. Last year, you got a win and you locked in and you got to the next round. This year with points, you still lock in with wins. The difference is there’s a huge points bonus for having the most points at the end of the season that carries all the way through the playoffs, and you only get that bonus if you’re one of the best cars and leading up front at the end of the regular season, which requires having a lot of points. Thirty-five points is a pretty big deal, and so is 10 points for Kevin (Harvick) and his team."
These penalties shouldn’t have any impact on Keselowski or Harvick getting into the playoffs. Keselowski has already won and the majority of NASCAR fans expect Harvick to win multiple times before the playoffs begin. The rub here comes down to finishing inside of the top-10 when the regular season ends and where inside of the top-10 these two cars finish.
Depending on where a car finishes when the regular season ends, they are awarded so many playoff points. For Keselowski, 35 points could easily be a couple of spots in the final regular season standings, and who knows what that loss in playoff points could result in during the playoffs. Even the 10 points for Harvick could end up costing him a position or two at the end of the season.
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The point being that with this new NASCAR format, regular season points matter and losing 10 or 35 at a time is not a position that teams and drivers want to be in.