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Sprint Cup
CUP: Keselowski – 2 Wins, 1 Championship
Brad Keselowski says he’s racing ‘full-bore’ in last two Chase events…
Brad Keselowski isn't ready to throw in the towel on his title hopes. (Photo: Getty Images)
The math is simple in Brad Keselowski’s view. He wins two races, and he wins the Sprint Cup championship.
Of course, other people, notably Chase point leader Jimmie Johnson, are likely to have something to say about all that, but it’s the course Keselowski says he’s taking with only stops at Phoenix and Homestead remaining on the Cup schedule.
“My goal is to go to the next two races and win,” Keselowski said Tuesday. “That’s where my head’s at. We control our own destiny if we do that. We’re going to have to go full-bore and win these races.”
Johnson leads Keselowski by seven points entering Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
“It’s not a little, and it’s not a lot,” Keselowski said of his deficit. “With two races left and the ability to win the last two, that’s enough to overcome that deficit. We feel like we can ride around it.”
Keselowski must remain the aggressor. It’s unlikely that Johnson and the 48 team will stumble.
“The message we’re trying to send is we’re not giving up,” Keselowski said. “We have a lot of tools in our toolbox to continue the fight.
“We’ll be able to go out there and regain the point lead and make a run for this championship. I know we have the cars and the team to do it.”
Keselowski figures his positioning would be better if not for what he described as a “couple of bad breaks that I’m not happy about.” He appeared to be in excellent shape to win last week’s race at Texas but fell victim to late cautions, and Johnson sprinted past him with two laps to go to push him into second.
“Four times at Texas we had control of the finish of the race, and a yellow or some other circumstance took that back from us,” Keselowski said. “Bad breaks caught up to us there at the end. But we sent a message that we’re going to continue to fight hard as far down the line as it takes.”
He said the 48 team does “a great job and they’re a great group. They’re doing a great job of managing mistakes, but they still make them, just like we do. Those mistakes are going to happen to everyone. It’s how you recover from it. They’ve done a good job, as have we. You’ve got to try to minimize them, make as few as you can and get a little luck to recover from them.”
Keselowski generally takes a more active role in race- and pit-planning that most drivers, and he said that will continue – and probably expand.
“I’ve said before that of all the sports or roles in professional sports that a race car driver is most similar to an NFL quarterback,” he said. “There’s a certain level of physical talent that you have to have to throw the ball down the field, but a large part of it is decision-making.
“The leading athletes can run around and throw the best pass, but you have to be a great decision-maker and great leader. I feel that same way. It shows the importance of a solid mental approach to being a great race car driver.
“I look at the role I have in the sport right now, and it’s grown. I’ve had some success being more of a leader and more of a thinker inside the race car. With that success, I continue to evolve that. I’ve evolved my style, without a doubt. As I continue to be more successful, I continue to evolve my style in that manner. It’s Paul (crew chief Paul Wolfe) and the team, too, of course. If there’s a way I can complement that and help them get to the next level with some of the information I have, it’s going to make it all that much better.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Of course, other people, notably Chase point leader Jimmie Johnson, are likely to have something to say about all that, but it’s the course Keselowski says he’s taking with only stops at Phoenix and Homestead remaining on the Cup schedule.
“My goal is to go to the next two races and win,” Keselowski said Tuesday. “That’s where my head’s at. We control our own destiny if we do that. We’re going to have to go full-bore and win these races.”
Johnson leads Keselowski by seven points entering Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
“It’s not a little, and it’s not a lot,” Keselowski said of his deficit. “With two races left and the ability to win the last two, that’s enough to overcome that deficit. We feel like we can ride around it.”
Keselowski must remain the aggressor. It’s unlikely that Johnson and the 48 team will stumble.
“The message we’re trying to send is we’re not giving up,” Keselowski said. “We have a lot of tools in our toolbox to continue the fight.
“We’ll be able to go out there and regain the point lead and make a run for this championship. I know we have the cars and the team to do it.”
Keselowski figures his positioning would be better if not for what he described as a “couple of bad breaks that I’m not happy about.” He appeared to be in excellent shape to win last week’s race at Texas but fell victim to late cautions, and Johnson sprinted past him with two laps to go to push him into second.
“Four times at Texas we had control of the finish of the race, and a yellow or some other circumstance took that back from us,” Keselowski said. “Bad breaks caught up to us there at the end. But we sent a message that we’re going to continue to fight hard as far down the line as it takes.”
He said the 48 team does “a great job and they’re a great group. They’re doing a great job of managing mistakes, but they still make them, just like we do. Those mistakes are going to happen to everyone. It’s how you recover from it. They’ve done a good job, as have we. You’ve got to try to minimize them, make as few as you can and get a little luck to recover from them.”
Keselowski generally takes a more active role in race- and pit-planning that most drivers, and he said that will continue – and probably expand.
“I’ve said before that of all the sports or roles in professional sports that a race car driver is most similar to an NFL quarterback,” he said. “There’s a certain level of physical talent that you have to have to throw the ball down the field, but a large part of it is decision-making.
“The leading athletes can run around and throw the best pass, but you have to be a great decision-maker and great leader. I feel that same way. It shows the importance of a solid mental approach to being a great race car driver.
“I look at the role I have in the sport right now, and it’s grown. I’ve had some success being more of a leader and more of a thinker inside the race car. With that success, I continue to evolve that. I’ve evolved my style, without a doubt. As I continue to be more successful, I continue to evolve my style in that manner. It’s Paul (crew chief Paul Wolfe) and the team, too, of course. If there’s a way I can complement that and help them get to the next level with some of the information I have, it’s going to make it all that much better.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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