“It’s not possible to get a Cup ride right now without being aggressive and without having some swagger in your step,” Keselowski said. “Does that make you a jerk? To some people, yes. To some people, no. It depends on where you’re coming from. If you look at the sport right now, there are no new drivers coming in.

“So whatever I’m doing is working and it’s gotten me to where I’m at and I’ve survived this [lack] of development drivers that are not getting opportunities because of that attitude, because of that aggressiveness.”

Keselowski says that NASCAR is about being aggressive and racing for wins. He seemed perplexed that Edwards was mad at him for the contact at Atlanta. He said he was trying to give Edwards room on lap 40 when got into the back of Edwards’ car, which slipped up the track and ran into Joey Logano.

Brad Keselowski lands after his flight at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Keselowski and Edwards were involved in the infamous Talladega crash last April, in which Edwards tried to block Keselowski while racing for the win on the final lap and the two made contact, launching Edwards’ car into the catchfence after getting hit by Ryan Newman. Keselowski also spun Edwards while racing for the win in the Nationwide Series race at Memphis last year and the two also had contact in the Nationwide race at Daytona earlier this year that resulted in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car flipping upside down.

“Most of the incidents that I’ve had that I’ve gotten negative feedback on have not been because I’ve been aggressive, with the exception of maybe Memphis, but they’ve been simply because I held my line and was not willing to be pushed around,” Keselowski said. “If you consider that to be aggressive, I guess you have a different definition of aggressive than I do. I consider that holding your ground and not being pushed around.”

Keselowski made it clear that he didn’t approve of what Edwards did at Atlanta.

“I don’t feel like being aggressive had anything to do with the issues we had at Atlanta,” Keselowski said. “The previous run-ins we had in the past are fairly balanced on both sides, and I really don’t feel bad about the run-ins that we’ve had as far as the ones where he’s been at fault or the ones where I’ve been at fault because, to me, they were all hard-racing instances up until Atlanta.

“To say that aggressive driving solely on my side was the reason for this is not really something that I agree with. To take that even further and say, ‘Why would Carl be mad at you if that wasn’t the case?’ or ‘Why would Carl have done what he had done?’ I’m not entirely sure. … I don’t think a guy that is simply mad at you for the contact we had earlier in the race at Atlanta would do what he did. There’s probably more to the puzzle that I don’t know.”

Keselowski also said the wreck at Talladega was a “completely different circumstance” and is not comparable. After the Memphis race, Keselowski said he talked with Edwards privately about Memphis and admitted he was too aggressive. After that race, Edwards said if Keselowski wanted to make things exciting for fans, that Edwards could make it exciting.

“When other drivers are critical of you, it’s sort of like asking Steve Jobs if the stock in Apple is going to go up – of course, he’s going to say it’s going to go up because he has something to benefit from,” Keselowski said. “That’s the same thing with other drivers. If you ask other drivers’ opinions on other people or scenarios or the sport, they’re going to give you an answer that is self-beneficial.

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