Keselowski rallies for second ’17 win after early penalty
MARTINSVILLE, VA. Brad Keselowski says stock car racing is about “living as close to the edge as you can without falling over.”
He did that Sunday on the way to winning the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He tested the edge. He went too far in the opening laps but pushed again late and thrived.
Keselowski was nabbed for speeding on pit road early in the race, dropping him to the rear of the field. Traffic was tough — perhaps tougher than usual — around the Martinsville halfmile, but Keselowski had fought his way to first by lap 406.
Over a series of laps from about lap 400 to 458, when Keselowski took the lead for good, he and Kyle Busch — no shy wallflower himself — ran mostly side by side, giving fans one of the most entertaining battles of the day. Busch eventually couldn’t keep pace, and he finished second by 1.8 seconds, a relatively big margin at Martinsville.
“There was definitely some gamesmanship out there,” Keselowski said. “Kyle is one of the best and drives for one of the best teams (Joe Gibbs Racing). He’s one I’m going to have to beat for the rest of my career if I want to win championships. But I want to race guys that are great.”
Keselowski said he entered the season with what he called a lofty goal — to race all year without picking up a pit road speeding penalty. In reality, such thinking was unrealistic. The edge is too tempting. But Keselowski underlined the fact that he will continue to push the envelope.
“There are going to be those moments when something happens and you have to recover from it,” he said. “But that’s what defines greatness in this sport. That’s why Jimmie Johnson and those guys have won seven championships. And we were able to overcome it today.”
Keselowski was particularly excited about scoring his first win at Martinsville, which, despite being a short track similar in some ways to the tracks where many drivers learned the sport, sometimes proves to be a difficult test. After winning, he left his car and walked into the stands to trade high-fives with fans.
And the grandfather clock that has been awarded to Martinsville winners for decades?
“I don’t like to keep trophies at my house, but this one is going to my house,” Keselowski said. “I hope I can add a few more clocks along the way.”
Early-season statistics sometimes speak loudly. Keselowski has two victories in the first six races, while two of the sport’s most accomplished teams — Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports — continue to search for win No. 1.
To get there, moving toward the edge, as Keselowski did Sunday, sometimes is a requirement.