NASCAR: 10 questions for Brad

Brad Keselowski is in excellent position to give legendary car owner Roger Penske his first NASCAR championship.

Keselowski, a 26-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., holds a commanding 384-point lead over Carl Edwards in the Nationwide Series with five of 35 races remaining.

In preparation for this weekend’s race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Keselowski sat down for 10 questions with That’s Racin’:

What would it mean to win the Nationwide Series championship?

See, that’s not something you can really say, it’s more something that you feel.

But more so than anything else, I would see it as a culmination of a dream — a lot of sacrifice, a lot of work.

There are so many others that have put the work in and it would mean it was all for something. It’s something I would definitely take a lot of pride in.

What does it say about the Penske organization that it has a legitimate chance to win NASCAR’s two biggest championships in the same season (Sprint Cup and Nationwide)?

I think that’s pretty awesome.

A lot was made at the start of the year about Dodge putting all its eggs in one basket, so to speak.

From being in the Chevy camp, there was very little taken from team to team that I saw.

Obviously, the more cars you have, the better your odds are.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have better cars, it just means you have more cars.

What do you think your first impression has been to NASCAR fans?

It’s a tough question and I think the media plays a large responsibility and role in it.

I think there is a different perception by fans that I speak with personally versus the fans that are introduced to me through only the media.

I don’t think there is one clear answer. I think there is a huge divide in the two groups.

When dealing with the aftermath of on-track incidents with Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch why has it been important for you to maintain you would not change your driving style?

I think retaliation in general is one of the worst things that happens in our sport... I think it cheapens the sport.

My retaliation is to not do anything different, to show that I won’t be intimidated, that wrecking me isn’t going to solve your problem for the rest of your career.

That’s my way of retaliating. Essentially what the other person has done is jeopardize their own reputation, their own car, just to wreck me knowing I’m going to race the same way come next time. So, what did you gain?

You just took from me.

You didn’t gain anything for yourself.

Do you ever ask yourself why you find yourself in these kinds of situations?

Yes, I do. All the time... The new guy who comes in gets that negative perception.

The sport as it stands right now has no turnover.

The longer it stays that way, the longer I stay at the bottom of the totem pole.

Do you feel you are accepted by your competitors in the Cup garage?

No, I don’t think I’m accepted. I feel like they are confused or they don’t know exactly what to make of me.

I don’t know how I feel about that.

If you polled them all privately you would get a lot of different answers.

I think the only real continuity in their answers would be that I am very aggressive.

What has been the biggest contributing factor to where you have gotten in your career today?

Hard work and not necessarily all by me — family and friends, too.

Why do you race?

There are few things that you can do in your life that demand 100 per cent from you all of the time... Racing from day one has had that ability and I have respected it because of that.

I respected the fact that it made me want to get out bed when nothing else did.

Who have you learned the most from in NASCAR?

I would have to say a group, when I was working in the Hendrick organization.

If you weren’t racing, what would you be doing?

I would be in the military somewhere; probably not in the Army. I’m not a real big guy. Probably like maybe the Air Force.

My sister joined the Air Force. I always like pilots and was fascinated by fighter pilots.