Brad Keselowski has never shied away from controversy. At just 28 years old, he took the sport by storm by winning the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series championship for Team Penske. However, he was one of those NASCAR champions who failed to get crowd support. It was somehow justifiable as Keselowski was just a young, aggressive driver looking to make his mark—he was a disruptor.
Just weeks before winning the title, he made headlines by tweeting from inside his car. During a red-flagged session at Phoenix Raceway, the Team Penske driver used a social media platform to engage with fans. This wasn’t the first time he was doing it, as just a few months back, during a delayed Daytona 500, he had expressed his frustration on Twitter (now X). But this time, his comments didn’t go over well with NASCAR officials, and he earned a $25,000 fine. However, this incident revealed that Keselowski isn’t worried about anything, and he is here for the change.
Fast forward to 2025, and Keselowski’s championship drought has stretched to 13 years. His career has had its ups and downs, but one of his most painful memories resurfaced recently. Once again, the Roush Fenway Keselowski owner and driver took to social media platforms to reflect on his failed 2014 championship run. He pointed out the biggest reason behind his heartbreaking campaign which could have earned him another title.
The 2014 season had all the makings of another championship year for Brad Keselowski. He led the series with six wins and looked like a legitimate threat to go all the way. But in the penultimate round at Martinsville, disaster struck. With just 35 laps to go, a mechanical failure forced Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford out of contention. Now, after more than a decade, Keselowski reflects on the issue and its impact.
In a Twitter post, he quoted a video of his Martinsville incident from 2014, saying, “Think it ended up being a rear gear. Killed our 2014 championship run…” His tweet brought back painful memories of how an unwanted incident destroyed what could have been his second title. He had been in contention to advance to the final four, but the mechanical issue left him with a disappointing 31st-place finish. Notably, it was the worst possible timing.
Keselowski had already needed a miracle at Talladega to advance to that round, and Martinsville’s setback put him on the brink of elimination. He was 31 points behind the championship leader and needed a win in the next two races. Despite fighting hard, Keselowski only managed the best finish of 3rd in the next three races and failed to make it to the championship run. The echoes of that heartbreak are still fresh, especially as he struggles through another tough season in 2025.
Think it ended up being a rear gear. Killed our 2014 championship run… https://t.co/UHBUDTeGq3
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) March 13, 2025
Keselowski’s recent tweet isn’t the first time he has turned to social media to explain or defend his past actions. In 2019, he posted a long Twitter thread about his controversial 2014 Texas incident with Jeff Gordon. Just a week after the Martinsville incident, Keselowski and Jeff Gordon were finishing hard to take a lead in the championship fight. Just like Keselowski, Gordon also had a 33rd-place finish in Martinsville and wanted to make his place in the final 4.
However, during the closing laps of the AAA Texas 500, Keselowski and Gordon made contact. Gordon’s No. 24 car suffered a flat tire and spun, crushing his title hopes. What followed was one of the most infamous post-race brawls in NASCAR history. Gordon confronted Keselowski on pit road, leading to a massive fight between their teams. Gordon called Keselowski “a dips—” and questioned how he had ever won a championship. However, Keselowski defended his aggressive driving, saying, “He left a hole. You leave a hole, you’re supposed to go for it.” Years later, in 2019, he doubled down on his stance in his Twitter thread, insisting that he wasn’t at fault.
Notably, the discussion about Brad Keselowski’s past failures comes at a difficult time in his career. Now a co-owner of RFK Racing, he entered the 2025 season hoping to revive his championship aspirations. He started strong with a runner-up finish in the Bowman Gray Clash. But since then, his results have been disappointing. His points-paying season began with a rough 26th-place finish in the Daytona 500. A crash at Atlanta left him 39th.
However, Keselowski managed a solid 15th at COTA but then struggled again at Phoenix, finishing 33rd. After four races, he is already far behind the championship leaders. For a driver who once dominated the sport, the current struggles are a tough pill to swallow. Yet, the season is young, and Keselowski has the experience to turn the tide. But ahead of the fifth race of the season, Keselowski reflects on another growing issue within NASCAR – the Energy Crisis.
Keselowski weighs in on the NASCAR energy crisis!
Brad Keselowski isn’t just a veteran driver—he’s a team owner, a businessman, and a forward thinker. That’s why he’s been one of the loudest voices calling for NASCAR to adapt to the changing world of energy and technology. Recently, he has been vocal about the growing energy crisis affecting NASCAR’s manufacturing sector. This comes after his team’s parent company, Roush Performance, faced a significant energy shortage.
On social media, Keselowski raised concerns about the rising costs and instability of the energy supply. “Seeing firsthand how this has become the first question for anyone looking to build a manufacturing plant, ‘How is the power there?’ When it’s unreliable and expensive, your operation is doomed,” he wrote. Notably, the issue extends beyond just Keselowski’s team. NASCAR’s three major engine manufacturers, Toyota, Ford, and Chevrolet, are all facing challenges due to supply chain disruptions and rising energy costs.
With fewer engine providers in the sport, any major delay in production could have serious consequences. Notably, this isn’t the first time that Keselowski has asked NASCAR to adopt a hybrid model. A few months ago, he had expressed concerns about upcoming manufacturers in the sport by revealing the rising share of Elon Musk-led Tesla in the American market. The 2012 Cup series champion believes that sport needs to adapt quickly or else it will fall behind. However, for now, Brad Keselowski remains focused on the ongoing cup series.
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