Keselowski frustrated and confused

April 2, 2012 Greg Engle Archives, Main Page, NASCAR News Top Story, Top Stories 0

Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Outback Steak House Chevrolet, avoids the incident between Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, in turn two during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, 2012 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Outback Steak House Chevrolet, avoids the incident between Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, in turn two during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, 2012 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Brad Keselowski was upset with David Reutimann and mystified by NASCAR. The driver of the No. 2 Penske Dodge couldn’t understand why Reutimann stayed on track with a wounded car and ultimately changed the course of the race when his car lost power and stopped on the frontstretch.

Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Outback Steak House Chevrolet, avoids the incident between Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, in turn two during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, 2012 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Outback Steak House Chevrolet, avoids the incident between Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 5-hour Energy Toyota, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, in turn two during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, 2012 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

Nor could Keselowski understand why NASCAR scored him eighth for the final restart when he had taken the previous green flag in the fourth position and appeared to clear the wreck in Turn 1 in second place behind Newman.

“First off, go back to the yellow with the 10 car (Reutimann) stopped on the track,” Keselowski said. “That was really, really uncalled for and ruined the day for a lot of people, Jeff (Gordon), Jimmie (Johnson) and myself, from having a lot better finishes. I think we’re all really, really frustrated with that guy. We came in and got tires and definitely had a shot at the race (win), at least a top-four or -five finish for sure.

“Then the question comes, what’s the lineup for that last restart? That’s hard to tell. I don’t have all the info, whether they went by (reverting to the last scoring) loop, where the yellow came out or whether it was video review. My gut says we should have been a lot further ahead of where we were allowed to restart. I don’t have all the info, so it was one of those deals.”

Greg Engle
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Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.