NASCAR Champion Brad Keselowski ended up in victory lane Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. Sunday, he ended up in a tire barrier just outside Turn 2.
On lap 49 while racing inside the top 10, Erik Jones got under Keselowski in Turn 2. Jones got loose and spun sweeping up Keselowski and sending both cars up the track. Jones’ Toyota ended up hitting the outside wall hard. Keselowski’s Ford meanwhile slid down the track and into a tire barrier used to protect a wall that’s part of the road course. The Ford ended up on top of the tires, but Keselowski was able to climb out unhurt.
“I just got loose and made a mistake,” Jones said. “I didn’t think Brad (Keselowski) would be so tight on me and I just lost it. It’s my fault. I feel bad for the 2 (Keselowski) and I feel bad for our team as well. It’s a shame, we had a good Stanley Camry and I just hate seeing it come down like that. I just wasn’t anticipating enough and I drove in too hard for it. It’s all good. We’ll move on. Wish we would have had a good day. Our car was really strong and we had a shot to probably win today. Just didn’t work out.”
“We had new tires and we were racing some cars that didn’t have new tires and wanted to make the pass there and got real tight to the 48 and lost the nose in the air,” Keselowski said. “I was trying to leave room and probably came down on Erik (Jones) more than I thought I did and he got real loose. No air on my car.”
Keselowski was not upset with Jones, but critical of the placement of the wall itself.
“There is this spot on the wall with just an atrocious angle,” he said. “I don’t know what that spot is for but it does not need to be there, but we found it. That is how racing goes. We find the things. This track really was part of the safety revolution about 15-20 years ago and I think it is time for another.”
“I think there probably should not be weird angles like that to wreck on,” he added. “It is what it is and I am glad I am okay. It is just a tough day for everyone on the Discount Tire Ford team.”
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.
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