#2- Brad Keselowski was fined $25,000 on Monday for tweeting during the red flag at Phoenix International Raceway. The punishment was confusing to fans who vented on Twitter, of course, wondering why Keselowski was punished for Sunday’s tweets when he was celebrated by NASCAR for doing the exact same thing in February’s season-opening race. Some alleged the Sprint Cup Series points leader was actually being disciplined for his profanity-laced outburst after Sunday’s crash- and fight-marred race. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp on Tuesday dismissed the conspiracy theories, and said drivers had been told after the Daytona 500 that electronic devices – including cellphones – could not be carried inside the race cars going forward. ‘Brad’s tweeting at the Daytona 500 was really our first introduction to the magnitude of the social media phenomenon at the race track, especially how we saw it unfold that evening,’ Tharp said. ‘We encourage our drivers to participate in social media. We feel we have the most liberal social media policy in all of sports, and the access we provide is the best in all of sports. But we also have rules that pertain to competition that need to be enforced and abided by. Once the 500 took place, and in the days and weeks following the 500, NASCAR communicated to the drivers and teams that while social media was encouraged and we promoted it, the language in the rule book was clear and that drivers couldn ‘t carry onboard their cars electronic devices, like a phone.’ NASCAR did not issue a technical bulletin to clarify phones could no longer be inside cars, and the clarification to drivers was apparently done quietly. In fact, Keselowski tweeted from Victory Lane at Bristol in March, and from inside his car parked on pit road during a rain delay at Richmond in September. It’s possible someone could have handed him his phone both times.(in part from the Associated Press)(11-14-2012)
UPDATE Don ‘t look for Brad Keselowski to challenge NASCAR’s authority and carry a cell phone in his car on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. ‘I will say probably not,’ Keselowski said during Thursday’s champion press conference at Homestead. Asked if he thought it was hypocritical to be fined after his Daytona phone usage got NASCAR so much publicity, Keselowski said, ‘It doesn ‘t matter whether it is, it exists and I have to work around it.’ Asked if he had been warned by NASCAR prior to Phoenix, Keselowski said, ‘I ‘d rather stay out of that line (of questioning).’ But when asked what the fine meant to the future of social media in NASCAR, Keselowski said, ‘It means you can still be involved in social media. NASCAR has drawn the line as what you can do in the car.’(ESPN)(11-15-2012)
