It was a championship feast on SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub, as newly crowned Sprint Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski brought his unique perspectives from the 2012 season, including everything it took to claim the title. He joined host Steve Byrnes for tonight’s special edition of the show. A few of the quotes:
Steve Byrnes: What was the vision you had for Penske Racing?
Brad Keselowski: To be a Sprint Cup champion. To be a championship team that produced cars and people that shared a common goal of greatness. It sounds really easy, but I can assure you, it’s a lot harder than it sounds.
Byrnes: In just three Cup seasons, you ‘ve gone from 25th, to fifth, to first. Has your ascension to the top surpassed even what you dreamed of, in terms of quickness?
Keselowski: I never dreamed of, at a young age, of being a Sprint Cup champion. I thought I would be doing well just to be a guy who’s winning races in the Truck Series. That was as big as my goals were. But obviously, as different opportunities came up, I had the opportunity to drive for James Finch when they raced at Talladega, with Rick Hendrick and so forth; I started to think that big. But it’s amazing how those things change. I ‘m living beyond what I could have ever asked for in life, and I feel very, very fortunate.
Byrnes: Did you think about winning a championship heading into the season? Keselowski: Oh, absolutely, without a doubt we thought, ‘what can we do to be the best team possible? ‘ Now there’s no guarantee of any result in sports, that’s what makes it so great and compelling to watch and be a part of. But you have to approach it as being a competitor, as though you have the opportunity, and you have to believe in yourself to have that confidence because as the member of a team, a competitive team, if you don ‘t believe in yourself, why should anyone else?
See full Q&A; at SPEED.(11-20-2012)
