Brad Keselowski Puts Week as Villain Behind Him, Now Focused on Chase Title

If there were ever a perfect example of zero to hero, it’s Brad Keselowski.

One week ago at Charlotte, Keselowski became one of NASCAR’s most vilified drivers—a villain, if you prefer—after he tangled with Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart.

When usually mild-mannered Matt Kenseth explodes and clotheslines you, that’s some pretty serious stuff. For some, Keselowski's actions on pit road after the race had ended made him surpass Kyle Busch as the most vilified driver in NASCAR.

At least for a week.

But Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega was redemption for Keselowski. He raced everyone cleanly when he could very easily have given a repeat performance of Charlotte.

Really, how many people thought Keselowski had a chance to not only win Sunday’s race, but also advance into the eliminator round? All while guys like six-time champ Jimmie Johnson and NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., were sent packing from further advancement in the Chase?

Keselowski was in the same boat as J.J. and Jr.: win or face elimination. How he was able to do so while the other two couldn't showed a lot about his makeup.

The ruckus he caused at Charlotte was due primarily to frustration. He had fallen way back in the standings and ended last Saturday’s race in 10th place in the playoffs with Talladega his make-or-break race.

Keselowski could have continued his "No More Mr. Nice Guy" routine at ‘Dega, but at what price?

He has now become the poster boy of how, even on the verge of elimination, a driver still has as good of a chance to redeem himself personally and in the standings by running a clean and strong race. Keselowski’s frustration turned redemption from one week to the next.

This is a driver who was so bound and determined—almost to the point of desperation—to prove that his 2012 Sprint Cup championship was not a fluke. Rather, from the season-opening Daytona 500, Keselowski was a man on a mission to prove that the actual fluke was 2013, when he not only failed to defend his championship, but he also didn't even qualify for the Chase.

Now, Keselowski not only has a golden opportunity at redemption from last season. Winning a second Sprint Cup championship—in three years, to boot—would elevate him into a rather select group of drivers who have won multiple championships.

At the age of 30, the Michigan native has at least another 10-15 years ahead of him to win even more championships. Frankly, if he continues driving the way he did in 2012 and especially this season, we could be talking about Keselowski winning maybe four or five Cup titles in his career.

There's no question that the future is very bright for the man they call 'Bad Brad." He's the type of driver who learns from his mistakes, both on and off the racetrack. In turn, that has made him a better man today—and potentially a better champion four weeks from now.

Sure, he'll likely never lose the rep of being a hothead. But at the same time, that anger, passion and fervor to be the best and refusing not to take any guff from other drivers has both endeared and vilified him to fans.

As Yahoo's Jay Busbee said in his post-Talladega column, "That's the thing about Keselowski. He's doing what certain other drivers — you know their names — used to do: he'll beat you, he'll piss you off, then he'll beat you again."

On the surface, Keselowski has a lot in common with other noted NASCAR hotheads Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and both Busch brothers. While they all have occasional anger management issues, they’re also some of the most giving and caring individuals in the sport.

They all have such a passion for racing that sometimes they let themselves and their emotions get carried away. How many times have we seen Stewart, Harvick, Kyle and Kurt Busch and even a few others lose their cool one week, only to act like the nicest guys there are the following week?

That’s why it’s no different for Keselowski. That passion is what drives him. It's what he thrives on and—yes, it’s what sometimes gets him in trouble. Holding that emotion in check can oftentimes be harder than keeping the rear end of a race car from sliding out of control and pushing its driver into the wall.

Keselowski lost it at Charlotte. You won’t get an argument from anyone, including himself.

“Well, it's not something I enjoy,” Keselowski said in a post-race press conference. “I don't look to go out there and have to fight those battles. That just makes life a lot harder.

“For me, that means sometimes there's going to be some uncomfortable moments. Certainly there were some uncomfortable moments this week. There's been some uncomfortable moments in the past. I hope there's not any more uncomfortable moments in the future, but there probably will be.”

By doing what Keselowski did Sunday, he proved he’s not the ogre so many people portray him as, especially this past week.

Sometimes the best way to show your good side is to swallow your pride, take the hits and criticism, and then go out and race cleanly and without controversy.

And ultimately prove you’re not really all that bad of a guy after all.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski