Brad Keselowski Bluntly Shuts Down NASCAR’s Chase for ‘New Shiny Things’ in 4 Words

Motorsport can mean different things to different people. For Formula One fans, flitting from one city to another located thousands of miles apart offers a special thrill. But for NASCAR people, racing is pure nostalgia. For the 75 years of its existence, NASCAR has been ruled by fans and their emotions about their favorite drivers. Feel the essence of Iowa Speedway here?

After 18 years of existence, the NASCAR Cup Series finally made footfall in the Mid-West state. Although the repaving drew criticism at first, the 350-lap race enthralled the eager fans. Drivers like Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, and others were heart-warmed by the fan response, leading them to the question: Does NASCAR really need bigger markets?

Brad Keselowski upholds self-worth

Last year, with the Chicago Street Race, stock car racing’s top series launched into its first-ever street circuit weekend in a metropolitan city. The sport’s executives coordinated with city representatives to manage the larger crowd that turned up at the rain-battered race. This venture opened up opportunities for other metropolitan destinations or even international racetracks.

But can these newer prospects parallel the old spots? Definitely not, as Brad Keselowski argues. On a recent episode of ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’, while making sure he doesn’t get into trouble, Keselowski said, “When we go to the big markets – L.A., Chicago, New York, or international…We sometimes lose sight of the fact, why don’t we just serve the fans we already have? I think it takes a balancing act.”

The spectacular Iowa experience drove Brad Keselowski’s opinion. The RFK Racing driver fondly recalled the warm welcome the fans offered. “What I saw in Iowa – I loved that by the way – was fans that wanted us. Passionate fans were like, We’ve been waiting our entire life…to have a Cup race close by and I finally have it and it means the world to me. Those are the fans who come back, they don’t just come one year…They love our sport.”

And NASCAR takes this love for granted in pursuit of metropolitan racing circuits. “Sometimes I think that we forget about that when we’re chasing the new shiny things of whatever market it might be.”

The unprecedented fan reception at Iowa Speedway was enlightening. It fell in place with Brad Keselowski’s four-word personal philosophy: “Go where you’re wanted.” Clearly, NASCAR is flouting that as they try to grab the attention of global audiences and a younger demographic. But the Iowa race stood out, upholding the traditional fanbase of the sport.

The stunning reception also got NASCAR executives thinking. They are putting their heads together to improve the repaving, which received a ton of flak from fans initially.

Iowa holds bright hopes for the future

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Brad Keselowski is not alone in his views about Iowa. His RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher felt the “enthusiasm when arriving at the racetrack.” The infectious love reached a Team Penske driver as well, as Joey Logano said: “It’s definitely a cool place to see everyone show up and want to see a NASCAR race.”

The race itself was entertaining – producing several lead changes and an anti-climactic ending. That led Dale Earnhardt Jr to strongly pitch for a second Iowa race on the Cup schedule.

And NASCAR executives are planning to improve the track for potential future plans. Even the senior VP of competition, Elton Sawyer, admitted that the great response is prompting them to do a better repaving job. “We went into the weekend with a lot of unknowns. As I said last week, our goal going into Iowa when we announced it last October was not to repave. We wanted to get that first race on that old pavement and kind of get a data point, but that just wasn’t the case. Some areas needed some attention and we did that, and we have what we had there this past weekend.”

Thus, Iowa Speedway stands as a solid contender to bigger, more glamorous destinations. There is only one reason for that, as NASCAR’s legacy shows and Brad Keselowski testified: the fans.