Brad Keselowski made it comfortably to the 2024 playoffs with a win at Darlington in May this year. Having said that, it hasn’t been a tough journey before the win for the RFK Racing co-owner. While he went 110 races without a win, his first victory in three years couldn’t have been more fruitful. On the other hand, Ross Chastain missed out on a playoff berth last Sunday. While that would have been hurtful, what Keselowski said recently wouldn’t make him feel any better.

Chastain went into the race at Darlington on Sunday with a decent chance of qualifying for the final 16. Despite some strong competition, the #1 driver performed well. While he started the race 27 points below the cutline, his P5 finish on Sunday couldn’t land him a place in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this year isn’t going to be his.

Brad Keselowski goes down memory lane as he speaks about his ‘mental predisposition’

Growing up, racing was always in the blood of Brad Keselowski. The racing tradition started by his grandfather John Keselowski in the mid-1960s is still strongly continued by the RFK Racing driver. In fact, from a very young age, Brad Keselowski knew what he wanted to do. In an interview with Fox Sports in 2011, he explained his determination to become a racer from his childhood days.

He said, “I knew what I wanted to do way before I got into high school or even while I was in middle school. I was committed to going down the path — whatever it took — and I wasn’t going to let anything else get in my way.” However, as Keselowski spent the majority of his time in his family’s race shops, he faced some challenges then.

The veteran driver then said, “School was tough for me because as a young kid, I grew up in race shops. I didn’t spend a lot of time around other kids. I actually spent very little time around other kids. And so, to fit in, I always felt like I was being forced to be more of an adult than I was ready to be. Because of that, I never got caught up in your high school or juvenile social system where you have the preppy kids or the jocks. I never got caught up in that because I knew what I wanted to do. I really didn’t care about those social circles.”

While the experience then was not so memorable, Keselowski recollected one of the things that bothered him in his childhood. In a recent interview with The Athletic, journalist Jeff Gluck asked him an interesting question. Carrying off from the Ross Chastain interview in August, Gluck asked if Keselowski would prefer a seedless or seeded watermelon. It is no secret how Chastain comes from a farming background with watermelon being part of his roots and family business.

To this, the 40-year-old gave a surprising 4-word reply. He humbly said to Chastain, “I don’t eat watermelon.”  Now, there’s some history behind this. Brad Keselowski added, “I got sick off of watermelon when I was a kid and I’ve never eaten it since. You know how you have foods that once you get sick on them, you can’t eat them again? Well, mine was watermelon.”

While watermelon irked him, Keselowski how it affected him psychologically. He said, “You can’t touch it. It’s like you have this mental predisposition.” However, he had some good news for Chastain. The RFK Racing co-owner said, “But my kids love it, if that makes you feel any better. They’ll eat either kind and I’ll serve them either kind, but I don’t eat watermelon.”

Luckily, Keselowski’s kids enjoy the amazing taste of watermelon. No wonder he’s delighted with them.

Brad Keselowski feels grateful to have a boy child finally

Trending

After Tony Stewart’s Exit, Gene Haas Forms “Pseudo” Alliance With Another Former NASCAR Cup Series Champion

“Good Riddance”: $3.5 Billion Partner Could Cut Off Backing to Rick Hendrick, Claim NASCAR Fans

Tony Stewart’s Failure to Escape NASCAR With Nearly $50 Million Profit Exposed

“It All Just Becomes Fake”: When NHRA Icon Force Named His Potential Successors to Watch Out For

NASCAR Lawsuit: What Does the Preliminary Injunction Mean for the France Family?

For years, the Keselowski family has had a strong presence in the motorsports arena. Naturally, Brad Keselowski would love to pass on his Cup Series legacy to one of his children. While he had two daughters, the Keselowski family welcomed a boy child, Maize. With him being the youngest, Keselowski has two daughters.

While it is uncertain if his daughters will try their hand in motorsports, the chances of Maize doing that is much higher. In fact, in Keselowski’s words, the arrival of Maize has helped the family get better. He said, “It’s been pretty good. We finally have a boy in the family, which is good. If it was another girl, it might be harder. But seeing how it’s a boy, everybody is like, “Oh, this is different.” And they’re not competitive against each other. Having two girls, they are very competitive against each other. Now that it’s a boy, it’s like having a dog to them. It’s like a different species, so they don’t have to compete against it.”

Keselowski is in awe of his youngest child. He admires how Maize isn’t very fussy. Keselowski said, “I’m very fortunate. I’ve got great kids, and I feel very blessed by that. But specifically, Maize, who is our youngest, and as of this interview, nine months old, he’s just a really great baby. He sleeps well, eats well, he’s not particularly fussy. So that makes it really good.”

It is interesting to see if and when Maize enters the motorsports arena. While there’s still plenty of time, it will be nice to know if Keselowski’s youngest child likes watermelon or not. At the same time, it is interesting to see if Ross Chastain has a specific reply to Brad Keselowski’s dislike for watermelon.