Brad Keselowski pulled off one of the most memorable moments of the NASCAR season on Saturday night when he took the microphone during driver introductions at Bristol and proclaimed over the track’s public address system, “Kyle Busch is an ass!”
Brad Keselowski Explains Why He Told Bristol Crowd ‘Kyle Busch Is An Ass’
The comment drew a roar and thunderous cheers from the estimated 155,000 fans, many of whom were upset with Busch for intentionally wrecking Keselowski in the Nationwide race on Friday night.
So what prompted Keselowski to share his feelings in an unusual setting?
“Juan Montoya and I were talking about it (before driver introductions), and he said I wouldn’t do it,” Keselowski said. “I said, ‘Hell yeah I’ll do it!’ The preacher was standing there and I said, ‘Hey man, would you be offended if I said, ‘Ass?’
“He said, ‘No, man! ‘Ass’ is in the Bible.’ I said, ‘Thank you very much!’”
The response drew one of the loudest crowd reactions in memory – if not the loudest. It measured 104.2 decibels on SB Nation’s noise meter (a record).
“It’s all cool, man,” Keselowski said after finishing 19th. “Just say what you mean and be real. They appreciate that.”
Keselowski was lapped by Busch during the race and clearly didn’t cut his rival any slack in the process, crowding him and refusing to give an inch until Busch was able to pull away.
"Hell yeah I raced him hard!" Keselowski said. "I was just having fun. If I was a little faster, it would have been a lot more fun."
Busch, asked for his reaction to Keselowski’s comment, said sarcastically, “Who? I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Told Keselowski was in the 12 car, Busch replied, “I saw it, but I passed it.”
Though Keselowski found himself in the midst of controversy again, the Penske Racing driver observed that he has “a reputation for wrecking without causing wrecks.”
“It’s weird,” he said. “I think I have a reputation (because of) bumping. Hell, we all bump. It’s just some of us get away with it, some of us don’t.”
The Penske driver remained 25th in points in his first full Sprint Cup season. He said his No. 12 team was consistent, but consistently average.
“We just need a little bit of speed every week,” he said. “Then we’d be in contention to run up front and win these races.”
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