Brad Keselowski Reflects On ‘Kyle Busch Is An Ass’ Comment At Bristol

When Brad Keselowski goes to autograph signings, he hears two comments from fans every time.

The first one: “Wreck Kyle Busch.” And the second one, in a nod to his infamous line at last year’s Bristol night race: “Kyle Busch is still an ass.”

“I get that every autograph signing I go to,” Keselowski said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Before I get the ‘Go win this week,’ I guarantee I get the ‘This week, I’m going to be in the stands – make sure you wreck Kyle Busch.’

“I’m like, ‘OK, alright. I didn’t want to win, I just wanted to cause a wreck this weekend.’”

Keselowski said he wasn’t sure how his Bristol comment changed NASCAR fans’ perceptions of him, but said he found the aftermath “kind of difficult and funny at the same time.”

That doesn’t mean he wants the “Kyle Busch is an ass” line to be his legacy or shape his image. He wants his on-track actions to do the talking.

“I want to have a fan base who likes me for who I am and what I do performance-wise, but I understand there’s more to this sport than that. And I don’t try to hide from that,” he said. “Certainly as I continue to perform better and better, I would like to think I would get more recognition for performance. That’s a large goal of mine.”

So what’s Keselowski planning to say to the Bristol fans this year?

“I don’t know what I’m going to say to top that,” he said. “I don’t even know if I should try. It was kind of its own moment and there was an authenticity to it that you hate to ruin just by having another moment just to have one.”