Brad Keselowski was released from an Atlanta hospital Wednesday night after being airlifted there following a serious crash during a test session at Road Atlanta earlier in the day.
NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski Sustains Minor Injuries In Major Crash
Keselowski was entering Turn 1 at 155 mph, but his No. 2 Penske Racing car sustained a brake failure, he said via Twitter. Team engineers told him he impacted the wall – which had no SAFER barrier – head-on at 100 mph.
The 27-year-old said he expected to be able to race this weekend at Pocono, though he tweeted pictures of a badly swollen ankle and an abrasion on another part of his body.
He seemed lucky to have escaped with no broken bones or further injuries, and said as much on Twitter.
@keselowski: Guess I needed a reminder. Cot or not, this racing S&@t is still dangerous.
Penske Racing said in a statement that the trip to the hospital was a “precautionary measure” and said Keselowski was able to exit the car under his own power.
But the aftermath of the accident certainly looked serious.
Five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was also at the test, and tweeted photos of Keselowski’s car, the skid marks from the crash and of the damage to the wall from the impact.
@JimmieJohnson: @keselowski is have a bad crash here at the test. He is one tough dude, I can say that much. #huge
The crash highlighted a weakness in NASCAR’s testing policy. Because teams are banned from testing on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, they are often forced to test at places like Road Atlanta, which are not up to modern safety standards.
Asked by a fan if he thought NASCAR would re-think its policy in light of Keselowski’s crash, he tweeted: “I wish.”
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