Brad Keselowski, girlfriend expecting baby girl

Brad Keselowski and girlfriend Paige White are expecting their first child, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion revealed in a blog post Wednesday.

Keselowski did not share White’s due date, but did disclose the gender -- a girl. He and White have been dating since late 2013. Drivers Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Larson became first-time fathers within the past year, while Kyle Busch will join the club this spring.

“I know that we’re not doing this in the traditional order of things,” Keselowski wrote on his personal website. “I will simply say this: I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and Paige is a very large part of that. She’s an amazing person. She’s soft-spoken, well-educated and smart. She’s beautiful, which never hurts.

“Most importantly, she understands who I am and where I’ve come from in ways that most people wouldn’t know or understand. Her family, which is extremely supportive and feels like an extension of my own, came from very humble beginnings, just like mine did. She’s seen the world from a lot of different perspectives that most people never get to see.”

Coming off a season where he became NASCAR’s No. 1 villain following on-and-off-track altercations with Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, Keselowski did ask fans to keep their vitriol directed at him and not his daughter.

“Some of you like me. Some of you dislike me. You all share your thoughts with me via social media, or in person at the tracks,” Keselowski wrote. “I have no problem with any of that, good or bad. I’m a public figure, and that’s what I’ve signed up for. But the baby girl we’re having hasn’t signed up for any of that. So if you can keep the focus on me, that would mean a lot to us.”