Keselowski said what?

Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards showed up at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday ready to face the world and the media for the first time in two weeks.

Two Sunday’s ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Edwards, who was some 150 laps down, tapped Keselowski, who was in the top ten at the time, and sent Keselowski’s Dodge flipping through the air.

Edwards later admitted that while the bump was intentional, he certainly didn’t mean for Keselowski to end up flipping through the air. The move was a culmination of on-track incidents between the two drivers over the last year and was no doubt brought to the surface when Keselowski was involved in an incident earlier in the day that sent Edwards into the wall and out of the race.

Later in the week, NASCAR put Edwards on probation –a literal slap on the wrist- owing to their new ‘have it boys’ attitude. They also made a point of saying their biggest concern was the car taking off into the air than they were with the actual feud.

Soon after the probation was handed down, both drivers issued sanitized statements supporting NASCAR and their actions.

Friday there were no sanitized statements.

As it turns out, young Keselowski, who is in his first full season as a Sprint Cup driver, isn’t a favorite among many of the veteran drivers in the garage.

"I think Brad needs to know that there are a lot of guys he has rubbed the wrong way," reigning four time champion Jimmie Johnson said. "I think he needs to stay true to who he is, and I do respect that. But you go through the garage area, and he has for whatever reason turned the garage against him. And if I were in his shoes, I would be working hard to correct that.”

Johnson was quick to point out that he has had no on-track encounters with Keselowski.

"But if you watch the Nationwide races there's a long list starting with Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards and there's just like an overall brewing of thought and discussion in the garage area,” Johnson said. "I think some of it has to do with when you come into the sport, especially at the top level as a rookie, if you like it or not, you're going to take a few lumps before you're given that opportunity to pass some out. And I believe he's come in and has passed out more bumps than he's taken."

In the final Nationwide Series race of 2009, Denny Hamlin spun Keselowski out. It was a move in retaliation for a spin Keselowski caused a week prior.

Since the Atlanta incident, Keselowski has gone on record as saying not only will he not back down, he will not change the driving style in order to win any friends among the veteran drivers.

"The fans are like the ultimate gauge in our sport and ultimately dictate what's right or wrong," Keselowski said Friday at Bristol. "So far I've got a lot of positive response."

NASCAR will meet with both Edwards and Keselowski on Saturday along with their respective car owners.

Keselowski said Friday, he didn’t know what to expect. Although he did joke that he hoped there would be doughnuts.

"I don't know. I know I'm going to bring my ears. I'm going to listen as much as I talk and there's a lot of high-profile people I'm sure that are going to be there,” he said. “I think you have to come in with the right mindset to take anything away from it.''

As for his attitude towards what the veteran drivers might think of him, Keselowski admitted he doesn’t have a lot of interaction with them.

"The only time I really ever talk to other drivers is when I bump into them.” Keselowski said. “Nobody really reaches out to me. I try talking to a few of them and they didn't really seem that interested. To be honest even ones that I don't really feel that I've done anything to make them mad. I think everybody is trying to do their own thing.''

Edwards sounded a bit more down to earth when asked what he expected from the meeting.

“I really think that we’ll come out of it better,” Edwards said. “In the end, hopefully, this is something that six months from now we can look back and go, ‘Man, I’m glad that’s over with,’ and everybody will maybe understand one another better. That would be the best thing.”

As for his attitude towards the drivers who he has to race against each week, and a group of people who may not all necessarily be fans of his, Keselowski seemed almost indifferent.

"You're not going to make your competitors happy. It's not possible,” Keselowski said. “Part of running well is making your competitors angry. I'm sure that there's a part where they're angry because I make contact with them. Like I said all along, I can point the finger back the other way and say just as many times where I've been right as wrong. I'm not going to sit here and whine about it. It's all even in my mind. When you first come into this sport, I don't think other drivers are OK with it being even.''
 

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