NASCAR at Darlington Raceway, May 2024: Brad Keselowski post race

sit next to me to you can sit right here I'm sit in the middle all right we'll go ahead and get started with our post race uh press conference we're now joined by our race winning driver and owner Brad kazlowski and his daughters utum and Scarlet we'll go ahead and open it up if you have a question please raise your hand we'll try to get to as many as we possibly can we'll go to Bob Cameron and Jacob Bob pck Fox Sports it's the first time the six has been in Victory Lane since 2011 so I'm curious if that means anything to you just from a historical sense uh yes and no I'm not a huge numerology guy but uh it's it's a still a historic number in the sport U you know all the single digit numbers I think and NASCAR kind of have a this Legend to them so um um it's nice to to get it back in Victory Lane uh there's a lot of things to to be excited about so it's really hard to pick one over another right uh whether it be just winning as a whole winning at ding winning locking into the playoffs winning with my family here winning on Mother's Day I don't know how to pick which one means the most but they all mean a lot I can tell you that um so uh it's good for for Jack to have been here too I'm sure I'm missing good for Ford first s with the Dark Horse and you know they've had you know a rough go the last few uh uh months so there there's a lot to be excited a lot to like about it um not sure I know how to scale it Bob which ones are more than others and obviously busher was not the happiest after this one and I'm curious you know we were talking to him does he need a race any you know dirtier or anything to to get a win and so what would you tell him if he asked you that or people said he needs to be a little bit more not as Pol you know Chris has his style and it's worked really really well for him I don't think Chris needs to change a darn thing about what he does um it might not have worked out today but there's other days where it works for him um and makes him what he is makes him special makes him good um I hate it I didn't get the result out of it I know he had some damage on the car and that was holding him back a little bit and so he wasn't able to drive away like you would assume a leader would do on a situation like that uh but I thought he did a great job of putting themselves in position and uh to not get a result I'm sure it's hard to stomach um and it should be hard to stomach that's what you want out of your driver right you want him to be upset when he doesn't win um so uh yeah I would say you know Chris isn't sitting in front of me now but I would tell him just keep being Chris keep doing what you do go to Cameron and then Jacob Cameron Richardson nascar.com Brad you've had a lot of important wins Monumental wins in your career just where does this one rank for your for you personally for your driving career you know given you know the last two three years where you went without a win yeah ranking wins is hard um you know your first win is is always really special and then there's you know these other moments in between you know winning here in 18 and sweeping the weekend was awesome that that's one of the best weekends of my life uh I remember coming home from that and thinking you know this is uh this is As Good As It Gets right and uh you know then you have other wins that you know you mean a little less you're like oh I kind of feel guilty about that right I want to take those for granted uh but Darlington to me has its own thing about it its own Mystique uh where it's always been like this really tough driver's track and uh you know to to win here multiple times kind of puts in a crowd of drivers that uh I think most of us would recognize as Elite and so um you know it if it it feels really good because not of what it means uh you know whether it be the the fame or the the money or all that and not really even about um you know other people cheering and being excited I'm glad my fans are happy I think that's awesome but it's it's like a self-respect thing when you win at Darlington right uh because as a driver we all know when we come here how tough this place is and when you win here like you as a driver and you know what it means it's like you you almost respect yourself right um and that that sounds kind of egotistical as I'm saying it but I I don't know how else to say it but um there's certain wins that you just look back on a driver career and they look back on a driver's career and they say um this one means a lot to me personally because I know what Darlington is I know what it means to a sport I know what it means to to win here and uh I'm glad to be on that list multiple times we're GNA go to Jacob and then we're going to go up to the Press Box to Jim and over to Matt Jacob Silman Race Face digital Brad question in two parts for you first you talked right here where's he oh there back okay um you talked about this one meaning a lot in a lot of different ways you came to RFK from Pensky when you said you said it at the beginning wanting to make the organization better we've seen a lot of that over the last three years but not just as a driver but from the ownership standpoint and what you've poured into the organization how rewarding is finally being able to sit in Victory Lane in your own right yeah I mean I I think no matter what you do in life you want to leave a mark and uh some in other ways than others um and uh you know I'm I'm really proud of the career I've had at Pensky and I always will be um it was a really special place to work with some special people um and and this is just another chapter right it doesn't replace that chapter um but it's another chapter where you know I can look in the mirror and say that uh you know I'm leaving some kind of Mark on the sport maybe even some the people uh you know I take as much pride in anything as as helping the people and being on teams and seeing that you know the the 19 20-year-old kid that comes in as a intern and and watching them learn something or seeing the 23-year-old that uh just graduated college and didn't make the NFL draft but comes in as a pit crew member and uh is now going over the wall and has a good job and does a great job um like I think as much about that as I do any my own success CU it it feels so good to you know leave a positive mark on on others that way um and so it's just another chapter for me um I don't know what the next chapter will be I'm not done with this one I I hope I got a lot more pages to write uh took a little longer than I would like to to have got an official win although I did win uh The Duel there right out of the gate but I guess that that doesn't count does it uh but uh you know we were we were so close for so long this is our class clown by the way this is this is my child um I don't know if you guys picked that one up uh where was I going with that uh but uh you know so to speak I'm just thrilled that uh I'm able to put some meaningful pages in this this chapter and I hope that there's a lot more to come I was I I'm I'm glad that we're getting a little levity from the girls because that was where I was going with the second part of this uh I had a picture in Victory Lane where it's you Paige and the three kids and those are the moments you can't trade how special is it to you know to have one where these two certainly are going to remember it as much as you are but to have all three of them be a part of this yeah one of my probably favorite childhood memories is being in viictor Lane with my dad and I think I was uh oh 10 or 11 years old just a year or two older than than Scarlet here and I'll never forget that day I'll never forget the butterflies on my stomach as my dad was leading with just a few laps to go and uh you know I I want that same memory for them right uh this is one of those core memories that I have and U I'm just glad to see it come together for them yeah Autumn were you nervous at the end no no yep she's on cloth here all right we'll go up to the Press Box to Jim if you still have a question and then down here to Matt Jim mutter motorsport.com uh congratulations Brad thank you um just following up kind of like on the organization you talked specifically about how big wins at Darlington are uh I guess the last one for the Rous organization was with Greg bipple in 2006 I just wondered what does it mean in the time that you have been a part of RFK to see the transformation from what it where it was to a point where you get a win like today and also have two cars that are obviously capable of winning races every week and perhaps competing for a championship again yeah I it's a heck of a ride gy um you know so much has changed over the last three years from when I walked in the door and you know I see just a group that keeps getting stronger um it's tough because I feel like there's been a lot of uh two step forwards one steps back um and you keep doing those and you keep doing those and um you know everybody kind of looks at like oh we just took these two steps forward why we take another step back and it leads to the next game uh we took a pretty big step back over the offseason it was with a lot of intentionality and in a couple critical categories we paid for that dearly to start the year and kind of lost some performance uh but it was in the name of being able to do this right here win races honest and be competitive and it the two steps forward are just now being realized um never comes as quick as you want it to it's a tedious painful process that takes a you know a deep grind at all levels uh whether that's the driver level the the organizational level the pick crew level uh but that that grind is worth it when you have moments like this and um I I surely appreciate it we'll go to Matt and then down here to our left Matt Weaver Sports not I don't want to interrupt no you're fine where are you over here so why was Matt McCall going back three years plus into this why was Matt the guy and when you talk about leaving a a positive impact on other people too how much are you proud and happy for him as much as you are selfishly you yeah well I mean I I hope he would say the same thing that uh I've pushed him forward and he's pushed me forward uh there are a lot of things I like about Matt um Matt's a grinder Matt came in and wasn't a afraid of the challenge um he and I both knew and we sat down uh you know before we made he we made the decision together to to pair up and I I told him hey look I'm just going to be honest with you this is going to suck I this is not going to be fun there there's going to be a lot of moments of of pain here with expectations that are probably unrealistic and uh I think Matt appreciated that Honesty uh and I appreciated the fact that he didn't run from it he wasn't like ah what do you mean you know like but he could see it himself um and so I think there's a mutual respect there and my follow-up kind of addresses that same point because I asked him this too but you were upfront with him and said it was going to suck but I could say looking at it from like our standpoint that there were points over the last three years where things were not going right there were penalties or just performance woses that have broken other teams and pairings apart what were the the factors the honesty or trust things like that that prevented you guys from allowing you guys to stick it out and see it through yeah I think we have open and honest conversations with each other um where we you know are able to kind of have the normal conflict resolved that a team would have and then probably some on top of that um um you know I I I'd never looked at Matt and said hey you can't do this I've never felt that way we we both I'm sure have had moments where we're like oh this is not going right and uh you know kind of the moments of Doubt um but you know there's been some wins that got away from us we like ah I made a mistake or um maybe we left something on the table with the car and no sting uh but you know that that's part of it I appreciate the fact that he likes said I'm willing to to take risks calculated risks and doesn't blow up over it and vice versa I like the fact that he's willing to do that and and when they don't work it's really easy to you know kind of just point a lot of fingers and divide and conquer and I think uh he's done a great job of doing the opposite of that I'd like to think I have to when it comes to our relationship um so you know I made a commitment to him when you know he came over that he was the guy and that we're going to work through those issues as they come of course you always hope they don't come right you know but there's an inevitability to that um it's been it's been really painful it's been painful for me painful for him but we found a way to build and get better through it all right we're going to try to get to as many questions as we can and we're not going to be able to get to everyone's hands up so you guys can try to keep it to one question so we can get to as many as possible be much appreciate am I talking too slow no you talk as much as you want to Brad you're you're great we'll come over here to the left and then go to Jordan John and Dustin Chris Weaver with Fox 8 wghp up in High Point uh Brad you're going to be in the All-Star Race next week I think you would have anyway with the championship deal but um when you look to that the excitement of going back old school again this year but the idea of racing on these goodye tires that have an option and what are your thoughts about the All-Star Race and and and now playing out that option tire and how to how to do this again next week yeah I mean it's it's uh one week at a time kind of sport I tell you that um and uh I'm probably not going to think about the All-Star Race for another day or two to be quite honest I'm going to try to enjoy this and I know the work that comes uh comes with it uh before and after and um you know but it should be good I mean I I like the concept I love the fact good Year's willing to take chances and they've done a great job and I come down here to Jordan Jordan bian the athletic uh Chris has got four wins since you've taken over obviously we know this is you haven't um what has it been like to digest that though seeing the success they've had they they they found something they've been in Victory Lane they're having those moments that you haven't how do you process that as you go through this uh well I'm I'm happy for them uh he's my teammate and you know he's some regard guard an employee right um as a driver though yeah there's the natural you know comparison that everybody likes to do the comparisons um and I get it right it's uh some of those comparisons are fair and some of them aren't you know I I I think that uh Chris has done an excellent job at putting himself in position to win races um and catching the good breaks to go with it you know I I thought last year when he won Michigan it was a perfect example of just that he uh put himself in a great spot just dug hard didn't have the fastest car and and won the race like that's that's amazing he uh he's been able to make things happen he's in a good spot personally and professionally you know good age good experience level he's surrounded by some really good people he's significantly underrated I don't know why nobody else tried to steal him from us you know when we resigned him last year I thought for sure somebody else was going to make a run at him and to my knowledge they never did I I don't know why nobody else sees in him what I see in him which is a guy that's a winner that you put in the right situation can be a multiple time not just race winner but even Champion with the right equipment um and he doesn't get that credit and respect I don't know why um maybe it's because he's so humble but I've been happy to see him be successful um and and I've never really SP spend a lot of time kind of look in the mirror comparing our success I just want to confirm I I heard this but I want to confirm you mentioned it you have resigned Chris to a multi-year contract extension yeah we did that sometime last year December yeah it wasn't was wasn't December it was no it was it was in the summer go to John then Dustin John new bnbc sports so over the past you know month or so you've been very realistic about inching forward moving forward you guys are getting closer with you know the Dark Horse now you got the win so realistically like what's that next step multiple wins you know um I'm I'm just ecstatic about the K 600 we've worked so hard to have fast cars and hope that carries over to that race um you know the Koke 600 is a special race as well uh I thought we were really good at do and I screwed the race up I thought we were really good at Kansas and we kept catching bad breaks um and now we're finally today we we we didn't catch any bad breaks and we ran competitively the whole time and I'm just curious to see how the the K 600's going to be it's nice being able to go into those races and not have to worry about points just being able to to to do what you need to do to score go for a win problem Dustin long NBC Sports Brad um greatness is not achieved without risk I think a lot of us in this room kind of have our idea what risk you took when you went to RFK but what risk did you feel like you were taking that maybe we didn't see I don't know depending on which press headline I wrote I read you know I you know I heard from some fans I can't believe you're throwing your career away and then you're kind of like uh well maybe they're right uh but then on the flip side I was looking at the sport and just thinking to myself that uh you know if I dig deep here uh you know I can I can get this thing where it needs to be and there's been a lot of deep digging moments um and you know that that's been part of the journey they're not all fun fact a lot of them aren't fun uh but it's part of the journey and um you know I I I sleep well at night with with the that decision uh I was okay if it failed um you know I I had a lot of people that poked at me when uh cindric won the 500 had a lot of people poking at me oh that could have been you if we in that car and you know same thing when when Joey and buy won the championship last year and the year before and and you know what they're they're they're right um but I'm I'm I'm not uh upset about that I'm happy for those guys like I said I still have meaningful relationships with Joey and uh with with Blandy and I'm happy to see them be successful um but I'm in a different place right I've learned so much over the last three years about people and culture and organizations and the technical aspects of what it takes to you know build a a race team that can win and uh you know that's the action I crave always craved is being a part of that journey and uh you know I have that and that that makes winning so much more special and more uh impactful to me personally is is there is there any way to define or explain just what these three years have been like um I don't think any of us can relate no it's not relatable I don't have an analogy for you um you know it's um just taking big risks and you know hoping they pay off still got more to do and um you know I I'm uh I've always done things my own way I think you guys probably all know that I'm going keep doing it my own way um and you know sometimes it works sometimes it don't but at the end of the day I can look in the mirror and and feel good about it and uh I feel good about today didn't happen as fast as I wanted to happen um but uh you know the Journey's been really special we're going to go to Jerry then to Pete doing great he's talking Jerry Jordan kicking the.net um you were talking about risk out there on the track it was uh you and and Reddit got together and you know busher swarmed down below you and got around and it looked like it was going to be uh you know bucher's race and you're going to be third and then all of a sudden they get together and then you go around and what are the emotions like what are you thinking when that's happening and are you you're a team owner and you're like you've got a driver up there that's a teammate but you want the win what is that what's all happening yeah I was looking at when Chris passed I didn't know he had a lot of damage on his car and so I thought he was just going to drive away and he maybe did for a lap or two and then Tyler and I started running him back down I was like oh no he's not going to just run away and I honestly thought Tyler was going to pass him and win the race and like dang it he came off uh Chris came off a turn one and two he was really sideways and Tyler got half a car length behind him and I think we could all see what was going to happen and I was watching that and just going oh no and then when they hit together and they both kind of slid up in the wall uh maybe the 45 didn't slide on the wall but you know smoke was coming everywhere I saw that happening I was thinking H I'm going to try to get both of them and I didn't get either of them like oh don't no that was my shot and uh then Ty had a flat tire and then the next trade away uh Chris had a flat tire and then I was just looking at my mirror thinking oh I hope nobody else comes and runs me down but uh I'll tell you it was the heck of a dog fight I I don't know what the reactions were in the stands or people watching at home but I mean this race was a nailbiter in a lot of ways you know three wide passes for the lead couple times um and it really wasn't settled you know until the last 10 15 laps amongst the leaders so pretty epic day um uh regardless of of our win and uh just glad to be a part of it go to Pete and then we're going to need to wrap up here with Lee hey Brad Pete Yak belly with the Associated Press you talked about among the special moments today Jack being here to watch uh what did he say to you at the car what what kind of a moment was that when you guys talked after the wi um before the race he told me race the racetrack and I said yes sir uh and we did that until the end um at the end it's like hey we got to go um and then at the car he was just saying that you know he hadn't been in Victory Lane here in a long long time I think it had been 14 or 15 years and and we were talking about whenn the last time he was in Victory Lane here and he said I don't even remember um I what what has it been Bob has it been 14 15 when when did they win here last uh Jack when did yeah Greg Biffle in like 2006 that 18 years ago um so I think that was pretty special for him go to Lee thank you Lee Spencer sh SE NASCAR radio and catch fence.com you talked earlier about having to make some hardcore investments in the team to try to get things turn around I know earlier in the season you talked about looking at the ROI on pit Crews and I have to say you know from looking at to the turn of events today having the pick crew you did investing in the pick crew certainly paid off yeah yeah I mean the six team is one of the best pit Crews on Pit Road really proud of them today they were just Flawless put us in position there uh you know we didn't have the number one pit stall um and that number one pit stall was worth you know solid one to two positions every time and we kept losing positions but it wasn't because of them the pit stops were phenomenal um and and they just continue to deliver and it had been easy for them to give up too you know it's been a hard couple years for them as well but they they keep putting the work in they're energized they just grind it out uh they're all experienced total professionals I I feel super lucky to have them all right Brad thank you for your time congratulations once again [Music] all right there's the checker flag great job driver