Back in 2012, the iconic Daytona 500 caused a huge social media stir because of Brad Keselowski’s tweet. Who doesn’t like to see a photo tweet from a NASCAR driver? However, this was no ordinary picture. Keselowski had a big-brain moment when he captured the picture while driving mid-race. Soon he found himself to be roped into the heart of controversy and a massive fine.

Keselowski got engulfed in the center of a massive controversy after the Daytona 500, owing to the infamous tweet by him during the race. Yes, during the race. The man actually carried his phone while driving and decided to click a picture under a red flag and tweet the same. His original tweets caption read, “Fire! My view.”

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Back then the tweet was a viral sensation, but now it has become more of a meme or a badass reminder of things drivers did in the past.

How did NASCAR respond to the tweet by Brad Keselowski?

NASCAR usually likes when drivers are active on social media and have also praised them for doing so. However, on this occasion, they weren’t so pleased. Rather, they were very much infuriated.

According to NASCAR, bringing a mobile phone into a car while driving is a big no-no and Keselowski did just that. Following the incident, they handed Keselowski a big $25,000 fine for his actions. NASCAR further reiterated that drivers do not have permission to carry any electronic device in the car with them. The directive also included the usage of mobile phones obviously.

Interestingly, a day after the race, NASCAR also stated, “Nothing we’ve seen from Brad violates any current rules pertaining to the use of social media during races,” They also retracted the fine, since, at the time when Keselowski did it, there was no mention of such in the rulebooks. Hence, technically, there wasn’t any violation of the rules.

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On the whole, Keselowski’s shenanigans ended up hurting him the most with the fine, however, it also propelled him into overnight stardom among other users of the social media platform.