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“I Don’t Like Losing” – Brad Keselowski on his Hunt for a Second Cup Title

Published 03/12/2021, 6:30 AM EST

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Last year, NASCAR crowned Chase Elliott as the Cup Series champion. Finishing as the runner-up was Team Penske driver, Brad Keselowski, who was agonizingly close. Truthfully speaking, Keselowski had the car and the ability to earn a second title, but he fell short by one place.

To this day, the 37-year-old rues what could have been. Coincidentally, this weekend, the driver is going to race at the very track that saw him finish second best – the Phoenix Raceway. Speaking about that loss, he said, “I wouldn’t say I’m not over it. To be quite honest, I don’t like losing. I certainly don’t like being that close. I take solace in feeling like I did everything I could do.”

At the season finale, 2.7 seconds separated Brad Keselowski and Cup Series glory for a second time. As per the timing screens, he was arguably the fastest driver on the track. He even possessed superior passing skills at the racetrack and looked like a favorite. Unfortunately, a costly pit lane error resulted in him losing 13 positions during the caution. He scythed his way back, but it was too late to catch Elliott.

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What else did Brad Keselowski say about the loss?

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The Michigan native continued, “Losing hurts way more when you feel like you left something on the table personally. I don’t feel like I left anything on the table at Phoenix. That helped me quite a bit but still, obviously, I know that I was this close to realizing my dream of a second championship. But, you know, not close enough.”

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Apparently, the fact that Team Penske did well at 750-horsepower tracks, also helped Keselowski’s quest. Additionally, since Phoenix was the season finale host and a 750-horsepower track, it was a big boon. Naturally, Brad Keselowski wants to go a step further in 2021. For that, he needs to perform well at 550-horsepower tracks, as well as 750.

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It is also noteworthy that Keselowski was the sole Penske driver in the top 10 at Homestead-Miami. This was when all four of the top teams missed on long-run setup. Owing to a bizarre pit strategy and an untimely caution, he pitted with 30 laps to go. This meant that the outfit royally goofed up the strategy, and he ended up 16th.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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