Brad Keselowski: 'There's only so many of those hits ... before someone gets killed'
Brad Keselowski's second harrowing road-race crash wasn't a case of deja vu all over again, and for that the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is thankful.
Five years ago, Keselowski's Team Penske Dodge went head-on into a concrete barrier at Road Atlanta, resulting a series of injuries, most noticeably a broken left ankle that was grotesquely swollen and discolored.
Tuesday at Watkins Glen International, Keselowski's Team Penske Ford hit a barrier head on, but this time, he was able to walk away from the crash sore but not seriously injured.
Friday morning at Pocono Raceway, Keselowski said he was concerned about the crash.
"There's only so many of those hits you're gonna take before someone gets killed," said Keselowski. "It's just the way it is. I know that. It's not something I'm comfortable with, but I think as a sport there's a lot of different ways to look at it. At the end of the day I am still standing here. Odds are that if 100 people take that hit, one or two are not gonna be standing here anymore."
Keselowski credited safety improvements in in his car for playing a key role in not being hurt worse.
"As far as the car, there has been a lot of changes in our car since 2011 with regards to safety," Keselowski said. "I think we went through, at least with Team Penske, a complete safety overhaul from the pedals being redesigned to hopefully not break my feet, which they didn't and that was great.
"The floorboard is redesigned with a completely new style of carbon fiber and I'm trying to think of the right term there â but composite materials," Keselowski said. "The seat, we helped a company design a new seat from that time, which I think there are a handful of teams in the garage that are running it that we feel is significantly safer."
Keselowski said his energy-absorbing steering wheel was designed by veteran racer Max Papis, who has worked with several NASCAR teams over the years.
One area of improvement that still needs work, according to the driver, is the steering column.
"The one piece that we weren't able to redesigned was the steering column," he said. "That's probably the weakest link in those type of impacts at the moment. Of course, there's always going to be one weak link, but that one in particular continues to be a pretty big issue.
"I think we've seen that a couple times over the last few years where the steering wheel comes back up in your face and can do a lot of damage to your helmet and your head, etc. I got lucky that I didn't get too much of it, so in general I would say that I'm fairly pleased but always looking for more."
NOT doing Facebook live today, Sorry. ? pic.twitter.com/jpyX4ykNh7
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) July 26, 2016
I'm ok! pic.twitter.com/Cu9yPYQnFG
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) July 26, 2016
