NASCAR Cup Series

Keselowski win pivotal for new Chase format

Published Oct. 20, 2014 10:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

FORT WORTH, Texas - Brad Keselowski did NASCAR a huge favor Sunday in the sport's bid to spice things up with the new format in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Facing a win-or-else scenario in a bid to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford did just that in a thrilling race at Talladega.

While the win was huge for Keselowski, who was one of eight drivers to advance to the next three-race Chase segment that includes the Nov. 2 AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, he's not convinced his win will be a seminal moment for the new format.

He thinks it's too early to tell.

"At the end of the day what validates any format, to me personally at least, is if we look back and we have better ratings, better ticket sales and better numbers in general, more fan popularity," said Keselowski, who was at TMS Monday to play video games on the track's Big Hoss TV with NASCAR fans. "That's what's behind any change we make in the sport. So if we see increases in those metrics then I'd say 'Yes we've been successful.' Beyond that I don't know if it's really fair for me to answer because I'm kind of too close to the fire."

While there's no way to know how Sunday's race will impact the sport long term, TMS president Eddie Gossage knows it made an immediate impact on the 2014 season. Three of the sport's biggest names -- Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- were all in the same situation. Each driver had to win or see their title hopes dashed.

Not even one of the best promoters in the sport could have drawn it up any better.

"Some people are a little upset because their driver didn't advance or whatever," Gossage said. "Under the old format their driver wouldn't have advanced. They wouldn't be in the hunt for the championship so the way this works it's creating drama at every event in the Chase whether it's the first, second or race in that round. I think it's fabulous."

The win was Keselowski's sixth of the season and his second in the Chase. It capped a crazy eight-day stretch in which the 2012 champ was at the center of controversy in Charlotte following off-track altercations and a $50,000 fine.

But none of the off-track stuff mattered on Sunday as Keselowski knew what had to be done.

"If we go on and win the championship, which I feel like we're fully capable of doing, then I could easily say this was one of the biggest wins of my career," he said. "It all kind of matters where we go from here with it. I'm certainly proud of it. We can't get caught in it. We've still got work to do. We've got four critical races in front of us. We're probably going to win at least one of them."

Keselowski said his voice was still hoarse from celebrating Sunday's win -- the 16th of his Sprint Cup career in 193 starts. That doesn't mean he wants to be in a similar position in the Eliminator Round. The series heads to Martinsville this weekend and then following TMS the series head to Phoenix before cutting the Chase field to four for Homestead.

Keselowski hasn't won a race at any of the three Eliminator tracks but at least now he knows that he can deliver in must-win situations.

"I don't think anybody likes being under pressure," Keselowski said. "I think some people respond to being under pressure and there's a difference. We were able to respond this week in Talladega. There's not a guarantee we'll be able to do it again but it's a challenge we're well suited for."