Keselowski Vows Not to Change After AMS Dust-Up

15 Mar 2010

The rookie refused to blink. He didn't give an inch. Nothing slowed Keselowski that day last April, not even after the inevitable contact sent Edwards' car sailing into the safety fence in a frightening accident that injured seven fans.

Keselowski just barreled on, stealing an improbable victory in just his fifth career start in NASCAR's prestigious Cup Series.

Looking back now at those intense two minutes, Keselowski was clearly sending a message to his established, experienced competitors: he won't back down to anyone, ever. That mentality has rankled a long list of top-name drivers, and finally came to the foreground last weekend in Atlanta when Edwards, exasperated over a long list of hard racing between the two, intentionally wrecked Keselowski in contact that sent Keselowski airborne in a scene quite similar to the one in Talladega.

For all the public outrage about Edwards' deliberate act, there was an equal amount of private sentiment that Keselowski had it coming.

Keselowski is well aware of the whispers, but remains unapologetic for anything he's done that's gotten him to his prime-time Cup ride with auto racing icon Roger Penske.

"It's not possible to get a Cup ride right now without being aggressive, and without having some swagger in your step," Keselowski said. "Does that make you a jerk? To some people, yes. To some people, no. It depends on where you're coming from. If you look at the sport right now, there are no new drivers coming in.

"So whatever I'm doing is working, and it's gotten me to where I'm at."

The unpredictability of Nascar makes picking a favourite difficult but lets take a look at who the bookies rate or slate.

Sprint cup favourite Jimmie Johnson is 15/8 to be crowned, ahead of Mark Martin 15/2 and Jeff Gordon 8/1. Ex Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is on OK odds of 15/1. Scott Speed, also an ex F1 driver for Torro Rosso is a bit of a stretch bet at 150/1 with Betfred. All other odds are from bet365.