Keselowski needs to 'man up,' Harvick says

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick, who finished ahead of Keselowski and just behind race winner Jimmie Johnson, was even involved, pushing Keselowski into the fray as crewmen and the two drivers were gathered around the No. 2 Ford.

"I didn’t get in the middle of anything," Harvick said. "I just turned him around and told him to go fight his own fight."

Harvick said he doesn't believe Keselowski is out of control, but should be held accountable for his actions.

"I think he's just racing as hard as he can for his team," he said. "He's trying to get all he can. …

"If you're going to race like that, you're going to have to man up at some point. I mean, he's done it several times."

Harvick said a driver "can't just turn around and let everybody fight all the time without you in there. (You) have to stand up for your actions at some point yourself."

Johnson, who scored the 70th win of his career with the Texas victory, said he didn't see what happened to start the situation, but "based on Jeff's frustration, I would assume that it was pretty aggressive, and Jeff just doesn't go crazy like that after a race."

Keselowski is currently on probation for post-race contact on pit road at Charlotte last month. He was fined $50,000 by NASCAR for running into Matt Kenseth’s car after that race.

He's had previous run-ins with other drivers on the track, among them Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.

Johnson said much of the frustration felt by drivers has been bred by the new Chase format, which guarantees advancement to race winners in each round.

"When your only opportunity to advance is to win, (Keselowski) had a bad race in Martinsville, he's got to do all the can to win. So the system is breeding this," the six-time champion said.

"We'll see what it means for the future for Brad. I feel like on track he does a good job. I think he gets himself in more trouble off the track with things that he says personally. We'll see how things proceed from here and how he handles all that.”

Team owner Roger Penske has staunchly stood by his driver, saying a week after the Charlotte incident that other competitors were "jealous" of his driver's success.

Keselowski leads the series in wins this season with six and has been fast, and competitive, for much of the year.

For his part, Keselowski said if he caves in when others push back, "that will be a shame for everybody."

"It would be a shame for the history of this sport," he said. "It would be a shame for the fans that come here to see us race 100 percent. That's what I did today. For that, I'm not going to be ashamed."

Wrecking someone intentionally for a victory, he said, isn’t the same thing.

"That's not the way I race. I don't wreck people to win," he said. "I've been in incidents at the end of the race, but I could say with a clear mind and heart that they weren't intentional, that they were all out going for the win and some things happen."

If Keselowski isn't racing the way others do -- or expect him to -- he offers no apologies.

"I've come to the reality of where I am in this sport, the fight it's going to take for me to be a winner and a champion for years to come," he said.

"Like I said, there are going to be moments like this. I've been through them in the past. I'll go through them in the future. I'll come back each and every time as hard if not harder.

"That's who I am, that's what I'll do. That's what I plan to do next week and every week in my future."

MORE: