2012 series champion enters new year with momentum
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Team: Team Penske No. 2 Ford
Rank in final 2014 Standings: Fifth
Wins: Six (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, Richmond International Raceway in September, Chicagoland Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway in October.)
Year in photos: Recap Keselowski’s 2014 season
Strides: Although the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion didn’t win a second trophy in 2014, it was in many other ways a “career year” for the 30-year old Michigan native. His six victories in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford were the most of any driver last season and a career high for him. The same is true for his 17 top-five efforts. He proved himself a title-favorite early and often and scored two victories in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, including a dramatic must-win, now-or-never final lap victory at Talladega in November that will be talked about for years to come.
Setbacks: Despite the series-leading achievements Keselowski did not advance to the Championship 4 for a shot at his second title in three years. In most categories his team was tops in the series, but a pair of 30th-place finishes in the final seven races ultimately cost the sport’s otherwise statistical leader.
Quoteworthy: “I don’t know about (my having a) bad rap. I think time will dictate who and what I am, and how I race. And I’ll let it be that,” Keselowski said about his aggressive driving style.
What’s next: A 2015 championship favorite, Keselowski and his team were a threat to win every week last year and should be able to build off the series-high six wins. But he is still hungrier than ever because, despite last year’s success and accomplishments, he missed the ultimate payoff. His aggressive driving style simultaneously earned him fans and created bad blood with some competitors. A pair of champions, the normally mild-mannered Matt Kenseth and four-time champ Jeff Gordon, famously had physical post-race confrontations with Keselowski down the stretch run. But Keselowski remains undaunted, unapologetic and defends his methods on and off the track. The whole Penske organization was top-shelf in 2014 with his teammate Joey Logano scoring five wins and advancing to the Homestead season finale with a shot at the big trophy. Keselowski would like to join him in 2015 and insists it’s a matter of “refinement,” not any major overhaul that will make the difference.
“We won six races and it was the second year in five years that we have been in Cup that we have won more races than anyone else,” Keselowski said. “And that’s a pretty good batting percentage. We certainly drew a lot of attention for wins and other stuff, but that’s all part of the roller coaster that makes the season so much fun to be a part of. … There’s all kinds of passion and it’s defined in all different ways.”