Who does the 2012 champ consider to be the best driver in the sport?
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- What started life as an innocent answer later morphed into a revealing insight from Brad Keselowski about how he rated his peers. But it also illustrated that if there were such a thing as a talent podium of NASCAR drivers, Keselowski has himself on it, but behind reigning Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and his No. 1 pick, Carl Edwards.
Keselowski, celebrating his 31st birthday Thursday at NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway, said his progress in NASCAR's big leagues led him to the self-assessment that he considered himself a top-three driver in the sport. Pressed to name the other two, the always candid Keselowski complied, putting Edwards atop his list with Harvick a close second.
"I personally think just from watching, and I'm not afraid to say it, that Carl Edwards right now is the best driver in the Sprint Cup," Keselowski said. "That's my personal opinion; it doesn't make it law or fact. To go with that, you could probably place an argument for Kevin (Harvick) as the second best."
Edwards' efforts in his final season at Roush Fenway Racing were maddeningly inconsistent, and though the veteran struggled with performance at times in 2014, he was able to scratch out two victories -- at Bristol Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway -- and advance to the Eliminator 8 in the new-look Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.
"I've seen what Carl's done in cars that didn't have the speed," Keselowski said. "He has a very diverse skill set. He's been able to win at tracks like Sonoma and has won at every type of track, I should say, and I feel like he does the best job of any driver I've seen out there taking a car that is not fast and finding speed out of it. I think when the times have come that he's had dominant cars, he's had dominant performances. He's shown to me the skill set at every level to be a top driver."
His uncanny ability to do less with more made an impression on Keselowski, who said that he considers Edwards a favorite for the 2015 championship in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing. Harvick and new team Stewart-Haas Racing struck similar gold in their first year together last season.
"It would not surprise me if they were the team to beat this year," Keselowski said of JGR's No. 19 Toyota, Edwards' new team. "There's something about those new teams -- magic comes together."