Kes hit the wall with 10 laps to go; made his movie debut in Sharknado trilogy
ROSSBURG, Ohio -- Brad Keselowski's tweet said it best, of course.
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion -- and social media maven -- had a day that was equally fun, frustrating and ridiculous. His Wednesday at Eldora Speedway, which hosts yearly one of the premier NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events, ended with Keselowski wrecking his No. 29 Ford … after being eaten by a shark.
Driving in the 1-800-CarCash MudSummer Classic at the half-mile dirt track in Ohio, Keselowski added his own flair to a day with plenty of memorable moments. His first foray onto dirt included: some spice at the end of the first 60-lap segment when he was the lone truck not to pit; a breathtaking move that showed why he's one of the best drivers in the world; a hard crash that ended any shot of a top-10 finish … and his movie debut when "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" aired on SyFy.
The spot for the Team Penske driver (who was driving in his own Brad Keselowski Racing truck at Eldora), in which he was devoured by a shark that flew out of a tornado, coincidentally came at nearly the exact moment he inherited the lead after not pitting.
"We had nothing to lose," Keselowski said after not taking his truck in for service, then leading the field to green for the second segment (50 laps). "I wanted to try something."
That led to a restart that produced one of the night's best highlights in a race full of them. Keselowski, starting in the top lane, slipped back to fourth place coming out of Turn 2 before squeezing by Ty Dillon while turning his nose toward the inside of the track, then sliding down below Austin Dillon and clearing leader and eventual winner Christopher Bell to reclaim first position -- although Bell would pass Keselowski out of Turn 4.
That driving display brought the appreciative Eldora crowd to its collective feet, but Keselowski would slip down to 17th before the final 40-lap segment to the finish.
He slowly made his way back up through the field, having gotten more accustomed to the clay surface, and was inside the top 10 before a slide job gone wrong sent him hard into the wall. The damage to his right rear was severe, relegating Kes to a 28th-place finish, 10 laps down.
"I came to broaden my view on the sport," Keselowski said of his day on dirt. "I would say from that perspective, mission accomplished."