NASCAR drivers might want to think twice the next time they consider blocking Brad Keselowski.
During Lap 54 of Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Keselowski, who was runner-up at the time, made a run at leader William Byron. But the Hendrick Motorsports rookie blocked the No. 2 car, and rather than driving through Byron, Keselowski lifted, got rear-ended by Ricky Stenhouse Jr, then lost control and sparked a multi-car wreck that knocked seven drivers out of the race.
And although Keselowski took (some) responsibility for the wreck, he also fired a clear shot at Byron, as well as any drivers who attempt to block him in the future.
First, watch the Crash in the video below:
The big one strikes early at @DISupdates!#CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/LRNSrOgpud
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 8, 2018
Yup, that certainly qualifies as the “big one.”
Now, on to Keselowski’s controversial comments and/or threats.
“You’ve got a list of drivers that are making moves that they’re unqualified to make and it causes big wrecks,” Keselowski said, via ESPN’s Bob Pockrass. “That was one of those. And it was my fault because I lifted.
.@keselowski with a message for the field after being collected in The Big One. #CokeZeroSugar400 pic.twitter.com/KWniinGOj6
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 8, 2018
“I should have wrecked him and sent a message to the whole field. We’ll wait until Talladega, and every one of those rookie drivers and guys that don’t know what the hell they’re doing, we’ll drive through them and wreck them until they stop blocking us and we don’t have this problem anymore.”
So, how does Byron feel about all this?
“Everybody blocks as much as that, so I don’t see any difference in it,” Byron said, via Pockrass. “He got hit from behind. … I didn’t get hit anywhere.”
Oh, to be a fly on the wall when those two spoke after the race.
Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Erik Jones picked up his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Martin Truex Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five.
