Keselowski following path forged by legends

Throughout the annals of NASCAR history, the sport’s biggest stars have all had their share of run-ins with other drivers.

Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace all used their bumpers to win races.

And, in the process, they all wrecked a fellow driver or two, stirring up controversy and drawing the ire of rivals who wanted revenge.

And, in turn, they all found themselves on the other end of the spectrum, getting shoved into the wall while racing for a win, or in retaliation for their own aggressive actions.

And along the way, most of them wound up in heated feuds with each other — Petty and Allison, Allison and Yarborough, Yarborough and Waltrip, Waltrip and Wallace, Waltrip and Earnhardt, Earnhardt and Wallace, Earnhardt and Gordon, Gordon and Wallace.

Some, like Earnhardt, were known as much for their aggressive, roughhouse tactics as for their skill behind the wheel and their ability to win.

But, in the end, they all wound up among NASCAR’s greatest drivers, ranking 1-8 on the all-time win list.

They won races and championships by racing hard, being aggressive and not worrying much about who they angered or who they shoved aside to get to the front or win a race.

And, in the process, they became some of the most popular and most respected racers in NASCAR history.

So why all the fuss about Brad Keselowski?

Isn’t he just trying to do the same thing?

Isn’t he showing the same spunk and aggressive nature as just about every young star that has entered the sport with great bravado and the talent to back it up?

But Keselowski is quickly becoming one of the sport’s biggest villains, with driver after driver wanting a piece of him and fans turning against him for frequent run-ins with established stars.

Many blame him for the incident that prompted Carl Edwards to retaliate at Atlanta Motor Speedway March 7 and took Edwards’ side when he was placed on probation for three races.

But, despite the outrage and the current perception of Keselowski, he’s not doing anything young, aggressive stars before him didn’t do.

Keselowski entered his first full season in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series this year with a ton of talent and a reputation as one of the sport’s most aggressive drivers, one who had already ruffled some feathers with his win-at-all-cost attitude.

Though he has won six Nationwide Series races and one Cup race in the past two years, it has come with a price — a bounty on his head.

Denny Hamlin vowed to wreck him in retaliation for a series of run-ins in the Nationwide Series last year and he did, spinning Keselowski in the season finale at Homestead.

Now Edwards, who wound up on the wrong end of Keselowski’s bumper more than once last year, has gotten his revenge, sending Keselowski airborne and into the wall at Atlanta in retaliation for contact earlier in the race.

Edwards sent Keselowski a clear message — a message not unlike ones delivered and received by the top drivers throughout the history of the sport.

The message was this: Keselowski needs to tone down his aggressiveness, learn a bit of give and take on the track and show more respect toward more experienced, established drivers.

The question now is, how will Keselowski respond to the message?

Will he back down and tone down his act?

Or will he continue to fight tooth and nail for every position on the track and use his fender when someone blocks him, crowds him or races him hard?

Will he heed the advice of Edwards and other drivers and show a bit more caution and respect on the track?

Or will he be the same aggressive, stubborn driver that has gotten him into hot water with other competitors?

And, in the process, will he try to get even with Edwards?

Keselowski, one of the sport’s most cerebral drivers, doesn’t seem to have revenge on his mind, but he certainly doesn’t plan to back down, either.

“To be honest, that’s probably the best revenge there is — to not let it get to me one bit, to not change,” Keselowski said in a recent interview with SceneDaily.com. “In a way, that’s a sign to (Edwards) and everyone else that that’s not going to work on me.

“... I’ll come back the next race weekend and drive just as hard just to prove a point that I wasn’t wrong and I still don’t feel like I’m wrong.”

Keselowski and Edwards were called to the NASCAR hauler to discuss the growing animosity on March 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway, their first encounter since the wreck in Atlanta.

"I think we’re gonna be able to just go forward and go racing, and that’s what this is all about," Edwards said after the meeting.

For now, at least, that seems to be the case. The Bristol races — Edwards and Keselowski each drove in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races — passed without further incident.

“The thought in my mind is to do absolutely nothing at all,” Keselowski says, “to not change, to continue to drive my cars as hard as I can and try to win races ... .”

Like him or not, that is a good thing. Keselowski shouldn’t back down. In fact, NASCAR needs more drivers like him.

Keselowski is not the first young driver to stir up controversy and ruffle feathers by entering the Cup series full of piss and vinegar and determined to challenge the sport’s biggest stars.

So did Waltrip and Earnhardt.

They entered NASCAR’s top series with the same confident swagger and aggressive style, and they wasted no time pushing and shoving their way to the front.

And they both made plenty of enemies along the way. Waltrip feuded for years with Yarborough, who dubbed him “jaws” because he was constantly running his mouth.

Earnhardt, who feuded with Waltrip and others, was dubbed “Ironhead” for his stubborn streak and refusal to back down.

Many of today’s current stars entered the Cup series the same way — Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch — and had their share of run-ins with other drivers.

Though they have all calmed considerably over the years, they are still known as hard-nosed, aggressive drivers who will do whatever it takes to win.

The same as Keselowski.

NASCAR needs more drivers like that, drivers determined to win and not afraid who they rough up, or run over, in the process. Drivers not afraid to stir up controversy and brave enough not to back down when they do.

It is those drivers who win races and, ultimately, fans, just like Waltrip and Earnhardt, both huge villains when they first entered the sport, eventually did.

Though Keselowski can probably stand to use his bumper a little less often, and perhaps give the sport’s more established stars a little more room, he doesn’t need to change his aggressive style or determined attitude.

His all-out, no-fear approach personifies what NASCAR racing is all about, or is supposed to be about.

NASCAR is a contact sport, and it is drivers like Keselowski that NASCAR officials had in mind when they declared “boys, have at it” earlier this year.

It is drivers like Keselowski that fans buy tickets to see — even the ones who may not like him.

Though many fans may hate him right now, that will eventually change, as it did for Waltrip, Earnhardt and the rest.

Keselowski and his hell-bent style are good for the sport — no matter whom he roughs up or ticks off.