Keselowski says Contender Round of Chase 'scares the s--t' out of him

Entering the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the number one seed, Team Penske's Brad Keselowski is among the favorites to earn the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

However, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion knows the path to a second title will not be easy, especially in the Contender Round races at Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

"The contender bracket, that one scares the s--t out of me," Keselowski said during Thursday's Chase Media Day in Chicago. "Kansas and Talladega are just two tracks where, like I said, they have been wreck-fests the last few years and the only way you can really feel comfortable with that bracket is if you go to Charlotte and win the race. I think that bracket will break some hearts and that is the most concerning thing to us."

Of course, Keselowski would have to make it through the first round of eliminations in the Challenger Round at Chicagoland Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway.

If he and his Paul Wolfe-led team can avoid elimination in the first round, Keselowski believes the Contender Round will be a make or break time for their title hopes.

In advance of the challenge Keselowski prepares to face in that three-race stretch, he and the No. 2 team have tested at Charlotte, as he said, because it "is the track in the bracket that scares the crap out of me."

That is coming from the defending winner of the Bank of America 500. That is not the only test the team has planned for the upcoming Chase races. The team will also test at Texas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, home of the winner-takes-all season finale.

Aside from preparing for the Challenger Round, Keselowski is not going through all the possibilities of how he could win the title over the course of the next 10 races and four elimination rounds. Instead, he is focused on continuing the growth at Team Penske and not resting on the laurels of the regular season.

"We could run through all the hypotheticals but there are so many different scenarios it is really a waste of time in my mind," he said. "The reality is you can just go out and perform and let it take care of itself."

Talking with FOX Sports 1's NASCAR Race Hub, Keselowski told Steve Byrnes that winning his second Sprint Cup title this year "would solidify what we accomplished in 2012."

"I think it would mean a lot to me personally and professionally as far as the goals I have to continue to grow up in the sport and be a better person and leader," he said.

VIDEO: Brad Keselowski Chase Media Day interview