AUSTIN, Texas — Brad Keselowski is optimistic he can overcome a knee-buckling penalty that potentially ended any championship chances a mere five races into his first season as a Cup team owner.
NASCAR this week said an inspection at its North Carolina facility uncovered an illegal modification to the No. 6 Ford — a major infraction under tightened rules for the new Next Gen race car. The Next Gen is primarily a spec car made up of vendor-supplied parts, and NASCAR will not permit any tinkering.
Keselowski, now a co-owner of RFK Racing, was docked 100 points and plummeted from 16th in the standings to 35th. He goes into Sunday’s race at Circuit of the Americas as the lowest ranked full-time Cup Series driver.
“No, it’s not crippling. It’s not what we want. Nobody wants to be in this position,” Keselowski said after qualifying 26th on Saturday. “We’re going to get out of this what we make of it. And we can use this as a moment to drown in our own tears or get stronger and be better. I’m committed to the latter of the two.”
RFK was also docked 100 owner points on the No. 6 Ford, while crew chief Matt McCall was fined $100,000 and suspended for four Cup races. Should Keselowski recover to make the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season, the 2012 Cup champion will be docked 10 points at the reset.
Keselowski would not reveal what NASCAR has accused RFK Racing of doing to its car ahead of last Sunday’s race at Atlanta, citing the appeal process. His car failed pre-race inspection at Atlanta and was chosen for a deeper teardown at NASCAR’s R&D facility.
NASCAR also has not publicly said what modifications were found on the Ford, and NASCAR president Steve Phelps told The Associated Press that withholding the information was a decision made by competition officials. But Phelps reiterated that teams were warned during the offseason that the new punishment system would be severe.
“They knew what the penalties were up front for manipulation of a spec part,” Phelps said Saturday.
Denny Hamlin was the only driver in the garage to cop to knowing what RFK modified but said his information was only “hearsay.” Others called on NASCAR for transparency.
“If it was that big of a deal, I think it should be public,” Kevin Harvick said.
Keselowski, who left Team Penske at the end of last season to buy a portion of Jack Roush’s organization, said he has “learned more than I knew before the race weekend” about the No. 6 car. His philosophy as a team owner aligns closer to Roger Penske, a no-nonsense boss who doesn’t permit cheating.
“Obviously, it’s NASCAR’s job to put on a fair and equitable race for the competitors that meets the interests of the sport,” Keselowski said. “It’s our responsibility to fit in there.”