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Brad Keselowski ‘open-minded’ about possible new rules package in July Sprint Cup race at Kentucky

kes mich1 getty 2015

Brad Keselowski said Sunday that he’s optimistic about NASCAR possibly implementing a new rules package at next month’s Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway.

“All in all, I’m open-minded,” Keselowski said before Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. “I just want to see the racing continue to improve.

“The thing about this sport that’s hard to explain to people, because they ask me all the time why we change the rules so much, and I think it kind of goes back to the tug-of-war between NASCAR and the teams - the teams continuously innovating and NASCAR continuously trying to make the racing as high quality as possible.”

Keselowski said that no matter what new rules NASCAR implements, he’s confident that Penske Racing can adapt quickly.

“In that tug-of-war, any time NASCAR changes something to try to make the racing better, whether that’s aerodynamically or engines or some other change, we seem to have the resources – whether it’s someone like Ford or internally – to gain back whatever they might take away with a rules change,” he said.

While some fans believe the racing needs to get better, Keselowski said a track record already exists that changes in recent years have indeed done just that.

“Over the last decade or so, we’ve significantly outpaced NASCAR and their changes to the car to try to keep the racing to where you can pass and do things,” Keselowski said. “We’ve done that all with the aerodynamic category. We’ve seen cars gain probably 200 to 300 percent in downforce over the last 10 years.

“In some point, NASCAR’s trying to get out in front of it, and that’s their job to keep the racing as good as it can be.

“So, in that sense, I completely agree that you have to continuously change the rules to keep up with the teams, the iterations we come up with to make our cars perform that aren’t necessarily in the best interest of the sport. It’s, to me, a good time to see them trying to do just that.”

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