Brad Keselowski didn’t win the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
He came in second to Marcos Ambrose.
But the way he finished second, in a dramatic last-lap battle with Ambrose, resulted in it being voted the No. 1 race finish of the decade by NBC Sports’ NASCAR writers.
Late Thursday night, the Team Penske driver took to Twitter and for roughly two hours shared his perspective on the last lap around the road course, which he is “proud” to be part of, even if it did add fuel to his rivalry with Kyle Busch for “years to come.”
Here’s his tweet thread.
https://t.co/P60zHG6AoF
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
First a must watch video recap for those that don’t know and for me to reference. 😊
2). In this race particularly, I over drove the car earlier trying to stay ahead of the 18 & 9 cars. The tires fell off and we just couldn’t keep up. Since their was no pressure behind us, I fell back 3 seconds from the lead to save the tires and see if they’d fall back to me.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
4). I just passed one of the all time great road racers in @MarcosAmbrose , “don’t let him back by,” I remember thinking.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
As we went through the next 2 corners, the white flag was flying & we had a decent gap in my mirror. 1 lap to go, “smooth and no mistakes,” I said to myself
6). As we dove down into turn 1 for the final lap I had a tough decision to make. My tires were wore down, the car in front of me was getting closer and he may also have a problem; how hard do I charge this corner?
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
In a split second the choice was made,
I slowed down way early.
8). The success of the maneuver aside, I screamed a self deprecating expletive at myself for not driving harder.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
Their was no time to think about why that worked, the 18 is now right in front of me and off the track. 3 seconds gained in 2 laps and now we have a shot to win!
10). I committed to turn 2 in a low line as Kyle merged simultaneously in front of me and off the pace. We made contact and the 18 spun. To this day, many people think I took him out. Intentionally
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
This isn’t how I felt or feel but it’s part of the story nonetheless.
12). Driving away from the accident scene it was immediately obvious that we had sustained major damage to the LF corner of the car. Smoke was pouring into the cockpit and we were in trouble.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
A quick check of my mirror off the esses confirmed my suspicion. The 9 car was on us.
14). Deep into the interloop braking zone I knew something was wrong, we weren’t slowing down! “I’ve thrown away this race,” I thought as it became clear the dirt in the runoff was my only option to avoid spinning the car out.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
“How stupid am I?!?!” flashed through my mind.
16). This particular day was very overcast, additionally the track was very dirty from a full day’s racing. This combination made it almost impossible to see oil for both the drivers and spotters.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
It wasn’t until 3 corners were left that I knew the track was fully oiled down.
18). This corner was way bad with oil. With the 9 car sensing blood in the water he charged hard into the corner as I drove soft on entry.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
Divinely, He would slide out of control but this time not into dirt, but rather clean and grippy asphalt as this corner had a wide runoff.
20). Any chance of getting away from him over the final 2 corners was now gone. As I struggled from the contact he drove by barely clearing us into turn 10. The next to last corner...
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
“What a little shove back quickly passed through my mind?” And was soon delivered with a grin😊
22). In the final turn, a moment of jubilation struck. I could see that all the corners had oil in the bottom lanes. Although we were in a dead heat, I was on the outside and sure to have that cleaner asphalt that Marcos put to good use in the last 2 corners before...
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
24). Takeaways- This race will live in lore forever. Being an integral part of the best voted nascar race of the decade is quite an honor.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
Another 2nd place.
Kyle would miss out on the win and miss the chase (playoffs). Our relationship consequently added another sad chapter.
Thank you 😊
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
Appreciate your patience, it was wrote over a few hours while trying to put a deliriously tired 4 year old to bed 🤣 https://t.co/ivr3V3iWrp