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.
First a must watch video recap for those that don’t know and for me to reference. 😊
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
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
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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?
In a split second the choice was made,
I slowed down way early.— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
8). The success of the maneuver aside, I screamed a self deprecating expletive at myself for not driving harder.
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!
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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
This isn’t how I felt or feel but it’s part of the story nonetheless.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
A quick check of my mirror off the esses confirmed my suspicion. The 9 car was on us.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
“How stupid am I?!?!” flashed through my mind.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
It wasn’t until 3 corners were left that I knew the track was fully oiled down.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
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.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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…
“What a little shove back quickly passed through my mind?” And was soon delivered with a grin😊
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
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.
Another 2nd place.
Kyle would miss out on the win and miss the chase (playoffs). Our relationship consequently added another sad chapter.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
Thank you 😊
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
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) December 20, 2019
