The Silver Fox, or Buffet Benny?

Brad Keselowski  continues to make headlines, and rightfully so. One article particularly piques my interest, from Yahoo Sports, which comments on BK as a "throwback driver". I can see that. He's not afraid to say what's on his mind, not afraid to mix it up on the track, and backs up what he says on the track.

But he also knows where to draw the line and not go overboard. I'm looking at you, Kurt Busch. He's got your talent, your drive and determination, and your ride, because he knows when to say when. He understands the line that divides verbal sparring and competition with complete douchebaggery and doesn't cross it. But I digress.

I could go on about how I, like Mr. Heir, who wrote the Yahoo article I linked to, also agree that he is a bit of a throwback driver of the future. I've taken notice of his skill, and the way he talks to the media, and am becoming a fan more and more each week.

What I want to comment on is this quip:

Bad but with a brain
Sometimes known for his nickname, 'Bad Brad', Keselowski is a 21st Century NASCAR stock car driver with a 20th Century attitude. Now, I'm not talking about Hall-of-Famers like a run-your-mouth kind of guy such as Darrell Waltrip was or short-and-sweet no nonsense driver like Dale Earnhardt Sr. or for that matter, a surly and short grumbler like David Parsons. And by the way, I'm not insinuating that Keselowski is a future Hall-of Famer … yet.
No, Keselowski may drive hard like Waltrip, Earnhardt, Parsons plus Cale Yarborough but the 28 year old from Michigan has the easy articulate way that maybe is more like part Ned Jarrett, another Hall-of-Famer. Brad K doesn't mind hard driving as long as everyone's okay with it and no one arbitrarily takes someone else out. But bumping and and grinding is fine.

 Surly, short grumbler? David Pearson, perhaps? I don't see Benny or Phil Parsons as a "grumbler". Not once, but twice. Gah.

What I take issue with is that he considers Brad to have the driving style of these heroes, with the mannerisms of "Gentleman" Ned Jarrett. I disagree. I see him as an amalgam of all of these drivers, both in driving style, and attitude on and off the track. For example:

• He can jaw like "Jaws" about the competition, as referenced in the following quote (via ESPN):

 “There’s parts and pieces on the car that are moving after inspection that make the car more competitive," Keselowski said of the Hendrick team cars. “Some guys have it, some don’t. There’s a question to the interpretation of the rule. Penske Racing (Keselowski’s team) errs on the safe side because we don’t want to be the guys that get the big penalty.”

• He's not afraid to mix it up like "The Intimidator" used to:

• He can be gentlemanly about commenting on good, hard, racing, regardless of the outcome:

He's all these guys, all rolled into one. Like I said, he's growing on me more each week. He is the future old school.