From Scene Daily:


MIAMI BEACH, Fla. Brad Keselowski has been fined $25,000 for critical comments he made about NASCARs switch to fuel injection, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

NASCAR has fined drivers the last two years for comments that it believes hurts the credibility of the sport. It hasnt announced the fines, but drivers have confirmed they were fined.

Keselowski declined to comment on the accuracy of the report, and neither NASCAR nor Penske officials immediately responded to requests for comment on whether Keselowski was fined.

Keselowski called NASCARs move to fuel injection next year a disaster and said that he doesnt see where the fans get anything from it when talking to the media last week following an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR is moving to fuel injection to be more like passenger cars and it is expected to be more fuel efficient than a carburetor system.

Were not doing this because its better for the sport or better for the teams I dont even really think were going to save any gas, Keselowski said last week. Its the media circus, trying to make you guys happy so you write good stories.

It gives [NASCAR] something to promote, absolutely. And were always looking for something to promote. But the honest answer is it does nothing for the sport other than to cost the team owners money."

Amen Brad, preach it to them!

See earlier post titled Opinion Police.

I will make no comment or inference. As Chief Joseph said once upon a time "from where the sun stands in the sky, I will fight no more forever".

I have always believed that you don't throw your source of bread and butter under the bus. I agree with Brad's points completely but I'll have to side with NASCAR on this one. Offer your suggestions to them in private but don't call them out in public as it achieves nothing.

Let's see, an under-hood component that can't be seen, on cars that don't exist, is a dead-ringer to attract the modern, yet, reluctant ('cause the car's just don't relate to 'real' ones) fan. Hoo-ray! Racing is saved!

Here is an advance promo pic for the NASCAR execs table for the upcoming Vegas banquet.

Let's keep in mind Brad was responding to a fan's question at the Nascar Hall Of Fame. Did he criticize the integrity of the sport? Absolutely not. Did he give an honest opinion? Absolutely.

Now Brian France is going to hold a press conference at Homestead and play stupid about it, saying "I won't comment on the fine publicly. If I own a restaurant, I'm not going to say the food is bad, and we won't tolerate such comments." The follow up question was, "Will you fine Jamie Allison of Ford for making similar comments?" France's answer: "No. Jamie Allison has no affiliation with Nascar." Brian France is CLUELESS. First off, Brad K. doesn't own Nascar, so his analogy makes NO sense. Second, it sure looks like the press made sure to point out that there seems to be some selective policing going on here in regards to who says what. If I am Brad, I let Nascar know from here on I am giving no more interviews and giving press releases only.

It's really quite simple. If you're the boss of NASCAR, Jamie Allison/Ford are like a business partner whose partnership you NEED and as such, can't really fine him or get rid of him if he says a negative thing about your company. Brad is like a lower level employee whose services can be easily replaced, so he doesn't have the same clout as a Jamie Allison or top Ford guy might.

If you go around criticizing to the public about the way your boss runs HIS business, you are either going to get a severe warning or outright fired. And it has happened. Sure you must've read of the people losing their jobs because their boss read their anti-company rants on Facebook.

We agree to disagree. Brad owns a truck series team, so I think he knows a little bit about the costversus the benefit in this change. Again- this was NOT a press conference where he threw the sport under the bus. This was a question posed to him by a fan at the Nascar Hall of Fame. Different rules apply- Brad was there by choice.

I'll also give you another example of a criticism that happened many years ago. And Sandeep, I know you're a Bill Elliott fan like me. If you remember in his autobiography, he told about the drivers meeting where Nascar started tossing out all these new rules, to which Bobby Allison replied at the end of each one..."depending on who you are." Another example of this was when Nascar changed the format of The Winston in 1987 fromone segment to three. Bobby Allison was publicly quoted: "The format stinks. What part? The format."

Bottom line is that MUCH worse has been said about Nascar by drivers that have done 50 times more in the sport than Brad Keselowski in the past, and they never once were fined. This is yet another onein a long line of mismanagement of the sportby Brian France as far as I am concerned. And people can sit and justify how much "better" the sport is now versus the "good old days" all they'd like. The proof in who is right and who is wrong is all those empty seats you see on your television every Sunday.

Do you see any resemblance?

But Brian said if it will make people happy he will consider making them public in the future, but dont hold your breath, said he did not want drivers talking out of school--thats what he said

Did yo have to post the dang picture? I'm gonna have to adjust the Rules of Engagement.

Yes I did --it lets you know what to expect before it happens-- or as it happens.

Anyway it does make for good dart throwing activities. Anyway I thought you and Brain boy were buddies-------------------------sorta

NASCAR has spent years making sure everybody knows its competitors are, as it so fondly characterizes, "INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS" - not employees, not players. Now, Brian.... which is it?

By golly, I sure don't want to be political or anything like that... but I was thinking of the Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places" and thought... what if Brian Z and Herman Cain traded places????

Why? Now I can photoshop it and make it even funnier lookin' than it already is.

I do remember that, but Jay, what Allison said about the Winston format in 87 is not much different from how Jr has criticized the plate racing this year. He said on more than one occasion that he hates it, yet there's been no indication of a fine awarded to him given the fact that he still continues to say it whenever he's asked.

The thing is, this fuel injection is a much bigger deal than an All-Star race format or a plate race package. It's something NASCAR hate going over to as much as the drivers as they'll have a new set of thingamajigs to police now and all the gray areas it brings with it instead of a tried and true 60 year old system. But they have no choice in the matter because of pressure from the green guys as well as the manufacturers who've been wanting it for years, so they'd probably appreciate it if the drivers, didn't add to their troubles by criticizing the move and create dissent among the fans about it.Especially someone like Brad, who is a big name now and has a lot of ears picking up on what he has to say.

Darrell Waltrip said it best: "Don't kill the golden goose". These guys are all making a hell of a good living... You'd think they'd just shut up, drive, and cash the checks.