The 2012 Cup Series season ended with Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski as the champion. Brad, 28 at the time, celebrated the victory with one too many cans of Miller-Lite, and was admittedly buzzed in his post-race interviews. Five short months later, a sober, prim-and-proper Keselowski was standing beside then-President Barack Obama in the White House, basking in the huge praise that came his way.
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Obama honored Keselowski for becoming a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and spoke highly of him in his address. He said, “We’re here to congratulate Brad Keselowski for winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. People who’ve known Brad a long time aren’t surprised, I gather, that he’s up here.”
The President went on to add how Brad had spent his childhood on race tracks working for his family-owned team before getting into the car himself.
“He had it in his blood from the beginning – his racer’s mentality, his commitment to the team, and his belief that you’ve always got to keep pushing to be your best,” said Obama.
He then praised the driver for his philanthropy. Keselowski had been working toward the rehabilitation of soldiers injured in war through a program called Road to Recovery. Obama, pleased by his efforts, lauded the driver.
“For Brad, our veterans are an important part of his team. I’m going to quote him, ‘I couldn’t do what I do on the racetrack without these men and women making the sacrifices they do for me’,” added Obama.
Events such as these are usually filled with witty one-liners and a celebratory mood. But that April 16, the mood was somber. The Boston Marathon bombing had occurred just a day prior, shocking and sending the entire nation into mouring.
Both Obama and Keselowski strongly believed that staging the event despite the act of terror was the right thing to do. They wanted to give out the strong message that such acts of cowardice won’t deter them from their daily lives.
Interestingly, the President wanted to know more about the issues that Keselowski and his teammate Joey Logano were having with NASCAR at the time.
The champion spoke to the press, mentioning that conversation with a chuckle: “He wanted to know about Joey Logano and how Joey was doing after the run-in with (NASCAR), which I thought was great. I said, ‘Man, I didn’t know you followed it that closely’.”
Brad had even offered to take the President for a spin in his No. 2 car around the South Lane. But the Secret Service, understandably, refused.
