Social media has helped NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Brad Keselowski to become one of the most popular drivers in the sport.
On Tuesday, Keselowski saw the other side of that issue, as he was fined $25,000 for tweeting during the red flag at Phoenix International Raceway.
Following the announcement of the fine, many fans took to Twitter to criticize NASCAR for being hypocritical, considering they "celebrated" him for doing the same thing earlier in the season.
Keselowski gained popularity earlier in the season by tweeting from his car during the Daytona 500 during a long delay, but NASCAR has changed its tune on using cell phones in cars. The organization says now that no computers, including cell phones, can be used in the cars,
"Brad's tweeting at the Daytona 500 was really our first introduction to the magnitude of the social media phenomenon at the race track, especially how we saw it unfold that evening," said NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp to the Associated Press. "We encourage our drivers to participate in social media. We feel we have the most liberal social media policy in all of sports, and the access we provide is the best in all of sports."
At first, some in the sport thought Keselowski was fined due to his profane outburst following Sunday's race in Phoenix that was marred by crashes, restarts and aggressive racing.
On Sunday, in response to criticism of his driving two weeks ago and the frustration of dealing with crashes, Keselowski said:
"It's the double standard that I spent a whole week being bashed by a half a dozen drivers about racing hard at Texas and how I'm out of control and have a death wish, and then I see bulls--- like that," Keselowski said. "That's all you can call that. These guys just tried to kill each other. You race hard and I get called an a------ for racing hard and called with a death wish, and I see s--- like that, and it just pisses me off."
He also added:
"It just drives me absolutely crazy that I get lambasted for racing somebody hard without there even being a wreck and then you see stuff like this ... from the same people that criticized me," Keselowski said. "It's OK to just take somebody out. But you race somebody hard, put a fender on somebody and try to go for the win, and you're an absolute villain. We can just go out and retaliate against each other and come back in and smile about it, and it's fine. That's not what this sport needs. It needs hard racing, it needs people that go for broke, try to win races and put it all out there on the line. Not a bunch of people that have anger issues."
Luckily for Keselowski, NASCAR saw no reason to dock any points from him, which would have been controversial considering he is in first place in the Sprint Cup points lead by 20 over second-place Jimmie Johnson.
"But we also have rules that pertain to competition that need to be enforced and abided by," said Tharp. "Once the 500 took place, and in the days and weeks following the 500, NASCAR communicated to the drivers and teams that while social media was encouraged and we promoted it, the language in the rule book was clear and that drivers couldn't carry onboard their cars electronic devices, like a phone."
Keselowski has not commented on the fine, but his crew chief Paul Wolfe said Tuesday that he will keep the phone out of his hands.
"Never even crossed my mind, to be honest with you," Wolfe said. "We get so involved in worrying about how to make the race car go around the track that, obviously, Brad's cellphone is not on my mind a whole lot. I'll definitely remind him this weekend."
The first time Keselowski tweeted from his car it was during the Daytona 500 during a two-hour stoppage that occurred when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer, causing an explosion.
"Nothing we've seen from Brad violates any current rules pertaining to the use of social media during races," NASCAR said the day after the race. "We encourage our drivers to use social media to express themselves as long as they do so without risking their safety or that of others."
Keselowski is 20 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson for the Chase points lead and will win the Sprint Cup next Sunday if he finishes 15th or better at Homestead-Miami Speedway
