Brad Keselowski critical of NASCAR race control following late Bristol penalty

Brad Keselowski was dejected and frustrated over a NASCAR penalty that cost him a chance to race for the win inside of the final laps of the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The 2012 Cup Series champion led twice for 40 laps and appeared ready to battle for the win until a breakdown of communication led to a penalty just before the final green flag. Keselowski was black flagged after adhering to a race control order over where to blend into the field following pit stops.

Specifically, the No. 2 was supposed to file-in behind Ryan Newman but didn’t, even after being told five times, with race control even adding an extra lap under caution. As a result, the field took the green flag three-wide and Keselowski was ordered to come down pit road for a pass through. Keselowski was specifically posted for not allowing Newman to get in front of his No. 2 Ford.

"I think they should take the rule book and tear half the pages out and go race," Keselowski told a FOX Sports reporter. "We have too many rules, too many lucky dogs and too many wave-arounds. There is so much going on that drivers don't know what's going on and NASCAR doesn't know either.

"There's too many rules."

Not only did Keselowski feel the penalty eliminated his chances, he also feels the confusion and three-wide restart also held up teammate Joey Logano, whom led 146 laps on Sunday. In fact, Team Penske drivers led 345 laps of the overall 500.

"I screwed my teammate," Keselowski said. "He had four fresh tires and he was going to eat those guys alive. And since it was so jumbled up, he didn't get the opportunity and I feel bad about that. Basically, it took two of the best cars and let them get beat by Kyle."

Keselowski did meet with NASCAR officials after the race for an explanation.

"Yeah, I'll meet with them and I'm sure I'll be fed a line of crap."

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