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Brad Keselowski, known for his bold and outspoken personality, once found himself on the receiving end of advice from one of NASCAR's legends, Jimmie Johnson. The Michigan-born driver, who won the Cup Series title in 2012, was asked to share his thoughts on a comment that Jimmie Johnson, the then five-times Cup champion had made about him ahead of the 2013 season.
Johnson was asked what Keselowski would have to face to defend his title in 2013. While he didn't hold back in appreciating his fellow world champion, even going as far as calling him an awesome competitor, Johnson also spoke about how the then 28-year-old Keselowski could act a bit immature at times.
"Now he is in the spotlight as the champion, I think we all sit back and chuckle at times at some of the things he says and does. He is a great guy. He has the best of intentions for our sport, for his sponsor, for his team. He just needs to mature a little," Johnson said, as reported by USA Today.
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About a week later, Keselowski was asked to share what he thought of Johnson's comments.
"I can always be wiser if that's what he means. I can always make better decisions. Obviously, I'm mature enough to win a championship, so I can't be too far off," he replied.
Johnson’s comments were probably based on an interview Brad Keselowski gave after winning the title where he was drinking beer. Interestingly, years after Johnson's comments on his maturity, Keselowski praised the seven-time champion for his empathy and kindness.
Brad Keselowski once described Johnson as a class act
Having competed in close to 700 races in a NASCAR career that spanned 22 years, there's a good reason to believe that most of his competitors would have a story or two to tell about Jimmie Johnson. The same was true of Brad Keselowski, who recalled a story of how Johnson once helped him during an accident early in his career.
"My No. 1 story for Jimmie is when I had a wreck at Road Atlanta in a test, and everyone else drove by but him; he stopped and helped. He had a certain class to him in the sense of empathy," Keselowski was quoted in a report by racer.com.
Keselowski also knows what it feels like to be Jimmie Johnson's teammate as he made his Cup Series debut with Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. He mentioned that he has always had a lot of respect for the seven-time champion as he knows how difficult it can be to deliver consistently in a sport as unpredictable as NASCAR.
