The International Motorsports Hall of Fame had long closed for the day, though a large gaggle of gussied-up drivers and patrons were elsewhere in the facility for a banquet.
After that dinner four years ago this week, the Talladega Superspeedway folks opened the Hall of Fame doors for a private tour for a tuxedo-wearing visitor who is quite the NASCAR history nerd – Brad Keselowski.
Keselowski has, if you’ll forgive a historic pop culture reference, a little bit of Eddie Haskell in him. Though occasionally edgy, he tends toward politeness and seems earnest. Among the younger generation of drivers, he holds as much or more reverence to the sport’s past as anyone. Hence the after-hours tour he requested, and for which I was invited to tag along.
“How do we not know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been?” he told me that night.
Mark McCarter
Keselowski also holds in high regard the speedway that shares property with the hall. He is a four-time winner at Talladega, which hosts the Cup Series’ GEICO 500 on Sunday. Keselowski has won two of the past five, and teammate Joey Logano has won twice in that span.