March 4, 2012
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
|
Social media seems to be more and more a part of life these days.
Between Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and numerous other online outlets, we can find out about everything from what our favorite driver ate for breakfast to how he spent the hours leading up to the latest race.
Last weekend we had a long wait to get the Daytona 500 in around the rain. As we waited on Sunday, and again on Monday, we followed what drivers were doing to kill time at the track as the tweeted updates or posted what they were doing on Facebook.
Media posted updates as we received them, keeping fans as up to date as possible as things unfolded.
Once the race finally got under way Monday night, the tweets and posts continued, but none gathered quite the attention as the ones posted by Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Light Dodge.
Keselowski @keselowski on Twitter is known for being one of the more prolific tweeters of the drivers in the Sprint Cup Series garage. But on Monday, we discovered he keeps his cell phone in the race car with him, and as a result, he tweeted the first ever in-car picture -- of the fire that resulted from Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 Target Chevy crashing with a jet dryer in Turn 3 with 40 laps left in the race.
That one tweet, and its appearance on Fox’s red flag delay coverage of the fire and track repair, sent Brad’s follower number soaring to almost 250,000, and started a debate about whether drivers should be tweeting from within the car.
As the drivers waited during the red flag, Keselowski was seen standing outside of his car with the other drives, taking pictures and sharing them with fans. Other drivers looked over his shoulder as he typed, and posed -- as Brad snapped photos of them killing time on the back stretch.
It was called one of the most unique tweet-ups in sports.
"I somewhat felt bad for Matt (Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford) because he obviously won the biggest race of the year," Keselowski said earlier this week, referencing the attention his mid-race tweets had garnered from fans and media. "I'm sure he got a lot of attention but I didn't mean to take any away from him."
One of the biggest concerns about the discovery that Brad keeps a phone in his car with him is the impression he texts and drives at a high rate of speed.
“Brad's fan interaction is what drew me to him and now I'm a fan of his. Used to dislike him,” noted one Keselowski fan.
“I thought it was totally awesome Brad was doing that! Was wondering if he would be in trouble like NFL players are now days! Good for you Brad and NASCAR!!!!!!!” noted another fan.
“All good as long as he is not racing” commented a third fan.
And that last comment is what is important here. People need to remember that Brad Keselowski did nothing illegal by tweeting pictures during a red flag. He was not “knee” driving he was not driving with one hand while in the middle of a race.
That said, I have heard several people comment this week that they are concerned about Brad giving the impression that is okay to text and drive.
“I think it was funny at the time, but the more I think about it, it shouldn't be in the car. They're driving at high speeds and the last thing you need is a distraction in the car, what if they forget to turn the ringer off and it rings in the middle of the race, I know I jump sometimes when I'm in the car and my phone rings. I can only imagine their concentration getting thrown off?” was one person’s comment.
“I have seen too many people driving with their knees and texting, and too many accidents caused by someone paying more attention to their phone than the road” is what I heard a truck driver note.
“We shouldn’t give the impression that texting and driving is ever a good idea” was another comment I heard.
As for why Brad has the phone in the car in the first place: he notes it is because he was in a crash a few years ago and was taken to a hospital and had no idea where he was, where he was going, or how to let his family know he was OK.
When he broke his ankle last year in Atlanta, he had the cell phone and was able to call his family and let them know what had happened, and where he was. So it isn’t there as a texting tool, it is there for his piece of mind.
Personally, I thought the tweeting in the middle of the red flag was a great way to bring fans into the action, and show those who might have turned in for the first time to watch a race Monday night a look at the sport from a drivers’ point of view, and prove that it isn’t just a bunch of good old boys turning left.
What do you think? Let me know via twitter, or e-mail!
Follow Kim on Twitter: @ksrgatorfn
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Kim at..