Keselowski on the ebb and flow of plate racing

According to Brad Keselowski, there is a distinct difference between racing at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Even if the two are the only restrictor-plate tracks on the NASCAR schedule.

"I've always felt like, Daytona seems to be more about the car and Talladega seems to be more about the driver and the moves," Keselowski said, who is the defending winner of the GEICO 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, Fox).

A driver's ability to be daring, especially when it comes to making a bold move, is the secret to success at restrictor-plate tracks. Having a fast car goes a long way, but Keselowski is of the belief that it's just not enough to win. At some point, the driver will find themselves in a position where they have to make a move.

As one the most successful drivers on the plate tracks in recent years, Keselowski relies heavily on the current set of moves he has in his arsenal. But make no mistake, Keselowski knows a driver must also constantly evolve his or her style because the nature of restrictor-plate racing is also ever-changing.

"I think it goes in waves," Keselowski said. "You have like a year or two where nothing's clicking, and you get frustrated, then you find a new move, you find a new technique, and things start to click, and you feel like you're in charge and dominant. Then eventually everybody either catches up to those moves or those moves are made irrelevant with rules changes and so forth, and you have to find a new one. I think there's a little bit of an ebb and a flow to it.

"At this point in time, we have a series of moves that are pretty strong and have put us in a position to win a lot of plate races at Team Penske, with a little bit of the car but a lot of things Joey (Logano, pictured with Keselowski) and I have learned and worked on together and worked off of. But those moves will eventually become irrelevant, and it'll be something different – and I know that, and that's OK.

"Hopefully, that time period will last a long time. History shows it won't, that's OK. But I look at probably the last three years on the plate tracks and I feel like Joey and I have been the most successful, and we hope to continue the same trend."

While he has just one win in 16 starts at Daytona, Keselowski has been far more successful at Talladega. Four wins, 181 laps led, and nine top-10 finishes in 16 starts tell just part of the tale since Keselowski's No. 2 will repeatedly show up on highlight reels as a car to contend with. Logano has also contributed to the Penske success with two victories of his own.

In fact, the teammates are often lauded by for how well they've played the drafting game. In 2014, for instance, Keselowski needed to win at Talladega to advance in the playoffs. He and Logano were not only able to gang up on the field late, but Logano had a skill set and car fast enough to play blocker for Keselowski. Last July, Keselowski also showed his dominance by pacing the field for 115 laps led on his way to a win at Daytona.

All of which makes it no surprise that even though Keselowski has proven the ability to win anywhere, confidence is just a little bit higher when rolling into Daytona or Talladega.

"Right now, I would say a little bit because we have good speed, good techniques," Keselowski said. "I feel like we can go to Talladega and win. I feel like we'll be one of the cars to beat."