Joining elite company with Talladega win 'more than I ever dreamed' - Keselowski

Brad Keselowski further solidified himself as the active wins leader at Talladega Superspeedway by adding a sixth win to his resume on Sunday.

The trip to Victory Lane also put Keselowski alongside some good company. Six wins tie him for second all-time at the track with both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Additionally, Keselowski is now four wins away from tying the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 10 victories.

“It's more than I ever dreamed, I can tell you that,” Keselowski said. “I would pause and say Dale's record is so far out there. Yeah, I have a shot at it, but it's a distant shot. I think you got to get seven before you can even think about 10.

“Still pretty cool to be on the same list with him on anything, that's for sure, even if it's second.”

Keselowski’s first victory at Talladega came dramatically. It was the spring of 2009 – during the tandem draft era - while driving for James Finch that Keselowski pushed Carl Edwards to the race lead on the final lap and then didn’t budge off the yellow line when getting to the inside of Edwards, who tried to block him in the tri-oval. Contact between the two sent Edwards into Ryan Newman and then flying into the catchfence.

Over the years, Keselowski has dominated at Talladega and proved to be methodical in his drafting to put himself in position. In 25 starts at the track, Keselowski has completed 96.8 percent of the laps and has led 300 laps.

Sunday, however, he led just one, just as he did during his first victory. One that will hit the 12-year mark tomorrow, April 26.

“I never thought I'd even have that chance,” Keselowski said of putting his name alongside Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon. “It's tremendous to me. I grew up loving the sport, still love the sport. We fight sometimes, like husband and wife, but I still love the sport. I love the challenge every day of getting up, trying to find excellence, reinventing yourself as the rules change, people change around you.

“It's hard. It's a hard sport. Any success you have means the world. So I think to have my name on any list that has Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega, that's a pretty big deal. I'm super happy and super proud to be there with them.”