Keselowski’s blog: A story of a friend’s rise and fall

By Mar 13, 2014, 12:09 AM EDT
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Brad Keselowski couldn’t have had much better of a weekend in Las Vegas than he did.

He captured his first career weekend sweep in NASCAR for Team Penske, with the Nationwide Series victory on Saturday and the Sprint Cup Series win Sunday.

Winning means a lot of things, but to Keselowski, it means emotions can occasionally come running out.

And the wins this past weekend inspired Keselowski to dig deep and tell a story he had only previously told his closest inner circle.

We first learned Keselowski could write (and rather well, if I don’t say so myself) with his first blog entry on his own website posted a little more than a week ago, about his first race with JR Motorsports.

But this one, filed today, brings us closer to one of Brad’s best friends – a man only known as James – trying to make it in the racing world.

It sounds simple on paper but is obviously much deeper than that. A brief teaser:

But it’s hard to anticipate the emotions that you experience after a big win. Sunday night, flying home after the weekend, I found myself thinking about one person in particular. His story is one that’s deep and personal, one I’ve never shared with anyone but those in my closest inner circle. I don’t think anyone outside that circle even knows about it. That story came to an end on the weekend of my last victory, which came in October 2013 in Charlotte.

You can view the full blog here, as it’s a very well-done piece on this friend’s rise and fall.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”