Keselowski slices hand on broken bottle in Victory Lane (PHOTOS, UPDATED)

By Jun 29, 2014, 12:22 AM EDT
1 Comment
source: Getty Images
A broken champagne bottle forced Brad Keselowski to get stitches to his right hand at Kentucky Speedway’s infield care center after winning the Quaker State 400 on Saturday night. Before going in for his stitches, he waved his bloody hand to the assembled photographers in Victory Lane. Photo: Getty Images.

UPDATED (12:22 a.m. ET): Sporting a bandaged right hand with a NASCAR Sprint Cup winner’s sticker on it,  Brad Keselowski exclaimed “Hey everybody!” as he finally entered the Kentucky Speedway media center for his post-race press conference.

A few questions into the presser, Keselowski was asked which was more treacherous: Victory Lane or navigating the 1.5-mile oval’s rough surface.

“The front-stretch bumps are a concussion, and Victory Lane is bleeding of the hand,” Keselowski mused. “I guess I don’t have enough to lose upstairs to worry about the first one.

“So, the champagne. I should have stuck with beer.”

Keselowski also added more details about the incident, saying that he thought he hit the bottle on the corner of the podium before it broke on him.

“I don’t know, I was trying to get the top off and shaking [the bottle] at the same time,” he said. “People were spraying me and I couldn’t really see all that well. It was just one of those deals.

He felt that his bandaged hand would not hinder his ability to drive in next Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

“Last time I had stitches, it was seven days or so, and we’re going to Daytona, which is probably the easiest track you could ask for,” he said.

“I didn’t break any bones or any of that stuff. I just put in a big gash, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue.”

—

UPDATED (11:37 p.m. ET): Ford Racing has tweeted a photo of Keselowski’s bandaged right hand after cutting it with the broken champagne bottle in Victory Lane. The manufacturer reports that he needed four stitches.

—

After winning tonight’s Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway, Brad Keselowski ended up going to the track’s infield care center after slicing his hand open on a broken champagne bottle.

Photographer Kirby Johnson Gordon was able to catch a shot of the bottle apparently exploding in Keselowski’s hands, which led to the injury.

And from ESPN’s Jim Noble:

Obviously, the incident has held up the usual post-race media proceedings at Kentucky. Keselowski led 199 of 267 laps tonight en route to his second win of the season.

We’ll have more on the situation as it develops…

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
0 Comments

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.”