Reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski details dramatic changes he'd like to see in NASCAR in a wide-ranging interview 
"What NASCAR needs to do is somehow wean ourselves off our sponsors" says Brad Keselowski. (Photo: Douglas Jones, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights - "We have to change the business model to move away from team sponsors." Keselowski says
- Keselowski on the schedule: "We have too many races (36) at too many tracks"
- Keselowski on Keselowski: "Every time I do something different, I%u2019m more successful"
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stroll through the compound where NASCAR's traveling circus lives, and it's easy to find Brad Keselowski's abode.
Just look for the motor home that doesn't resemble anyone else's.
At the end of a row inside the Sprint Cup drivers' gated community at Daytona International Speedway sits living quarters that could be disguised as a delivery truck .
"It's about $2.25 million for one of those brand-new Prevosts, and resale value is maybe $800,000 to $1 million," says Keselowski, 29, about his peers' motor homes. "That's ridiculous. They break down all the time."
So with the help of assistant Bill Cole, Keselowski built his home for about a third of the price but with a more spacious interior thanks to two pullout slides. The weekend he debuted his more reliable model last summer, he won at Kentucky Speedway.
It was further validation for the unconventional mind of the most iconoclastic NASCAR champion in recent memory.
"Every time I do something different, I'm more successful," says Keselowski, who was the first driver to tweet during a race a year ago when the Daytona 500 was stopped by a jet dryer inferno. "I know I'm doing something right when people look at me and go, 'You're (screwed) up.' " PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500
Butting heads has been a modus operandi since Keselowski broke into NASCAR's premier series full-time in 2010, warring with veterans such as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He earned respect in qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup the past two seasons and becoming the eighth-youngest champion in history in 2012. Yet some drivers have dubbed him "Craze-lowski" because of his outspoken manner .
Whether it be about sponsors, the schedule, social media or Danica Patrick ("I don't think, 'Oh there's that girl.' I think, 'Oh, there's that 30th-place driver.'"), Keselowski seems to always have something to say.
PATRICK: Could change auto racing, sports forever
"I think we all sit back and chuckle at times at some of the things he says and does," five-time champion Jimmie Johnson says. "He is a great guy. He has the best of intentions for our sport; for his sponsor; for his team. He just needs to mature a little."
"I can always be wiser, if that's what he means," Keselowski says when told of Johnson's comments. "I can always make better decisions. Obviously, I'm mature enough to win a championship, so I can't be too far off."
IN DEPTH: Jeff Gordon talks wrecking, collecting and dancing
But it's not all bluster for the youngest of five raised by a Rochester Hills, Mich., racing family with bedrock Midwestern values and blue-collar work ethic. In his champion's speech last year, Keselowski struck themes of humility, piety and unity in pledging to help move the sport in a positive direction as it wrestles with relevance and recapturing a younger, hipper audience amid sagging TV ratings and attendance.
"I might not be that guy, but that doesn't mean I can't step up to the plate and try to swing the bat," he says. "It doesn't mean I'll be successful. You're trying to take a crack at a Randy Johnson fastball in his prime. It's a tough sell.
"But someone has to step up to the plate first. Until that happens, this sport isn't living up to its potential, and I think it has a very high potential. We've got a great story to tell." USA TODAY Sports asked the reigning king of Sprint Cup to tell his. In a wide-ranging interview in that unlikeliest of motor homes, Keselowski shared his idyllic vision of NASCAR .
It's the world according to Keselowski. "It's a different place," he laughs.
Here it is in the champ's words.
Overall vision
The problem I see in the sport is that there are multiple entities that have to work together for us to be successful.
We have sponsors — partners, or whatever the hell you want to call them — tracks, the sanctioning body and the teams. Those are our four groups, and how well they cooperate dictates what we have as a product for our fans. And our fans create everything.
You combine that with the shift in all spectator sports to a TV-dominated world . For the longest time, NASCAR had twice the amount of people at the game than the NFL did, but we don't even have 50% of their TV viewership. What's happened is that TV has become more popular and attendance at the track or any sporting facility has dwindled with the exception of major events — Super Bowls, Daytona 500s, World Series.
PLAY NOW: USA TODAY Sports Fantasy Racing Challenge
We haven't adapted as a sport to that. But why haven't we adapted?
When Bill France Jr. was in charge of NASCAR, he had control of all these pieces and wasn't at the mercy of the TV world. He had control of the tracks and NASCAR, which is now divided in two with Lesa (France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp. that controls 12 tracks) and (NASCAR Chairman) Brian (France). France Jr. had relationships with the sponsors, drivers and teams. Now we don't have that. Those three other pieces are segregated. Those three pieces need to get together. And until all three of those can unite, we're a house divided, and we're making bad decisions that are affecting how to generate revenue for the sport.
In today's sports world, you have to be very powerful in drawing people to TV, and we're not TV friendly. That's one of the key areas for success. Part of that is we're not delivering a product. And we're fighting the tracks. We have to be up on the wheel a little more and looking for what's in front of us, and when we see it, we have to be able to react on it. And in order to be able to react on it, we need to be united.
PHOTOS: The career of Brad Keselowski 
Brad Keselowski won his first career Sprint Cup championship, Nov. 18, 2012 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski won two of the 10 Chase races and five races overall in 2012. Mark J. Rebilas, US Pesswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski finished 15th in the Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was more than enough to clinch the title after top 2012 rival Jimmie Johnson experienced mechanical problems with 40 laps left. Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski (2) had a 20-point lead on Jimmie Johnson (48) entering the 2012 Sprint Cup season-finale at at Homestead Miami Speedway. Kevin Liles, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski, 28, has been a full-time Sprint Cup driver since 2010. Keselowski finished 25th in the 2010 standings and fifth in the 2011 standings before winning the championship this year. Randy Sartin, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Owner Roger Penske, left, finally got to add a Sprint Cup championship to his IndyCar haul. Penske's IndyCar teams have won 15 Indianapolis 500s and 12 championships. Jeff Zelevansky, Getty Images Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski finished sixth at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 11. After Jimmie Johnson hit the wall on lap 235 and finished 32nd, Keselowski was able to open up a 20-point lead in the Chase heading into the season finale at Homestead. Jennifer Stewart, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Texas Motor Speedway set up ballot boxes for the top two drivers in the Chase standings -- Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson -- in the week leading up to the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 4. Jerry Markland, Getty Images for Texas Motor Spe Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski, right, and Jimmie Johnson, battled for the lead right to the end at Texas Motor Speedway, before Johnson pulled away on the final lap to win the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 4. Keselowski finished second. Todd Warshaw, Getty Images for NASCAR Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
The Dodge driver notched his second Chase win at Dover, on Sept. 30, using a fuel strategy that saw him outduel the Hendrick Motorsports cars of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Jerry Lai, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski began the march to his first Sprint Cup title with a win in the Chase's first stop, at Chicagoland Speedway, on Sept. 16. Matthew T. Thacker, AP Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski celebrates with team owner Roger Penske (right, in red hat) and his crew after winning at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 16 to kick off the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
The 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway yielded Keselowski's third win, in June. Randy Sartin, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
His second Cup win came at Talladega Superspeedway in May. He held off Kyle Busch at the restrictor-plate track. Andrew Weber, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski's first Cup win of the 2012 season came at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. Randy Sartin, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski tweeted a photo of a jet dryer that caught fire during the Daytona 500 from the track and gained instant social media credibility with NASCAR fans. Douglas Jones, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Crew chief Paul Wolfe runs a detail-oriented program for the No. 2 Dodge, and Brad Keselowski often outperforms other drivers based on efficient pit stops. Kevin Liles, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
After winning three races, Brad Keselowski qualified for his first Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2011. Though, he didn't win any of the Chase races, he still finished a career-best fifth in series points. Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski works with Rebecca Rice, a physical therapist at Pit Instruction and Training in Mooresville, N.C., to rehab his left ankle. Keselowski broke his ankle during a test run at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Aug. 3, 2011. Davis Turner for USA TODAY Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski scored his third Sprint Cup win of the season and the fourth of his career at the Irwin Tools Bristol Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 27, 2011. John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCAR Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski relaxes before the 2011 Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 5. Hours later, Keselowski would win his second Sprint Cup race of the season and the third of his career. Tom Pennington, Getty Images for NASCAR Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski does a burnout after winning the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on June 5, 2011. It was Keselowski's second career Sprint Cup win and the first since 2009 at Talladega. Jamie Squire, Getty Images Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
After a third-place finish in the Nationwide finale at Texas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski earned his first Nationwide Series championship on NOv. 6, 2010. Keselowski won 10 Nationwide races in 2010 and was voted the series' most popular driver for the third consecutive year. Rusty Jarrett, Getty Images for NASCAR Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
"Brad's the real deal," said team owner Roger Penske, who has 15 Indianapolis 500 victories but celebrated his first NASCAR crown when Keselowski won the 2010 Nationwide title. "He's the ultimate team player." Tim Fuller, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
A NASCAR official hands Brad Keselowski an American flag after Keselowski won the Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 15, 2010. It marked Keselowski's fifth Nationwide win of the year. Sam Sharpe, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski was known for his aggressive style and immature streak when he entered the Cup Series full-time in 2010. "You need to be aggressive to win, but there are circumstances I've learned it's really not that helpful to be aggressive," he says now. Andrew Weber, US Presswire Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski (12) flips after being clipped by Carl Edwards, top, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500, March 7, 2010, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Edwards had waited 153 laps for his crew to fix his car for the sole purpose of wrecking Keselowski. Joe Sebo, AP Related story Fullscreen ![None]()
Brad Keselowski won four Nationwide races in 2009 including here at the Kroger 'On Track For Cure' 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 24, 2009. Keselowski also won at Dover, Iowa and Michigan. John Sommers II, Getty Images Related story Fullscreen
"What NASCAR needs to do is somehow wean ourselves off our sponsors" says Brad Keselowski. (Photo: Douglas Jones, USA TODAY Sports) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stroll through the compound where NASCAR's traveling circus lives, and it's easy to find Brad Keselowski's abode. Just look for the motor home that doesn't resemble anyone else's. At the end of a row inside the Sprint Cup drivers' gated community at Daytona International Speedway sits living quarters that could be disguised as a delivery truck . "It's about $2.25 million for one of those brand-new Prevosts, and resale value is maybe $800,000 to $1 million," says Keselowski, 29, about his peers' motor homes. "That's ridiculous. They break down all the time." So with the help of assistant Bill Cole, Keselowski built his home for about a third of the price but with a more spacious interior thanks to two pullout slides. The weekend he debuted his more reliable model last summer, he won at Kentucky Speedway. It was further validation for the unconventional mind of the most iconoclastic NASCAR champion in recent memory. "Every time I do something different, I'm more successful," says Keselowski, who was the first driver to tweet during a race a year ago when the Daytona 500 was stopped by a jet dryer inferno. "I know I'm doing something right when people look at me and go, 'You're (screwed) up.' " PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500 Butting heads has been a modus operandi since Keselowski broke into NASCAR's premier series full-time in 2010, warring with veterans such as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He earned respect in qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup the past two seasons and becoming the eighth-youngest champion in history in 2012. Yet some drivers have dubbed him "Craze-lowski" because of his outspoken manner . Whether it be about sponsors, the schedule, social media or Danica Patrick ("I don't think, 'Oh there's that girl.' I think, 'Oh, there's that 30th-place driver.'"), Keselowski seems to always have something to say. PATRICK: Could change auto racing, sports forever "I think we all sit back and chuckle at times at some of the things he says and does," five-time champion Jimmie Johnson says. "He is a great guy. He has the best of intentions for our sport; for his sponsor; for his team. He just needs to mature a little." "I can always be wiser, if that's what he means," Keselowski says when told of Johnson's comments. "I can always make better decisions. Obviously, I'm mature enough to win a championship, so I can't be too far off." IN DEPTH: Jeff Gordon talks wrecking, collecting and dancing But it's not all bluster for the youngest of five raised by a Rochester Hills, Mich., racing family with bedrock Midwestern values and blue-collar work ethic. In his champion's speech last year, Keselowski struck themes of humility, piety and unity in pledging to help move the sport in a positive direction as it wrestles with relevance and recapturing a younger, hipper audience amid sagging TV ratings and attendance. "I might not be that guy, but that doesn't mean I can't step up to the plate and try to swing the bat," he says. "It doesn't mean I'll be successful. You're trying to take a crack at a Randy Johnson fastball in his prime. It's a tough sell. "But someone has to step up to the plate first. Until that happens, this sport isn't living up to its potential, and I think it has a very high potential. We've got a great story to tell." USA TODAY Sports asked the reigning king of Sprint Cup to tell his. In a wide-ranging interview in that unlikeliest of motor homes, Keselowski shared his idyllic vision of NASCAR . It's the world according to Keselowski. "It's a different place," he laughs. Here it is in the champ's words. Overall vision The problem I see in the sport is that there are multiple entities that have to work together for us to be successful. We have sponsors — partners, or whatever the hell you want to call them — tracks, the sanctioning body and the teams. Those are our four groups, and how well they cooperate dictates what we have as a product for our fans. And our fans create everything. You combine that with the shift in all spectator sports to a TV-dominated world . For the longest time, NASCAR had twice the amount of people at the game than the NFL did, but we don't even have 50% of their TV viewership. What's happened is that TV has become more popular and attendance at the track or any sporting facility has dwindled with the exception of major events — Super Bowls, Daytona 500s, World Series. PLAY NOW: USA TODAY Sports Fantasy Racing Challenge We haven't adapted as a sport to that. But why haven't we adapted? When Bill France Jr. was in charge of NASCAR, he had control of all these pieces and wasn't at the mercy of the TV world. He had control of the tracks and NASCAR, which is now divided in two with Lesa (France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp. that controls 12 tracks) and (NASCAR Chairman) Brian (France). France Jr. had relationships with the sponsors, drivers and teams. Now we don't have that. Those three other pieces are segregated. Those three pieces need to get together. And until all three of those can unite, we're a house divided, and we're making bad decisions that are affecting how to generate revenue for the sport. In today's sports world, you have to be very powerful in drawing people to TV, and we're not TV friendly. That's one of the key areas for success. Part of that is we're not delivering a product. And we're fighting the tracks. We have to be up on the wheel a little more and looking for what's in front of us, and when we see it, we have to be able to react on it. And in order to be able to react on it, we need to be united. PHOTOS: The career of Brad Keselowski Story Highlights
