"Those guys can dish it out but can't take it" - When Brad Keselowski responded to Matt Kenseth's attempt to pick a fight
Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth once got into a physical altercation after the 2014 playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The former NASCAR driver Kenseth was livid with the RFK Racing driver Keselowski because of an on-track incident after the cool-down lap.
A post-race pit road incident at the 2014 Bank of America 500 race between Keselowski and Kenseth angered the latter who sneak-attacked the then-Penske driver Keselowski in between the haulers. As a result, Keselowski shared his two cents on the scuffle between the two crews. He said:
"Those guys can dish it out, but they can't take it. I gave it back to them and now they want to fight, so I don't know what's up with that." [6:48]
With six laps to go at the 2014 Charlotte race, former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kenseth and Keselowski were under caution when #20 Kenseth drove across Keselowski's front and damaged the front end. This move was instigated by the 2003 Cup Series champion Kenseth because of an on-track incident on Lap 63 when both the veteran drivers were battling for a lead. Keselowski didn't leave the lane for the JGR driver and both the cars took some damage while attempting to take the lead.
As a result, the damaged car affected 2012 Cup Series champion Keselowski's on-track position by falling out of the top 10. This angered him, who subsequently sideswiped Kenseth post-race on the pit road, who had undone his safety belts and removed the safety net.
"He's a champion, and he's supposed to know better": Matt Kenseth reflected on his altercation with Brad Keselowski
Not only Matt Kenseth but Brad Keselowski expressed his post-race disappointment to Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
Seemingly, the 36 Cup Series race winner Keselowski was eyeing better results to advance to the next round of the 2014 playoffs. With two laps to go, the former #2 Penske driver Keselowski nudged JGR driver Hamlin.
In retaliation to this incident, the #11 Toyota driver Hamlin brake-checked Keselowski on the cool-down lap to show displeasure. Thus, the irate Keselowski tried to spin Hamlin and continued to show his disappointment to Kenseth on the pit road.
Reflecting on the incident, the 52-year-old Kenseth said:
"(Keselowski) was doing something with Denny. The race had ended, and he's running into cars on the cool-down lap. I mean, the race is over, and he comes down pit road and drives into the side of me. That's inexcusable. He's a champion, and he's supposed to know better." [3:35]
Kenseth, who is known for being the quiet guy, was enraged with the safety issues that followed as he had his HANS and seat belts off.
Here's a look at Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski in the post-race scuffle: