After Keselowski's Daytona 500 tweeting spree, drivers had been notified that smartphones would not be allowed in cars, NASCAR spokesman Kelly Tharp told the Associated Press; this revelation quashed fan rumors that Keselowski was fined as retaliation for going on a public, cuss-filled tirade about other drivers' tactics following Sunday's race.
"Brad's tweeting at the Daytona 500 was really our first introduction to the magnitude of the social media phenomenon at the race track, especially how we saw it unfold that evening," Tharp told the AP. "We encourage our drivers to participate in social media. We feel we have the most liberal social media policy in all of sports, and the access we provide is the best in all of sports."
Keselowski gained more than 100,000 followers in two hours when he began tweeting from the Daytona 500 racetrack on Feb. 27.
Two days later, NASCAR released a statement reading: “Nothing we’ve seen from Brad violates any current rules pertaining to the use of social media during races. As such, he won’t be penalized. We encourage our drivers to use social media to express themselves as long as they do so without risking their safety or that of others.”
Fellow Daytona 500 driver Juan Pablo Montoya had crashed into a safety vehicle loaded with jet kerosene, triggering a large explosion and fire. No one was hurt, but the explosion caused a long delay, as the fire was put out and the mess cleaned up.
From his spot in traffic behind the fire, Keselowski did what any social media fiend would: He busted out his smartphone and started posting Twitter updates, including this message (and the photo above):
Fire!My view twitter.com/keselowski/sta…— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
As word spread on Twitter and Keselowski gained hundreds of followers per minute, he bantered with fans in a series of subsequent tweets, including:
I took it...@ANikonNerd: @keselowski how did you get this pic?”— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
No worriesWe stopped @LisShoe: @keselowski please! Don't tweet and drive! Lol ;) ;)”— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
Maybe;)@beachtowel43: @keselowski do you seriously have your phone in the car? Hahaha”— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
Do you think NASCAR was right or wrong to fine Keselowski for tweeting from his car this weekend? Give us your take in the comments.
BONUS GALLERY: Our Favorite Sports Social Media Moments of 2012
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