Brad Keselowski and other NASCAR drivers tweet about the national anthem protests – CBSSports.com

Brad Keselowski is one of NASCAR’s top drivers. He won the Cup Series championship in 2012 and has been a consistent playoff contender for Team Penske over the years. One thing that fans know about Keselowski is that he’s never afraid to speak his mind on social media.

Often times it’s jawing with his rival, fellow champion and playoff contender, Kyle Busch. You may even recall the 2012 Daytona 500 when Keselowski gained over 100,000 followers after tweeting a picture from his car while the race was suspended under red flag. He was of coursed fined $25,000 and NASCAR immediately banned smartphones in cars afterwards but one could argue that the impact had been made.

On late Tuesday night, the No. 2 driver added another chapter to his Twitter narrative. This time he felt compelled to speak his mind on the national anthem controversy taking place across sports which even compelled President Donald Trump to tweet about NASCAR itself.

Here’s what he tweeted:

Before last week’s playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Keselowski was seen standing and singing the national anthem alongside his 2-year-old daughter Scarlett as well as drivers and fans throughout the grounds. Keselowski finished the race fourth, clinching his spot in the Round of 12 (second round) in the playoffs. His rival, Kyle Busch won the race. 

Keselowski wasn’t the only driver to voice his opinion on the national anthem. NASCAR’s winningest driver Richard Petty as well as fellow team owner Richard Childress also chimed in on the situation.

“Anybody that don’t stand up for the anthem oughta be out of the country. Period,” Petty said, via the Associated Press. “What got ’em where they’re at? The United States.”

Childress shared similar thoughts to ‘The King’. 

“It’ll get you a ride on a Greyhound bus,” Childress said. 

Playoff contender Denny Hamlin shared a video basketball players standing prior to a local basketball game. Hamlin of course drives for Joe Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins (XVII, XXII, XXVI).

No one made waves however quite like NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.. Shortly after Trump’s tweet Monday, Earnhardt quoted President John F. Kennedy in a tweet to his 2.28-million followers supporting the rights of Americans to a peaceful protest.

Sunday’s upcoming race isn’t just going to be interesting because of these comments. This weekend the series will be at Dover for the final race in the Round of 16. After that, it moves to the Round of 12 then Round of 8 and eventually the Championship 4 when things wrap up at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Look for Keselowski to be a big-time competitor as the playoffs progress.