NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski is all about balance: ‘I’m the happiest I’ve ever been’ – Charlotte Observer

Brad Keselowski, who won Sunday’s Folds Of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, is a husband and father now and that responsibility is every bit as meaningful to him as his role as a top NASCAR driver.

Here’s his take on what seems to be a blissful life with his 18-month-old daughter Scarlett and wife, Paige, whom he married in February:

▪ “I’m really lucky to be a race car driver, but it’s challenging to balance your work life and your professional life. I’m no different than most everyone else. I want to have a family. … I want to do all the cool things and see all the cool things when you have kids and a wife.”

▪ “But I also want to win. That means I have to be the best professional possible, and I have to put in hours that aren’t always going to be fun. So part of that and trying to maximize my work-life balance means trying to find the appropriate times and places to blend the two. I’m going to always look for those opportunities with my wife and daughter and family in general.”

▪ “I feel lucky that I have a team that’s letting me have some slack with all those things and try to find that right balance. I’ll never forget [team owner] Roger [Penske’s] son Greg asked me: ‘How do you balance your work life and your home life, what’s your work-to-life balance?’ For a lot of years, I had a terrible work-to-life balance with respect to just being all work. In general, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been because I have a better work-to-life balance than I’ve ever had.”

▪ “My time with my family is my time to sharpen the ax, and believe me, when Scarlett wakes up at 7 a.m. and I’m still really tired, I really want to go to work. I get some good reminders there how fun work is.”

▪ “But in general, I just enjoy the time, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I feel like I’ve got the best balance I’ve ever had. I feel very fortunate.”