Look out rookies: Brad Keselowski says he’ll wreck you if you block him at Talladega

The driver of the No. 2 Ford sounds like he’s ready to take the phrase “wreckers or checkers” literally at the next restrictor plate race.

It’s not uncommon to hear Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers claim responsibility for a big wreck. Even the biggest stars in the sport sometimes ‘fess up when they feel an on-track incident is their fault. Brad Keselowski did just that after the big wreck that struck relatively early on in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night, but his approach was a little different.

See, Brad K. says the carnage that took out a number of cars, including all three Team Penske Fords, was due to the fact that he didn’t simply wreck rookie William Byron. Seriously.

As he explained once his night was over, he felt Byron tried for a late block that there simply wasn’t room to pull off. Keselowski lifted instead of just driving right into Byron, but he vowed not to make that mistake again.

Even more ominously, he’s not even planning on waiting until Daytona comes around again next February, but says he’ll take action this fall at Talladega, the next time a restrictor plate superspeedway race arrives on the schedule.

"You know Dave, I’m just not wrecking enough people. I need to wreck more people so they’ll stop throwing bad blocks.Everyone that’s watching, all them drivers out there, throw another bad block and I’m just going to drive through you and wreck you. So look out at Talladega."

Keselowski claimed in subsequent interviews that he was referring specifically to Byron (who maintained his innocence), but also threw other rookies under the bus in terms of their lack of experience in Cup Series plate races. So does he really have a vendetta against first-year drivers?

Eh, probably not. The only other rookie in legit equipment this season is Bubba Wallace, and he’s proven to be a pretty savvy plate racer despite his inexperience. Still, it’s understandable that Keselowski was upset after the Big One, as he’s still winless this year and has to be getting a little frustrated. Maybe more than a little.

What we’re saying is that Byron’s spotter might want to be a little cautious about suggesting that he pull up in front of Keselowski this fall at Talladega, because while Brad might be bluffing or simply have cooled off by then, there’s also a chance he’s very much filing this away for when he sees the 24 in the draft. And if something happens, no one can say he didn’t warn us.