Brad Keselowski: Fantasy NASCAR Driver of the Year

The 2012 season was a miracle one for young NASCAR driver, Brad Keselowski.  Keselowski won his first Sprint Cup Championship this season, but the way he dominated the sport was unprecedented.  It seemed that every race Keselowski finished inside the top-5 and by the end of the year his fantasy NASCAR value was simply off the charts.

Keselowski became the third driver in NASCAR history to win a championship in just his third full season in the sport, joining legends Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon, which is just another testament to how spectacular Keselowski’s 2012 season really was.

Keselowski won five races this year, but also racked up 13 top-5 finishes and an even more impressive 23 top-10 finishes.  His worst finish all year was 32nd, which was only one of his two finishes outside the top-30 all season.  He also had eight finishes between 11th and 15th place. This type of consistency is unprecedented from a fantasy standpoint and earned the youngster the title of Fantasy Driver of the Year.

In the beginning of the year, Keselowski dominated the Food City 500 at Bristol.  He led 232 laps out of the race’s 500 trips around the circle, which ended up being his first victory of his historical season.  His dominant performance at Bristol should have foreshadowed his 2012 season, because the 28-year old certainly posted similar numbers throughout the rest of the year.

He was the safest fantasy pick race after race and even outperformed five-time Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson down the final stretch.  Keselowski became the instant front-runner in every race and seemingly got better as the laps went on.

BK put together one of the most memorable fantasy seasons in NASCAR history, especially since he was severely overlooked in the beginning of the year.  To finish inside the top-10 in 23 of his 36 races in 2012 is unbelievable, and in fantasy terms, it gave any owner a distant advantage this past year.  This will be a fantasy season to remember, and it was especially memorable for anyone that owned Keselowski during the year.