It’s just been that kind of season for the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Brad Keselowski. He entered Pocono on Sunday’s race sitting 32nd in the points standings after five DNFs through 16 events and only a single top-five at Charlotte Motor Speedway to show for RFK’s effort. Yet Keselowski methodically carved through traffic, climbing from 14th to lead by lap 56 at Pocono Raceway. An uncommon front-running stint this year for the No. 6 Ford.Just when it looked like Keselowski was mounting a charge to win the race at the Tricky Triangle, he dropped the ball. While his team radioed in to make a stop, it was Carson Hocevar who threw a bait at the veteran driver. Hocevar later admitted on team radio, “Yeah, I know. I wanted to bait him. I didn’t want him to realize the mistake,” when his pit crew warned him on the No. 77 radio, “It’s closed. The red light is off. Stay out, stay out, stay out!” Even Denny Hamlin followed suit without tipping off Keselowski, remarking over his own radio, “Yeah, I know. I just didn’t want to tip him off.” Keselowski pitted when the pit road light turned red, and he had to serve a penalty and gave up all his track position. This is not the first time the driver of the #6 car has been sluggish on the pit road. At Charlotte, he was sent back to the field for vehicle interference. The only positive about the fumble in Pocono was he was able to climb back to the top and settle for a good top 10 finish. But, given how quick his teammate Buescher was, one can only imagine how big of a race it would’ve been for Keselowski if not for that pit road mishap.That misstep dictated Keselowski’s final result. Although he rallied to finish 9th in the final stage. Demonstrating resilience, he lost critical stage points and clean-air track position that might have fueled a stronger run. Post-race standings placed him 30th, 362 points behind the leader and still outside comfortable playoff range. Reflecting on the error, Keselowski said, “We got the lead there in the first stage and felt like we were in control and lost control of the race early with the pit road penalty… Came from 24th on that last run to 9th. I thought that was strong, but not enough.” Keselowski had one heck of a run in the last stint of the race. He moved up 15 spots. It felt like the 6 car was passing cars all day long.Apr 29, 2023; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski walks on pit road during practice and qualifying for the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY SportsDespite recovering well from the early mistake, fans couldn’t help but highlight how silly mistakes this year have cost the #6 team dearly. And they even raised the question about crew chief Jeremy Bullins’ leadership.NASCAR fans are livid with Brad Keselowski’s Pocono fumbleMany fans targeted RFK’s execution. “Brad’s CC is a dumba– and every freakin week for RFK it’s a pit road penalty or pit road blunder ‍.” Apart from that error in Charlotte, Keselowski made an error on pit road at tracks like Talladega (Commitment line violation), Nashville (Too many pit crews in the pit area), then there was a speeding penalty at Michigan, where he raised questions at NASCAR officials. Too many unforced errors are costing the team, and at this rate, they won’t make it to the playoffs.A reaction lamented the lost opportunity. “Brad K probably would have won the race had it not been for that. He climbed all the way to 9th even in spite of that ill timed caution. Can we fire Bullins for Rodney Childers already?” It is interesting that Ryan Preece, who’s new to the team and the system, has been running better than the #6 team. Naturally, people are now pointing fingers at the leaders within the team, and Jeremy Bullins is now facing the heat from the fans.“I don’t know if you can really blame NASCAR. Brad was the only guy to pit, Hocevar and Hamlin intentionally faked him out, and no one else pitted. So veterans like Elliott, Busch and Logano didn’t have the brainf— that Brad and team had. Hamlin and Hocevar’s teams even panicked and told them both to stay out. This was on Brad and the 6 team,” another fan chimed in. Clearly, the #6 team needs to get their house in order to make the most of the last nine regular-season races.“Honestly, good on them. We need more of these kinda games out there.” Hocevar’s bait-and-switch at Pocono exemplifies how strategic ingenuity levels the field, reminding fans that leading isn’t solely about speed but also about anticipating rivals’ mind games. Such tactics inject unpredictability and sharpen a team’s vigilance. Just like Keselowski, Hocevar is also trying his best to reach the top 16, and he certainly won’t mind using dark arts to foil his rivals’ plans.If Brad Keselowski misses out on the playoffs, this is the race he will look back on, thinking this mistake cost him his entire season.The post Fans in Stitches Over Brad Keselowski’s Hilarious Fumble as He Gets Shamed by a 22 YO appeared first on EssentiallySports.