CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Brad Keselowski doesn't want a fancy new car, a million-dollar home or a big yacht for nearby Lake Norman as a reward for winning his first Sprint Cup championship.
He wants a tank.
You heard me right.
We knew Keselowski would be a different kind of champion when he announced he had a buzz during Sunday night's postrace "SportsCenter" interview, but this cements it.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesThis World War II era M4A3 Sherman tank may fit the bill nicely for Brad Keselowski.The Penske Racing driver wants a tank from either World War II or the Korean War era to drive around his property that is adjacent to that of Dale Earnhardt Jr. near Mooresville, N.C.
He also wants Earnhardt to get one so they can "chase each other around in the woods with them."
Yes, this is getting more strange all the time.
The thought of owning a tank first entered Keselowski's mind over the summer when he heard a story about Wally Dallenbach owning one. So he promised himself if he won the Cup title, "I would buy one whether Dale does or not."
"It was kind of a little bit of motivation, I should say," Keselowski said on Tuesday during a national conference call. "I'm not one to really buy trophies for myself, but I think a tank would be pretty cool.
"I want to put one together and have some fun with it. When I'm done playing with it, I'll just park it in the driveway and scare off people who aren't supposed to be around. I don't know. It will be fun either way."
Keselowski, by the way, has no regrets about his "SportsCenter" interview, during which he admittedly was intoxicated after quickly consuming beer and champagne during the postrace celebration.
"It looked like a guy that was having fun, which is what I was having," he said after seeing clips of the live broadcast. "I'm proud of that moment. I'm proud to be a Sprint Cup champion."
And maybe soon he'll be the proud owner of a tank.
David Newton | email
ESPN Staff WriterABOUT THIS BLOG
David Newton
David Newton, an award-winning NASCAR writer, began as a national motorsports columnist at ESPN.com in December 2006. Prior to joining ESPN.com, Newton served as the lead writer for NASCAR.com.
Newton previously covered NASCAR, the Carolina Panthers, Clemson University and University of South Carolina athletics for The State in Columbia, S.C., from 1984 to 2006. He also served as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated, and covered seven Super Bowls, dozens of college bowl games, five Masters, two U.S. Opens, two men's Final Fours, one women's Final Four and every major race on the NASCAR circuit.
The 1981 Wofford College graduate has won numerous state and national press association awards, including the 2009 Aflac Motorsports Journalism Award and second place in the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) columnist category. He also grabbed second-place national honors for his coverage of University of South Carolina football from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) in 1992 and the award for excellence in news reporting from the South Carolina State Press Association in 2002. He has broken major national stories, including the Carolina Panthers' steroid scandal in 2004.
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