DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Brad Keselowski entered the media center Sunday night a little dehydrated and admittedly probably a little tipsy, two not-so-surprising results of winning the Southern 500, considered by many as one of the sport's majors.
For the first time, he would leave Darlington Raceway having captured one of the sport's biggest trophies while completing the weekend sweep at a track where he had never won in any national series.
"When we added in all this retro [throwback paint scheme] stuff a few years ago, it's like a spark that just reignited this track as being just stupid cool," said Kesleowski, whose scheme was a throwback to Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.
"To win here and to win wearing in Rusty's colors and driving his car, I feel like I'm kind of in a dream from when I was 10 years old. It's something I will carry forever. It's probably the biggest win of my career."
While Keselowski was living a dream as well as having a sigh of relief for having won for the first time in 2018, two other former Cup champions probably left feeling a little uneasy, wondering what dream they were in.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson had an oil pump failure Sunday, relegating him to a 39th-place finish. He enters the regular-season finale next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway not locked into a playoff spot.
There are 14 drivers who have earned bids, and Johnson leads his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman by 19 points. They both advance as long as no driver outside the current playoff grid wins at Indianapolis. If a driver does pull off the upset, then either Johnson or Bowman is the odd man out, depending on who has the most points.
"It sucks," Johnson said. "I don't want to be in this position. We have been around this spot for a while. We have seen it coming. We just need to transfer and honestly, I think our cars are capable of running in the top-5.
"If we can just start minimizing mistakes, my own included, we will be much better off and have a shot."
The other driver who probably is a little uneasy is defending NASCAR Cup champion Martin Truex Jr., and it has nothing to do with making the playoffs. He has four wins this year but still doesn't know what he'll be doing in 2019 as Furniture Row Racing continues to look for sponsorship.
While team owner Barney Visser put out a statement last month that not running in 2019 wasn't an option, the team had talked with GMS Racing last month about a potential purchase that never came to fruition. Truex has said Visser wouldn't run without sponsorship (5-Hour Energy is dropping a 14-race sponsorship after this season), so the team future remains in question. No one was available at Darlington to address the stability of the organization for 2019.
Crew chief Cole Pearn declined to comment, and Truex, who said two weeks ago that he couldn't put a percentage on whether he will be back with the team, didn't have anything to add while at Darlington.
When asked if he could say if he would back at Furniture Row next year, Truex politely delivered a short answer.
"I can't," he said after qualifying Saturday. "I have no news for you."
If Truex ends up on the market, Toyota is expected to do everything to keep him (and Pearn) in its stable in 2019. That would mean Joe Gibbs Racing and then JGR probably needing to shift one of its drivers to another Toyota team. Leavine Family Racing has been talking to Toyota but no deal has been signed and the team is looking for a driver with the retirement of Kasey Kahne.
"This is that time of year, isn't it?" team owner Joe Gibbs said Sunday night. "I think there's a lot right now that is up in the air. I think the big thing is what the 78 [of Furniture Row does] and everything about that. Right now, there's nothing to comment on."
Gibbs likes his driver stable, but everyone would want Truex. Daniel Suarez, who has shown promise this year, is the only JGR likely to miss the playoffs and could be on the hot seat.
"We do like [Suarez]," Gibbs said when asked if Suarez could be the driver moved. "There's so much out there; most of it is not accurate."
Truex hates change and certainly wouldn't want to go anywhere. But he might not have a choice, as this could be a situation he can't control in this struggling sponsorship environment.
The lack of control is the frustrating part for any driver. Johnson, as far as making the playoffs, might not be able to control his destiny. If he doesn't make it, it probably would be the result of a part failure and an upset.
"That would be one hell of a Cinderella story, wouldn't it?" Keselowski said of someone knocking Johnson out of making the playoffs. "I think he'll be fine, but I'm sure it's frustrating."
Keselowski knows all too well about missing the playoffs -- he missed the year after he won the title in 2012 -- and how this type of season has been for Johnson.
"That team has been the type of team for so many years was completely oblivious to the cycle that a lot of us have hit, where you run good and then not good for six months and one season your off. ... They're handling it very well because it can be very frustrating," Keselowski said.
Keselowski hasn't had the worries of making the playoffs as he has piled up the points this year. But he has had the frustration of not having won, and he is glad he won't have that hanging over him entering the playoffs.
"We won the [preseason] Clash this year, but y'all don't count that," Keselowski said. "I do. I've got the trophy. I knew for the last 11 weeks, all I was going to get is questions about how we haven't won this year.
"It feels really darn good not having to answer that one."