NASCAR » NASCAR Driver of the Year vote: 1st

24 December 2012
You voted Brad Keselowski into 1st place in Crash.net's NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver of the Year poll!
NASCAR Driver of the Year vote: 1st
Top 10 NASCAR Driver of the Year 2012:
1. Brad Keselowski

Birthdate: February 12, 1984
Hometown: Rochester Hills, MI
Team: Penske Racing
Crew chief: Paul Wolfe
2012 starts: 36
Poles: 0
Wins: 5
Top 5: 13
Top 10: 23
Annual earnings: $6,227,850
Championship points: 2400
Championship position: 1st
Crash.net NASCAR Driver of 2011 position: 3rd

We here at Crash.net were genuinely wondering how Brad Keselowski would fare in the 2012 NASCAR Driver of the Year standings. The goofy social media-obsessed youngster can be a bit of an acquired taste for many; others think he's just too darn young to be winning Sprint Cup titles just yet. After all, it's only a couple of years since he was ruffling feathers when he joined the senior series after winning the 2010 Nationwide Series title, and a lot of fans simply aren't ready to admit that the torch might already be passing from the generation that brought us the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

But pass it has, at least for 2012: and now the torch is in the hands of Brad Keselowski after a frankly immaculate season-long performance. He matched Johnson for the number of wins and came only one shy of Johnson's tally of 24 top tens; he didn't claim any pole positions this season, but he was happy enough to concentrate on fine-tuning his car in race trim, start further down the field and make his way back up through the positions. Since it won him the Sprint Cup championship, it's hard to pick a fault with that strategy.

But that's Keselowski in a nutshell: he's a smart cookie, he thinks things through and does things his own way. And it works. We're impressed with him, and we're delighted that the voters agreed and confirmed Keselowski as the stand-out driver of 2012.

Check back later in the week for the details of the averages each driver scored, and what happened to those drivers outside the top ten.

The complete top 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver of the Year 2012 results:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Mark Martin
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Marcos Ambrose
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Jeff Gordon
10. Greg Biffle

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Related Pictures

Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, sits in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 5, 2012 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, races past the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 30, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo Credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the series championship and finishing in fifteenth place for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, shakes hands with NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France in Champions Victory Lane after winning the series championship and finishing in fifteenth place for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2012 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 9, 2012, in Avondale, Ariz. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR)
US President Barack Obama, Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, Owner Roger Penske and Crew Chief Paul Wolfe attend an event at the White House, April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama is hosted the event to honour Keselowski the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. (Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama (middle) shakes hands with team owner Roger Penske (right), as Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski (left) stands nearby during an event at the White House, April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama is hosted the event to honour Keselowski the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. (Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama talks with Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, driver of Penske Racing #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, on the driveway at the White House April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted an event to honour the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. (Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama talks with Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, driver of Penske Racing #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, on the driveway at the White House April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted an event to honour the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. (Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama talks with Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski, driver of Penske Racing #2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, on the driveway at the White House April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama hosted an event to honour the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. (Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe`s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, leads Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 NOS Ford, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 24, 2013 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald`s Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, are involved in an incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 24, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

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