It seems NASCAR thinks driver Brad Keselowski’s Twitter addiction has a gone too far. Nine months after he became a social media darling for tweeting from his car during an extended delay at February’s Daytona 500, Keselowski was fined $25,000 by NASCAR for doing the same thing during a race that took place on Sunday.
After Keselowski’s Daytona 500 tweeting spree, drivers had been notified that smartphones would not be allowed in cars, NASCAR spokesman Kelly Tharp told the Associated Press; this revelation quashed fan rumors that Keselowski was fined as retaliation for going on a public, cuss-filled tirade about other drivers’ tactics following Sunday’s race.
“Brad’s tweeting at the Daytona 500 was really our first introduction to the magnitude of the social media phenomenon at the race track, especially how we saw it unfold that evening,†Tharp told the AP. “We encourage our drivers to participate in social media. We feel we have the most liberal social media policy in all of sports, and the access we provide is the best in all of sports.â€
Keselowski gained more than 100,000 followers in two hours when he began tweeting from the Daytona 500 racetrack on Feb. 27.
Two days later, NASCAR released a statement reading: “Nothing we’ve seen from Brad violates any current rules pertaining to the use of social media during races. As such, he won’t be penalized. We encourage our drivers to use social media to express themselves as long as they do so without risking their safety or that of others.â€
Fellow Daytona 500 driver Juan Pablo Montoya had crashed into a safety vehicle loaded with jet kerosene, triggering a large explosion and fire. No one was hurt, but the explosion caused a long delay, as the fire was put out and the mess cleaned up.
From his spot in traffic behind the fire, Keselowski did what any social media fiend would: He busted out his smartphone and started posting Twitter updates, including this message (and the photo above):
Fire!My view twitter.com/keselowski/sta…
â€" Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
As word spread on Twitter and Keselowski gained hundreds of followers per minute, he bantered with fans in a series of subsequent tweets, including:
I took it…@ANikonNerd: @keselowski how did you get this pic?â€
â€" Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
No worriesWe stopped @LisShoe: @keselowski please! Don’t tweet and drive! Lol ;) ;)â€
â€" Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
Maybe;)@beachtowel43: @keselowski do you seriously have your phone in the car? Hahahaâ€
â€" Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) February 28, 2012
Do you think NASCAR was right or wrong to fine Keselowski for tweeting from his car this weekend? Give us your take in the comments.
BONUS GALLERY: Our Favorite Sports Social Media Moments of 2012
As New England Patriot Devin McCourty took on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, his followers were still able to receive real-time updates from his social feeds. But he wasn't sneaking tweets between plays or during timeouts. Devin and twin brother Jason, who plays for the Tennessee Titans, share their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The Super Bowl showcased one of the more creative approaches to social media in the sports world.
Image courtesy of Devin and Jason McCourty's Instagram.
New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, an unheralded, fringe NBA player out of Harvard, enjoyed a magical run of success in February, propelling him to worldwide stardom.
But that wasn't restricted to the hardcourt. Lin-themed memes popped up left and right, and tribute raps appeared on YouTube. Lin added Twitter followers at an exponential rate, and even tech publications that normally steer clear of sports were forced to take notice of "Linsanity."
Image courtesy of Flickr nikk_la.
When the Daytona 500 NASCAR race was delayed in late February after an explosion and fire on the track, driver Brad Keselowski began tweeting from his car. He posted the image at left, chatted with fans and gained more than 100,000 followers during his historic and shocking Twitter spree.
Image courtesy of Brad Keselowski
Twitter users gawked at an improbable collision of joy, violence and voyeurism after the University of Kentucky won college basketball's national championship in April.
How? Large-scale riots broke out in Lexington, and word spread that the city's police scanner was accessible via the streaming app TuneIn.
For hours, #LexingtonPoliceScanner along with other terms related to the riots, trended worldwide. As one tweeter put it: "This is so messed up, but Twitter gold."
As the Los Angeles Kings played their way to a Stanley Cup title, the squad's social media team redefined the digital sports marketing playbook. Sassy tweets like the one at left -- directed at Stanley Cup Finals opponent the New Jersey Devils -- bucked a conservative status quo in the industry. But the social team pulled off its blatantly biased voice, jabs at opposing fans and goofy jokes with aplomb, gaining more than 60,000 followers during the playoffs.
Last spring, despite still being in his mid-20s, NBA star LeBron James, typically an engaging tweeter, endured more pressure and criticism than any player in basketball history for a lack of championships.
In late April, his Miami Heat began their playoff journey, and James went silent on social media. Weeks and weeks passed, but he didn't break his silence. Finally in June, the Heat won, and James celebrated his first title with this giddy message: "OMFG I think it just hit me, I'm a CHAMPION!! I AM a CHAMPION!!"
Image courtesy of Flickr, rezsox
The United States' Olympic basketball team of NBA mega-stars toured the world to practice and bond before the 2012 Games. During their travels, many of the players belied an unexpected yet profound love for everyone's favorite photo sharing app, Instagram. Dorky tourist shots and sneak attacks on snoozing teammates flooded the interwebs with hilarious and humanizing moments, providing a reminder that in many ways, our idols aren't so different from us.
Image courtesy of Kevin Durant (Instagram: @trey5)
It's easy to forget how much ugly abuse our athletic idols endure on social media. After a poor performance in the Summer Olympics, British diver Tom Daley was targeted by a troll who referenced his recently deceased father. Daley fought back by outing the troll to his 580,000 followers. Fans rallied to Daley's defense, and the harasser was eventually arrested under Britain's malicious communications laws.
Image courtesy @TomDaley1994
Immediately after favored American gymnast McKayla Maroney stumbled to a silver metal during the Summer Olympics and displayed her disapproval with a memorable scowl, the Internet worked its meme magic.
McKaylaIsNotImpressed.tumblr.com collected images of McKayla, superimposed onto famous scenes from history, pop culture and the news. At left, McKayla is being a wet blanket with an ecstatic, post-landing Mars rover team.
Sometimes brands and sports teams don't realize how much social media has shifted the balance of public relations power toward the common fan.
In September, a Kansas City Chiefs social media manager sent the disrespectful Twitter DM at left to a disgruntled fan, who, as it happened, was a professional social media expert. The fan went thermonuclear in the digital flamewar, blowing the story up on Reddit, Twitter and even mainstream media.
Animosity mounted among NFL players over the league's reliance on under-qualified replacement referees to start the season. Then the Green Bay Packers lost over a controversial call during Monday Night Football in September. Packer T.J. sent the following two tweets immediately after the game. Each gained tens of thousands of retweets. Fans and other players loved his candor, and the NFL's normal refs were soon back calling games.
British soccer star Ashley Cole posted the following message about England's governing body of soccer in October, after the organization cast doubt on his credibility in an investigation. The outburst and creative hashtag were a comedic hit with many fans, but Cole's pocketbook took a pretty epic dent when the same organization he blasted fined him £90,000 -- or 145,000 American dollars.
The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series in October. And the team was just as stellar in the social space. Creative engagement initiatives pulled fans in, and the social media home runs culminated when the team actually matched President Obama's near-perfect Klout score of 99.
Image courtesy of @SFGiants
Thumbnail image courtesy Flickr, DigitalRedEye
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