This is something.
We know that sponsorship are harder to come by in NASCAR, and we know that has resulted in the sport losing top talent like Matt Kenseth and Danica Patrick; and keeping veterans like Kurt Busch in limbo.
Now, Brad Keselowski, in an interview with the Sports Business Journal (subscription required) says he was prepared to walk away from team Penske during his contract negotiations.
"There are always periods where, when you're making a deal, in order to have a good deal, you can't be afraid to walk away -- that's kind of the art of negotiating and there were moments where that looked like it was possible. I'm glad that it didn't come out that way, but I'm not immune to being in that situation that Kurt's in. I'm a little bit more fortunate with respect to partners that we have re-signing and being committed to the program."
.@keselowski on his contract renewal this year w/ @Team_Penske: "There are always periods where, when you?re making a deal, in order to have a good deal, you can?t be afraid to walk away ... and there were moments where that looked like it was possible." ? https://t.co/LLmHAxGRU6 pic.twitter.com/AKXd96JhMM
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) November 21, 2017
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Kes has been with Penske since 2010, and that year, he won the NASCAR Nationwide series championship. In 2012, he was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ, so leaving Penske would have certainly been a huge deal.
It didn't happen. But it shows how even the best relationships stand a chance of falling apart.