FanHouse EricMcclure

Brad Keselowski, the driver of the JR Motorsports No. 88, was removed gingerly from his battered race car Saturday night at California Speedway after one of the hardest NASCAR wrecks in recent memory.

Keselowski was placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance with noticeable pain in his legs. He was later flown to a nearby hospital for X-rays on his legs.

Keselowski, 23, of Rochester Hills, Mich. was battling with A.J. Allmendinger for 18th spot on lap 67 when Allmendinger appeared to move into the path of J.J. Yeley entering turn one. Allmendinger spun down the track and clipped the rear end of Keselowski, shooting the No. 88 Chevrolet head-on into the outside wall. Yeley then clipped Eric McClure, resulting in a four car crash.

ESPN2 telemetry the No. 88 impacting the wall at over 140mph. The impact lifted Keselowski's car into the air enough to allow Allmendinger to briefly get under the spinning, flaming race car. Allmendinger's No. 42 suffered a broken A-post on the right side of the roll cage.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for repairs to the SAFER barrier.

A.J. Allmendinger talked to ESPN2 after getting released from the infield hospital.

"I thought i was clear, but then I got clipped in the right-rear," said Allmendinger.

"I felt so bad for Brad because that was a big hit. I think he's going to be OK. I talked to him in the infield hospital, and he didn't cuss at me, so I think we'll be OK."

Fanhouse Followup
Keselowski's X-Rays Negative After Crash

With all three of NASCAR's national series running at AMS this weekend, schedules will be busy for drivers across the board. Despite the track time, appearances and other commitments, several drivers will have one eye turned towards the NCAA Tournament – especially Brendan Gaughan.

Gaughan is a former college basketball player himself, spending four years as a backup to Allen Iverson at Georgetown University. During his time at Georgetown, the Hoyas made two Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance.

"I don't know if there is a way to really get people to understand what its like to be there and be part of the phenomenon," Gaughan said. "You're 18, 19 years old. You're a child, and you walk into an arena and there are 30,000 people. You walk in there, you know the national media is there, all of the main announcers are there, the entire sports world is there. And you take the court – its amazing."

Gaughan's former team will take the court Thursday night, one day before he takes the track for the American Commercial Lines 200.

Several NASCAR competitors weighed in on the NCAA Tournament, here are their picks:

Brendan Gaughan (No. 77 South Point Resort Chevrolet), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Final Four Picks: Georgetown, Kansas, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Champion: Georgetown
"I was there – I got to play it, I got to live it – so for me, for the rest of my life it will be a big part of every March. Whether I'm racing or not, I'll be watching the games – yelling for the Hoyas and loving the Cinderella stories. And when I'm at home in Las Vegas, you'll find me sitting in front of 10 TVs at a Sports Book at the South Point watching every game."

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four Picks: Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA
"I always let my heart weigh in more than logic and rarely is that a smart move. For my final four, I'll have to go with UCLA, Kansas, Arizona...the Wildcats will have to have miraculous tournament play, but I just have to hang with them since they did get a bid (Kurt attended Arizona for a year prior to deciding to go racing fulltime)... and of course I have to throw the North Carolina Tar Heels in there, too."

Robby Gordon (No. 7 Jim Beam Ford), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four Picks: Florida, Nevada, Texas, UCLA
Champion: UCLA
"For the national championship I'm going to stick to my California roots and take UCLA. The Bruins, like my sponsor Jim Beam, know that the stuff inside matters most and that will take them to the title."

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge), NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Final Four: Florida, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Washington State
Champion: Ohio State
"I can't overlook our teams from the Northwest. Washington State will make the Final Four. Florida is the defending NCAA champion; the Gators know tournament pressure. Virginia Tech has been a giant killer at times this year. There's just one giant they can't handle...Ohio State. The Buckeyes win the championship this time, just not against Florida."