CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Brad Keselowski recognizes how fortunate he is to be racing at NASCAR’s top level, and uses the kind of joke a guy would tell his buddy over a beer as a metaphor for the situation he finds himself in.

In Keselowski’s version of the joke, an unemployed man prays every night to win the lottery as a means to end his struggles. As times goes on with no response, he angrily demands an answer only for God to tell him “Try buying a ticket!”

“I’m a lottery winner, this I know,” explains Keselowski, “but I’ve bought a ton of tickets.”