By Jared Turner

Before the first lap was ever logged in the 2017 Monster Energy Series playoffs, the familiar late-season smack talk had already commenced. And, you can thank Brad Keselowski. Clearly peeved by Toyota’s dominance in recent weeks, the Team Penske/Ford driver used Twitter as his medium to suggest that Toyota currently has a major aerodynamic advantage over the other two manufacturers in NASCAR’s top series. “We are all in for a rude awakening,” Keselowski tweeted on Friday. “Haven’t seen NASCAR let a manufacturer get this far ahead since the 70s.” Quick to challenge Keselowski’s bold statement was, not surprisingly, one of his biggest rivals — Toyota driver Kyle Busch, who responded on Twitter with an acronym that basically means to shut up. Keselowski retorted with, “It’s 2017. When you’re about to lose an argument, you call people names rather than face facts.” Clearly, the playoffs have arrived. Let the barb trading begin.