Brad Keselowski initially scared he hurt Austin Dillon in crash

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

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SPARTA, Ky. – Brad Keselowski didn't want to talk much about the horrible crash that marred the end of Monday morning's race at Daytona International Speedway.

After what he witnessed, that's understandable.

Keselowski had a full view of the crash as it unfolded in front of him, then lost control as he tried to slow down while navigating the debris field and smashed into Austin Dillon's car, which was already upside down after hitting the fence.

He acknowledged the incident shook him during comments Thursday at Kentucky Speedway. Keselowski said he "had a little more view of it than I wish I would have had" and was initially scared he may have injured Dillon with the second hit.

"Race cars are very, very well-designed and built for high impacts; they're not ever going to be well-designed for multiple high impacts," he said. "I saw his first impact, and I knew when I was going to hit him a second time that his odds were a lot lower of walking away. But thankfully, he did."

Keselowski said he was "honestly embarrassed" their collision occurred so long after the initial wreck. He's received questions about it this week, and said there was so much debris that he just couldn't slow down from 200 mph – even as far behind as he was.

"That was frustrating," he said. "I felt very, very lucky when I got out of my car and went to Austin and saw that he was OK. Really, those are the thoughts that stick out to me the most. It was just not a good deal."

Several drivers seemed shaken by the Daytona incident, including Jimmie Johnson and race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who said he was on the verge of tears immediately after seeing the crash.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck