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Brad Keselowski future NASCAR
Champion
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In his first full season as a member of the Penske
Racing family, Brad Keselowski did something that no other driver in
motorsports history was able to accomplish. The 26-year-old driver from
Rochester Hills, Mich. was able to capture the first NASCAR championship for
Roger Penske. With crew chief Paul Wolfe calling the shots and committed
sponsors like Discount Tire and Ruby Tuesday adorning the sides of the No. 22
Dodge, Keselowski re-wrote the record book as he won the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide
Series title.
Growing up in a racing family, Keselowski is well aware of the sacrifices that
need to be made to make it to the top level of the NASCAR Cup Series. After
years of climbing the rungs of the NASCAR ladder, it's somehow fitting that the
second-year Penske Racing driver had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of
one of the most iconic rides in motorsports history - the No. 2 Miller Lite
Dodge - for the 2011 season and beyond. Keselowski made the move with
confidence and momentum, fresh off his first NASCAR championship in the
Nationwide Series.
Wolfe also moved up to join Keselowski as crew chief of the Miller Lite |
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team. After establishing himself as one of NASCAR's rising
stars with his success in both the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck
Series, Brad Keselowski officially joined Penske Racing in September of 2009.
He was named to drive for the team full-time beginning in 2010 behind the wheel
of the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the Cup Series and the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby
Tuesday Dodge in the Nationwide Series.
In his first full season with the team, Keselowski cruised to a 445-point
victory in the Nationwide Series championship standings on the strength of six
wins, five poles and a series-record 26 top-five finishes. He also captured his
third-consecutive Most Popular Driver award in the Nationwide Series.
Keselowski once again competed in the Nationwide Series in 2011 with Discount
Tire and Ruby Tuesday who returned as sponsors of the No. 22 Dodge Challenger.
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After his successful 2010 campaign,
Keselowski was chosen to drive the "Blue Deuce" in 2011, and joined
select company as only the third driver in the 21-year history of the historic
ride. With former drivers Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch, the No. 2 Miller Lite
Dodge has averaged an 8.8 season finish in the final Cup Series standings.
Keselowski brought an impressive pedigree to the No. 2 car team and embraced
the traditions and expectations that come with being entrusted with a top-notch
car. Keselowski grew up in an environment where spending time at the race shop
and the track was just a way of life. His father, Bob Keselowski, was a 1997
race winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His uncle, Ron Keselowski
competed at the Cup Series level in the early 1970s |
At the age of 14, Keselowski made the transition from turning
wrenches for his family-owned team, K Automotive Motorsports, to racing. He
started competing in the Senior Honda 120 Quarter Midget division in 1998. In
his first season, he earned six feature wins. The next year, he moved up to the
Senior Honda 160 Quarter Midget division where he won eight feature races and
the championship.In 2000, Keselowski began racing stock cars in the Factory
Stock division. That season, he collected nine feature wins as well as
Rookie-of-the-Year honors at two Michigan tracks - Auto City Speedway and Dixie
Motor Speedway.
During the next three years, Keselowski balanced his budding racing career with
his full-time job working for his family's Camping World Truck Series
operation. He advanced to the Limited Late Model and Super Late Model divisions
and continued to rack up wins, despite competing on a limited basis. In 2001,
he earned five fast-qualifier positions, one feature win and five top-five
finishes. Over the next two seasons, he collected 11 fast-qualifier positions,
two Super Late Model and two Limited Late Model wins and nine top-five
finishes.Keselowski graduated to Camping World Truck Series competition in 2004
as he drove the truck operated by his family's team for eight races. The
following season, he ran the full Truck Series schedule. His best finish was
seventh, which he recorded in February 2005 at Daytona International
Speedway.
In 2006, Keselowski gained more NASCAR experience as he ran a partial schedule
in both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. He earned
valuable seat time as he competed in 13 combined races - seven in the
Nationwide Series and six in the Truck Series. That experience prepared him for
2007, when he caught the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR
Motorsports.Keselowski entered the 2007 season expecting to compete full-time
in the Nationwide Series for Keith Coleman Racing. But Keselowski had to alter
his plans when the team suspended operations in June. Keselowski, who already
raced in two Truck Series events earlier in the season, was given another
chance later that month when Germain Racing needed a last-minute replacement
for Ted Musgrave in the Truck Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.Though
Earnhardt was aware of Keselowski's talent, he really became intrigued as he
watched the young driver win the pole position, lead 62 laps and compete for
the win that day in Memphis. But what struck Earnhardt the most about
Keselowski was how he handled himself on the track, especially after being spun
out with 10 laps to go by eventual race winner Travis Kvapil. |
| Keselowski still salvaged a 16th-place finish
after the incident. The race was the turning point in Keselowski's NASCAR
career. Realizing how much Keselowski had to offer, JR Motorsports signed the
young gun to drive the No. 88 car in the Nationwide Series.Keselowski made his
debut for JR Motorsports in the July 2007 Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland
Speedway. He earned a 14th-place result - the first of eight top-15 finishes he
would score during the season. Keselowski competed in 27 races in all, but
earned his best results driving the No. 88 entry, recording five top-10 and
eight top-15 finishes in 14 starts. In 2008, Keselowski enjoyed his breakout
season. |
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He finished third in the Nationwide Series standings as he
produced wins at Nashville Superspeedway and Bristol Motor Speedway in his
first full season of Nationwide Series competition. He also earned one pole
position, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. The promising racer led laps in
21 races for a total of 295 as he earned the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award for
2008. Keselowski also was chosen by the fans as the Nationwide Series' Most
Popular Driver.On Nov. 2, 2008, Keselowski made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
debut at Texas Motor Speedway, driving the No. 25 car for Hendrick Motorsports.
He climbed from his 37th starting spot to finish 19th. Later that month, he
made his second Cup Series start and finished 23rd in the season-finale at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 2009 campaign was a season to remember for the 25-year-old Rochester Hills,
Mich. native. Not only did Keselowski capture four victories and two poles in
the Nationwide Series, but he won the biggest race of his career when he took
the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway in April, marking his first
NASCAR Cup Series victory. Over the final three Cup Series events of the
season, Keselowski took over the reins of the No. 12 Penske Dodge and he earned
a top finish of 25th place at Homestead.Keselowski earned four top-10 results
in a total of 15 Cup Series starts in 2009. He once again was a force in the
Nationwide Series as he finished third in the championship battle for the
second consecutive season and he was also voted the Most Popular Driver in the
series for the second year in a row. |
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In 2010, Keselowski entered his
first full-season in the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as his first full year with
Penske Racing. In addition to his record-setting performance in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series, Keselowski also garnered two top-10 finishes and nine
results inside the top-15 during the season. He also captured his first career
Cup Series pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. He won the pole
for the 2011 Coca Cola 600, and the following week, he was able to get the lead
with 9 laps to go and hold off a charging |
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win the 2011STP 400 at KansasSpeedway
on fuel mileage. During his victory celebration, he ran out of fuel.
Keselowski had a violent accident at the Road Atlanta circuit which left him
with a broken ankle. However, he took the lead with 16 laps to go from Kyle
Busch and won the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway, notable for
being one of the most tricky tracks in the series. This win, happened 3 or 4
days after the violent crash.The next week, Keselowski gave a valiant 2nd place
effort at Watkins Glen International, leading with 2 laps to go but getting
passed by Marcos Ambrose in turn five. He followed that with a 3rd place finish
at Michigan International Speedway. The next week, Keselowski got his third win
of the year at Bristol by holding off Martin Truex, Jr. and Jeff Gordon.That
win virtually assured Keselowski a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup,
given NASCAR's rule change designating the final two Chase spots as wild cars
slots for drivers ranked 11th through 20th in the points with the most
wins.
Keselowski finished the "regular season" 11th in points, using his
three wins to qualify for his first career Chase.Keselowski was a factor for
much of the Chase, before a late spin at Martinsville derailed his championship
hopes. Still, Keselowski finished his second full Cup season fifth in the point
standings, 84 points behind champion Tony Stewart. Keselowski finished the
season with more wins than teammate Kurt Busch (three to two) and with a better
points finish. |
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