View Brad Keselowski
BRAD KESELOWSKI
DRIVER, No. 88 CHEVROLET
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
Hometown: Rochester Hills, Mich.
Resides: Mooresville, N.C.
Birthdate: Feb. 12, 1984
Marital Status: Single
Family: Parents: Bob and Kay Keselowski; Sisters: Ginger, Kathy and Dawn; Brother: Brian
Brad Keselowski’s passion for racing is simply in his DNA.
Keselowski grew up in a home where spending time at the race shop and the track was just a way of life. His dad, Bob Keselowski, was a 1997 race winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His uncle, Ron Keselowski, competed at the Sprint Cup Series level in the early 1970s.
At 14 years of age, Brad Keselowski made the transition from turning wrenches for his family-owned team, K Automotive Motorsports, to racing in 1998, when he started competing in the Senior Honda 120 Quarter Midget division. 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 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 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. In the next two seasons, he collected 11 fast qualifier positions, two Super Late Model wins, two Limited Late Model wins and nine top-five finishes.
In 2004, Keselowski suited up for the Camping World Truck Series, driving the truck operated by K Automotive Motorsports 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 (Fla.) International Speedway.
In 2006, Keselowski expanded his NASCAR experience, running a partial schedule in both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. He earned valuable seat time running in a combined 13 races—seven in the Nationwide and six in the Truck Series. That experience prepared him for 2007, when he would catch the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR Motorsports.
Keselowski opened the 2007 season expecting to compete full-time in the Nationwide Series for Keith Coleman Racing. But Keselowski had to change plans when the team suspended operations in June. Keselowski, who already competed 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 at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park in a Truck Series race.
Even though Earnhardt knew of Keselowski’s talent, he was impressed further as he watched the young driver score the pole position and lead 62 laps that day in Memphis. But what struck Earnhardt the most about Keselowski was the care he exercised with his equipment, 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.
Earnhardt realized the great potential Keselowski had as a driver, and within a few weeks signed Keselowski to drive the No. 88 Chevy full-time in the Nationwide Series.
Keselowski made his debut for JR Motorsports in the July 2007 Nationwide race at Chicagoland Speedway. He earned a 14th-place finish—the first of eight top-15 finishes he would score during the season. Keselowski competed in 27 races total, but performed his best driving the No. 88 Chevy, recording five top-10 finishes and eight top-15s in 14 starts.
The 2008 season was a breakout year for Keselowski. He finished third in the Nationwide Series standings, winning races at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in his first full season of Nationwide Series competition. He also earned one pole position, 11 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s. The young driver led laps in 21 races for a total of 295, which earned him 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 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He climbed from his 37th starting spot to finish 19th. Later that month, he made his second Cup start and finished 23rd in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In 2009, Keselowski again will run a full Nationwide Series schedule in the No. 88 Chevy for JR Motorsports and attempt to make seven Sprint Cup Series races in the No. 25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.