Brad Keselowski
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| status | active | ||||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series statistics | |||||||||
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| Best placement | 1st - (2012) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 1st - (2010) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 21st - (2005) | ||||||||
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| Data status: end of season 2016 | |||||||||
Bradley "Brad" Aaron Keselowski (born February 12, 1984 in Rochester Hills , Michigan ) is an American racing driver and team owner who is currently active in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for Team Penske . He is Sprint Cup Champion of the 2012 season and Xfinity Series Champion 2010. In 2007 he founded Brad Keselowski Racing , a racing team which currently has two vehicles in the Camping World Truck Series .
Keselowski is the second of only four drivers to win a championship in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, as well as the 25th driver to win races in all three national NASCAR series.
Racing career
2004 to 2009
Brad Keselowski began his NASCAR career in 2004 in a Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway . He drove a number 29 Ford F-150 for the family-owned K Automotive Racing team . Started from position 26, he crossed the finish line in 34th place. He drove a total of seven more races in the season, including at Mansfield , where he was 16th. Keselowski finished the championship in 34th place.
He competed in the 2005 season as a full-time driver. In the first race of the season, the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 , he was seventh. At the end of the season he was 21st in the championship standings. In the 2006 season, he drove the first two races for K Automotive Racing . The racing operation was temporarily suspended due to a lack of sponsors. Keselowski then drove a few races for the injured Kelly Sutton . In August he returned to the Craftsman Truck Series for MB Motorsports . He drove the car with the number 63 at number 33 in Bristol .
He was discovered later in 2006 by Keith Coleman, owner of Keith Coleman Racing , which gave him the opportunity to compete in the Busch Series . For the first race in the second highest NASCAR division, he could not qualify, but consistently for the following seven. The Busch Series season in 2007 he wanted a full-time driver for Keith Coleman Racing complete, because of health problems the team owner Keith Coleman this project, however, was thwarted. Since Ted Musgrave was banned from a race after an unfair driving maneuver, Keselowski replaced him in Memphis . He led a large part of the race but fell back to 16th place due to a controversial bump by Travis Kvapil . The rest of the year he drove for JR Motorsports , where he secured five top 10 results.
For the 2008 Nationwide Series season , Keselowski drove a number 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS as a full-time driver for JR Motorsports . He won his first victory in Nashville , and after another win in Bristol, he finished the season in third place overall behind Sprint Cup drivers Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards . He was also committed towards the end of the season for two races in the Chevrolet with starting number 25 for Hendrik Motorsports in the Sprint Cup. His debut was at the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway , which he finished in 19th place.
In the 2009 season Keselowski continued to appear in the Nationwide Series in the number 88 for JR Motorsports and finished the season after four wins again in third place. Additionally completed selected races in the Sprint Cup for both Hendrick Motorsports and Phoenix Racing. He secured his first victory in the Sprint Cup in car number 09 for Phoenix Racing on his fifth start in the series when he tried to overtake Carl Edwards , who had been leading up to now, in the final meters of the Aaron's 499 on the Talladega Superspeedway Keselowski's car touched and hit the outer wall.
From 2010: Team Penske
2010
Although Keselowski had connections with Hendrick Motorsports, he moved to Team Penske in 2010 and thus from Chevrolet to Dodge , as there would be no free space for him at Hendrick Motorsports in the foreseeable future.
He drove the entire 2010 season in number 12 in the Cup Series, in addition, he also competed in all races of the Nationwide Series in number 22.
In the fourth race of the Cup in Atlanta, Keselowski accidentally touched Edwards' car, which then slid into the wall. Shortly before the end of the race, Keselowski was on the way to a top 5 result, Edwards turned it around on purpose, whereupon Keselowski's car took off in a similar manner to Edwards' accident from the previous year in Talladega and hit the wall. Edwards was then fined by NASCAR.
The rivalry also continued in the Nationwide Series. At the Gateway International Raceway , the drivers fought for victory, on the last lap Edwards was accidentally touched by Keselowski, who then let him by again. In the last corner of the race, Keselowski tried to overtake, but Edwards deliberately rammed him and won the race, while the accident Keselowski only finished 14th.
In the Sprint Cup, the 2010 season was not very successful, with only two top 10 results he came in 25th overall. In the Nationwide Series, however, he drove six wins, with a total of 26 top 5 results, he was able to win the championship.
2011
For the Sprint Cup season 2011 , Keselowski moved to number 2. After a moderate start to the season, he was able to win in Kansas . During a test on Road Atlanta , his brakes failed, so he hit a concrete wall head-on at a little over 300 km / h, breaking his ankle in the process. Immediately after the accident he was admitted to the nearest hospital with severe back pain, but four days later he was able to take part in a race again in Pocono , which he even won. A second and a third place followed before he could win his next race in Bristol. Keselowski moved into the chase and finished the season in fifth place , ahead of his teammate Busch .
In 2011, he competed in 29 of 34 races in the Nationwide Series, of which he won five.
2012
Keselowski already caused a stir at the Daytona 500, as he posted pictures from the car on Twitter during a break in the race . He was only able to finish the race in 32nd place after an accident. He was able to win the races in Bristol, Talladega and Kentucky . After his victory in Kentucky he finished the following 19 races up to the end of the season with two exceptions, always in the top eleven, including two second places in Watkins Glen and Michigan. At Watkins Glen he was in second place at the beginning of the last lap, as the leading Kyle Busch slipped due to oil on the track, Keselowski could not prevent contact, which caused Busch to spin. In the final corners of the race, however, Keselowski was overtaken by Marcos Ambrose , who won the race. In the following race in Michigan, Keselowski was leading ten laps before the end of the race, but was then overtaken.
Keselowski started the Chase in fourth place overall, as he was able to win the Chase's first race in Chicago and two weeks later in Dover . In the meantime he is much behind Johnson , who suffered an accident in the penultimate race in Phoenix . During a break in the race, Keselowski had again posted pictures from his car on the Internet, but this time he had to pay a fine of $ 25,000. At the season finale in Homestead , Keselowski reached a 15th place for winning the championship; At that time, the current play-offs format did not yet exist. After Bobby Labonte, Keselowski was only the second driver to win the title in the two highest NASCAR̠ divisions and the fifth Cup Series champion from the north of the United States after Bill Rexford , Alan Kulwicki , Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth . The win of the season was due not only to his five wins but also to his consistently good results, of the last 20 races of the season he only finished two outside the top 11 (30th place in Bristol and 15th place in Homestead).
Keselowski was able to achieve three wins in 21 starts in the Nationwide Series. His victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the first success of the NASCAR division of Team Penske in Indianapolis, where Penske has already taken 15 wins in the Indianapolis 500 .
2013
When Dodge withdrew from NASCAR, Team Penske was forced to change manufacturers, they decided on Ford , so Keselowski already drove for three different brands. He also got a new team-mate this season in Joey Logano .
He started the 2013 season with four top 5 results, but after that he had many bad results and failures. After the first 26 races he was only in 16th place overall, which meant he missed the chase. In Charlotte, however, he was still able to achieve a victory, this was his first victory in 38 races. On October 2nd it was announced that Keselowski had extended his contract with Team Penske until 2017.
Things went better for Keselowski in the Nationwide Series, winning seven of 16 races, including four consecutive wins.
2014
After the disappointing 2013 season, 2014 was again a little more successful for Keselowski. The first two races of the season he was able to finish third, the following race he was able to win, as the leading Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel on the last lap. The victory also meant a safe entry into the chase. The next nine races were less successful, but after that he was able to finish three races in a row in the top 3. In Pocono, Keselowski was in the lead when a garbage bag flew in front of his grille and blocked the fresh air supply. To prevent overheating, he had to remove the bag using the slipstream of a vehicle to be lapped, but he was overtaken by Earnhardt and only came second. Keselowski celebrated his second win of the season in Kentucky, at the victory celebration he injured himself on a champagne bottle and the wound had to be sewn. The injury did not hinder him, however, at the next race in Daytona he had an accident, the following one in New Hampshire he was able to win. In Richmond he was able to secure the 400th race win for Team Penske a little later. Although he could still win in Talladega, he did not make it to the last round of the chase. He had the most points of all drivers who left the chase, and his six victories of the season represented a personal best.
In addition, he was able to win five of eleven Nationwide Series races, he also achieved a victory in the Camping World Truck Series, in which he had competed sporadically. It was his only win in the series in over 60 starts.
Keselowski was again part of some controversy this year. He came into contact with his former teammate Kurt Busch on the track, and after a few races he had arguments with Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. He was fined $ 50,000 on the grounds that he had forbidden intentionally made contact with Kenseth's car after the end of the race.
2015
In the Sprint Cup season 2015 he could only achieve one victory, but with 25 top 10 results he set a career record. His first win was in Fontana after he overtook Kurt Busch on the last lap. In the next race in Martinsville, he missed victory by just 0.3 seconds. He had an inconspicuous summer, but still qualified for the Chase. He had some good results during the chase but failed to make the round of the last four.
He was able to win two out of nine races that have taken part in the now renamed Xfinity Series.
2016
Keselowski was able to win the third race of the season in Las Vegas , seven races later a victory in Talladega followed, again seven races later he was able to win two consecutive races in Daytona and Kentucky. With four wins and the most points, he was sure to qualify for the chase. He started the second round of the chase with a seventh place in Charlotte, but in Kansas Keselowski was only able to achieve a 38th place because he damaged his car. In order not to be eliminated from the Chase, he had to win the next race in Talladega, he was in the lead for 90 laps, but a piece of debris damaged his grille, so that his engine overheated and he was only 38th again. He was therefore only able to finish the 2016 season in twelfth place.
In the Xfinity Series, he started in 15 races, but he could not win a race for the first time since 2007.
Personal
Keselowski grew up in a Polish racing family, his father, uncle and older brother are also racing drivers.
He and Paige White had a daughter in March 2015, and in December 2016 he announced his engagement to White.
He appeared in the film Sharknado 3 , and he also starred in several episodes of the series Sullivan & Son . He has also co-commented on several races in the Xfinity Series.
Web links
- Official K-Automotive Motorsports website
- Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
- Website
- Keselowski's blog
Individual evidence
- ↑ A Week to Remember. (No longer available online.) In: BradRacing.com | The Official Web Site of Brad Keselowski www.bradracing.com. June 5, 2014, archived from the original on January 11, 2017 ; accessed on January 11, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Silenced: Keselowski can't tweet in car anymore . In: ESPN.com . ( espn.com [accessed January 18, 2017]).
- ↑ Keselowski, Paige White announce engagement . ( nascar.com [accessed January 18, 2017]).
1949: Byron | 1950: Rexford | 1951: Thomas | 1952: Flock | 1953: Thomas | 1954: L. Petty | 1955: Flock | 1956: Baker | 1957: Baker | 1958: L. Petty | 1959: L. Petty | 1960: White | 1961: N. Jarrett | 1962: Weatherly | 1963: Weatherly | 1964: R. Petty | 1965: N. Jarrett | 1966: Pearson | 1967: R. Petty | 1968: Pearson | 1969: Pearson | 1970: Isaac | 1971: R. Petty | 1972: R. Petty | 1973: Parsons | 1974: R. Petty | 1975: R. Petty | 1976: Yarborough | 1977: Yarborough | 1978: Yarborough | 1979: R. Petty | 1980: Earnhardt | 1981: Waltrip | 1982: Waltrip | 1983: Allison | 1984: T. Labonte | 1985: Waltrip | 1986: Earnhardt | 1987: Earnhardt | 1988: Elliott | 1989: Wallace | 1990: Earnhardt | 1991: Earnhardt | 1992: Kulwicki | 1993: Earnhardt | 1994: Earnhardt | 1995: Gordon | 1996: T. Labonte | 1997: Gordon | 1998: Gordon | 1999: D. Jarrett | 2000: B. Labonte | 2001: Gordon | 2002: Stewart | 2003: Kenseth | 2004: Ku. Bush | 2005: Stewart | 2006: Johnson | 2007: Johnson | 2008: Johnson | 2009: Johnson | 2010: Johnson | 2011: Stewart | 2012: Keselowski | 2013: Johnson | 2014: Harvick | 2015: Ky. Bush | 2016: Johnson | 2017: Truex Jr. | 2018: Logano | 2019: Ky. bush
1982: Ingram | 1983: Ard | 1984: Ard | 1985: Ingram | 1986: L. Pearson | 1987: L. Pearson | 1988: Ellis | 1989: Moroso | 1990: Bown | 1991: B. Labonte | 1992: Nemechek | 1993: Grissom | 1994: D. Green | 1995: Benson | 1996: LaJoie | 1997: LaJoie | 1998: Earnhardt Jr. | 1999: Earnhardt Jr. | 2000: J. Green | 2001: Harvick | 2002: Biffle | 2003: Vickers | 2004: Truex Jr. | 2005: Truex Jr. | 2006: Harvick | 2007: Edwards | 2008: Bowyer | 2009: Busch | 2010: Keselowski | 2011: Stenhouse jr. | 2012: Stenhouse jr. | 2013: Dillon | 2014: Elliott | 2015: Buescher | 2016: Suárez | 2017: Byron | 2018: Reddick | 2019: Reddick
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Keselowski, Brad |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Keselowski, Bradley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1984 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rochester Hills , Michigan |