Brad Keselowski Racing

Brad Keselowski Racing
Owner(s) Brad Keselowski
Base Statesville, North Carolina[1]
Series Camping World Truck Series
Car numbers 2, 19, 29
Race drivers 2. Austin Theriault, Austin Cindric (part-time)
19. Daniel Hemric
29. Tyler Reddick
Sponsors 2. Gogo, Klixel8 (Theriault), Pirtek (Cindric)
19. Draw-Tite/Reese Brands, California Clean Power, Oakmont Management Group, Blue Gate Bank
29. Cooper Standard
Manufacturer Ford
Opened 2007
Career
Debut 2008 Toyota Tundra 200 (Nashville)
Latest race 2016 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
Races competed 190
Drivers' Championships 0
Race victories 9
Pole positions 13

Brad Keselowski Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Started in 2007, it is owned and operated by Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series champion Brad Keselowski. The team currently fields the No. 2 Gogo Ford F-150 part-time for Austin Theriault and Austin Cindric, the No. 19 California Clean Power/Draw-Tite Ford F-150 full-time for Daniel Hemric, and the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150 full-time for Tyler Reddick.

ARCA Racing Series

Brad Keselowski Racing's new shop in Statesville, NC

During the team’s inaugural season in 2007, BKR competed in select events in the ARCA Racing Series. With Robb Brent behind the wheel of the No. 00, the team earned one top-10 finish at Nashville Superspeedway. In 2009, Keselowski entered a part-time ARCA entry for DeWitt, Michigan driver, 17-year-old Chad Finley, son of former ARCA winner Jeff Finley. Finley won his first-career pole at Rockingham Speedway, though late race contact would relegate Finley to 15th in the final rundown. In 2010, Finley ran the No. 29 Chevrolet in a six ARCA races with sponsorship from Auto Value and Air Lift Services. His best finish of third was achieved at both Pocono and Rockingham.

Camping World Truck Series

Joey Logano (19) and Ryan Blaney (29) race for BKR at Rockingham in 2013

Truck No. 2 history

On February 8, 2016, it was announced that BKR will field a third truck entry with Austin Theriault driving the No. 2 Ford F-150 at Daytona. It previously ran in 2013 with Keselowski at Charlotte. On April 28, it was announced that Austin Cindric and Austin Theriault would run additional races in the No. 2. However, Cindric and Theriault didn't qualify their races due to rain which caused NASCAR to cancel qualifying since the No. 2 team is low on points.

Truck No. 19 history

Brad Keselowski, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick announce BKR's 2016 lineup on NASCAR Race Hub

2008 saw BKR expand its operation to include participation in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Robb Brent signed on to drive the No. 19 Chevrolet for three races, with a best finish of 21st. Keselowski drove the No. 19 Chevrolet himself in the Lucas Oil 150 at the Phoenix International Raceway. Using the engine out of his race-winning Nationwide Series car from Bristol Motor Speedway, he started seventh and finished the race in the sixth position.

Daniel Hemric's No. 19 Reese Brands F-150 during practice for the 2016 Careers for Veterans 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

In 2011, team owner Keselowski also drove a second truck, the No. 19, for six races. Three years later, The team ran a second full-time truck shared by Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain and Dave Blaney, as well as a third truck, the No. 2, driven by Keselowski at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 2014 saw Keselowski win his first-career NCWTS race at Bristol in the No. 19 truck.

In 2015, the No. 19 was driven full-time by Tyler Reddick, with Reddick winning two races (Daytona International Speedway, Dover International Speedway) before ultimately finishing second in the standings.

In 2016, Daniel Hemric joined the team, driving the No. 19 California Clean Power/Draw-Tite Ford, while Reddick moved into the No. 29 for a full-time effort sponsored by Cooper Standard.[2]

Truck No. 29 history

Tyler Reddick's No. 29 F-150, sporting a special paint scheme for the 2016 Careers for Veterans 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

Keselowski entered the team in eight NCWTS races in 2009, driving the Keselowski family's familiar No. 29. BKR brought Mikey Kile in for six races, J. R. Fitzpatrick in for one race, and Keselowski made one start at Bristol. The team earned its best finish of 10th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and its best finish of 11th (Milwaukee, Gateway), all with Kile behind the wheel. In 2010, the team competed in five NCWTS events, with Keselowski scoring a season-best finish of second at Gateway Motorsports Park.

A few BKR trucks sit on roller inside the Statesville shop near the conclusion of the 2016 season.

In 2011, BKR fielded the No. 29 Ram for development driver Parker Kligerman. The team intended to run 15 races before Team Penske committed to sponsoring the team for the full season. Kligerman scored a few top fives but finished 11th in points. In 2012, Cequent Group and Cooper Standard sponsored the No. 29 team.[3] Due to a lack of performance, Kligerman was released from the No. 29 and Ryan Blaney was brought in to fill out the remaining schedule. Blaney immediately made a splash, winning at Iowa Speedway in his third start, earning the team its first victory. Blaney returned to the No. 29 full-time in 2013, capturing the pole at Kentucky Speedway and the win at Pocono Raceway. Blaney captured a win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in his full-time effort behind the wheel of the No. 29. Blaney finished second in the championship standings at the end of 2014.

The No. 29 was split between various drivers throughout the season. Cup Series driver Joey Logano earned his first-career Truck Series win at the spring race at Martinsville Speedway,[4] and Ryan Blaney earned the team its second-consecutive win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Austin Theriault drove the truck for several races[5] until his injury at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In his place, Brad's brother Brian Keselowski drove the truck at Talladega Superspeedway,[6] and rookie Austin Cindric drove the truck for two races before Theriault's return in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 2015 also saw BKR relocate from Mooresville, NC to its new facility in Statesville, NC. Reddick switched to the No. 29 for 2016.[2]

Late model racing

BKR at one time also fielded an Outlaw Super Late Model, in Michigan, where Brad Keselowski is originally from. Australian driver Andrew Hagen moved to Michigan in 2009 to drive the car, originally from an open wheel/road racing background, he is using this class to gain experience in closed-body stock cars.

References

  1. ↑ Marusak, Joe (October 20, 2015). "Brad Keselowski Racing moving to Statesville". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "2012 JEGS/CRA Champion, Daniel Hemric Heading To Brad Keselowski Racing In 2016". Champion Racing Association. November 3, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Cooper Standard and Cequent Form Major Alliances With No. 29 Brad Keselowski Race Team: RAM Truck Entry Driven by Parker Kligerman for 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season" (PDF). Cooper-Standard Automotive. Las Vegas, Nevada. shareholder.com. November 2, 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series Martinsville Speedway I Recap".
  5. ↑ "Ryan Blaney to drive for Brad Keselowski Racing". NASCAR. Turner Sports. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Our Newest Driver". Brad Keselowski. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

External links

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