Brian Keselowski

Brian A. Keselowski (born September 2, 1981^[1]) is an American professional stock car racing driver, crew chief, and spotter. He made headlines in 2011, qualifying his family-owned K-Automotive Motorsports entry into the Daytona 500.

Brian Keselowski
Keselowski at the Milwaukee Mile in 2009
Born	Brian A. Keselowski (1981-09-02) September 2, 1981 (age 41) Rochester Hills, Michigan
NASCAR Cup Series career
3 races run over 2 years
2013 position	49th
Best finish	49th (2013)
First race	2011 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	2013 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
63 races run over 6 years
2011 position	112th
Best finish	31st (2010)
First race	2006 Arizona Travel 200 (Phoenix)
Last race	2011 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2015 position	63rd
Best finish	63rd (2015)
First race	2015 Fred's 250 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of October 24, 2015.

Early life and family

Born in Rochester Hills, Michigan in 1981, Brian Keselowski is the older brother of 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, and the son and nephew of former drivers Bob and Ron Keselowski, respectively.^[2]

He graduated from Rochester High School in 1999, taking night classes to allow him to work as a jackman for the family racing team, K-Automotive Motorsports; he flew to the racetrack directly from his senior prom to assist in competition.^[2] He began his racing career competing in super late model events, winning rookie-of-the-year at Auto City Speedway in 2000.^[2][3]

Early career

Keselowski made his stock car debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2004. He made six starts that season, driving the No. 29 Competition Graphics Dodge for Bob Ducharme. He had three top-tens, including a ninth-place run in his debut at Kentucky Speedway, and finished 34th in points. The next season, the team was purchased by his family,^[2] and he ran seven races including a string of five consecutive top-ten finishes. In 2006, Holloway Motorsports and Dusty's Collision became the sponsors of his car, and he won his first race at Berlin Raceway. Keselowski also made his NASCAR Busch Series (later renamed the NASCAR Nationwide Series) debut that year at Phoenix in the No. 23 Ridley Motorcycles Chevrolet for Keith Coleman Racing, starting and finishing in 43rd place. He had intended to compete at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, but was not approved to run at the 2-mile (3.2 km) track; his brother Brad drove the race instead, jump-starting his career.^[2]

 

2010 Nationwide car

In 2007, he ran a career-high 12 races in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, splitting time with his family team and the No. 5 Lucas Oil Pontiac for Bobby Gerhart. He won twice and finished 22nd in points. In the Busch Series, he made four starts in the Nos. 19 and 49,^[2] including his first top ten finish at Memphis Motorsports Park.^[2] The next season, he made 11 starts, beginning in the No. 28 Jay Robinson Racing Chevy for four races before moving to his family's No. 92, co-owned with Dusty Whitney,^[3] with a best finish of 15th at ORP, four spots ahead of his brother.^[2]

For 2009, Keselowski attempted his first full-time season for Whitney and K-Automotive Motorsports, which renumbered its car with the No. 26. The primary sponsor for Keselowski's car during the 2009 CarQuest Auto Parts 300 was the Detroit Red Wings National Hockey League team; Keselowski ran eighteen races, but stepped aside for twelve of the final fifteen events to act as crew chief while other drivers competed in the car.^[3] During the 2010 season, he qualified for 26 of 35 events; he finished 11th in the season-opening event at Daytona,^[4] but had an average finish overall for the season of 34th.^[3]

2010–2012

During the 2010 season, Keselowski attempted to qualify for three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, starting with the August race at Bristol Motor Speedway,^[5] although he failed to qualify for any of these events.^[6] In early 2011, Keselowski declared his intention to compete for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie Of The Year title; he was the only driver to do so as of the start of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway,^[7] however Andy Lally stated his intention to run for the award while Speedweeks was underway.^[8] The decision to move up to the Cup Series was made on economic grounds; the costs of competing in the Nationwide Series were deemed to be comparable to a Sprint Cup effort.^[9]

In qualifying for the 2011 Daytona 500, Keselowski posted the slowest time of the 48 cars that attempted to qualify,^[10] requiring that he finish in the top two of non-qualified cars in the second Gatorade Duel to secure a position in the race.^[11] With a little help from brother Brad,^[12] Keselowski finished 5th in the second Gatorade Duel and started 12th in the 2011 Daytona 500.^[13]

Shortly after Keselowski's surprise finish in the Duels, he received help from a number of sources, including tires from Evernham Motorsports and an engine from Penske Racing. The engine Penske offered could not be fitted into the car in time.^[14] In addition, the K-Automotive Motorsports team received sponsorship from Discount Tire.^[15] Keselowski ran as high as fourth, but was involved in a wreck on lap 29, finishing 41st.^[16] Keselowski failed to qualify for the next two races.^[17]

In March 2011, Keselowski had severe abdominal pain and needed gallbladder surgery;^[17] Dennis Setzer filled in for races at Bristol, where he finished 38th, and Martinsville, where the team withdrew after a practice crash. Keselowski returned to the No. 92 team for races at Richmond and Darlington in May, but failed to qualify for either race.^[18][19] Following further time off for reevaluation of his underfunded race team, K-Automotive switched to Chevrolet for Michigan and received a one-race sponsorship deal with Melling Auto Parts,^[20] but failed to qualify for the race;^[21] Setzer attempted to qualify at New Hampshire and the fall Martinsville race but failed to qualify.^[22] Scott Riggs also attempted Homestead but did not qualify as well.

For 2012, the team competed in two events in the ARCA Racing Series;^[23] teaming with Sinica Motorsports to field the No. 94 for Keselowski in the ARCA event at Mobile International Speedway,^[24] and also competing at Berlin Raceway, where Keselowski posted his best finish of the season, 23rd.^[25]

2013

 

Keselowski's 2013 Cup car

In 2013, Keselowski announced his intention to compete in the Daytona 500 with Hamilton Means Racing.^[26] Keselowski did not have a great qualifying run, which made him start poorly in the Budweiser Duel. Keselowski started the Budweiser Duel 23rd, but failed to make the race, with a finish in the Duel of 21st.^[27] He returned to the Sprint Cup Series at Richmond at the end of April.^[28] He started the Sprint Showdown on May 18, qualifying 23rd and finishing 19th (four laps down) in a field of 23 cars.^{[citation needed]}

2014

In January 2014, Keselowski announced that he would be returning to running the No. 92 for his own team, Brian Keselowski Motorsports in the 2014 season,^[29] running a Ford Fusion.^[30] Ultimately, though, the team never attempted a race.

2015

On October 15, 2015, Keselowski's brother Brad announced that Brian would drive the No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing in the Camping World Truck Series at Talladega Superspeedway as a replacement driver for Austin Theriault, who had been injured earlier in the season. He ran upfront for a portion of the race and led 10 laps but would ultimately finish 17th after running out of fuel during a green-white-checkered finish.^[31]

Crew chiefing

After stepping away from the drivers seat, Brian Keselowski began to work as a crew chief, working with Stefan Parsons in the late model racing ranks in 2016 before eventually joining NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team Premium Motorsports to work on the organization's No. 49 entry. Keselowski and several other employees were dismissed from Premium when they refused to work on NY Racing Team equipment in the Premium shop in May 2018.^[32] Later that year, he joined NASCAR Xfinity Series team MBM Motorsports to become Chad Finchum's crew chief.^[33] After approximately a year with MBM, Keselowski left the team.^[34]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts	Ref
2010	K-Automotive Motorsports	92	Dodge	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI DNQ	ATL	RCH DNQ	NHA	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MAR	TAL	TEX DNQ	PHO	HOM	83rd	0	^[35]
2011				DAY 41	PHO DNQ	LVS DNQ	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	TAL	RCH DNQ	DAR DNQ	DOV	CLT	KAN	POC																							50th	3	^[36]
			Chevy															MCH DNQ	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM
2013	Hamilton Means Racing	52	Toyota	DAY DNQ	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN																													49th	9	^[37]
	Brian Keselowski Motorsports											RCH 40	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN 39	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2011	K-Automotive Motorsports	Dodge	12	41
2013	Hamilton Means Racing	Toyota	DNQ

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNSC	Pts	Ref
2006	Keith Coleman Racing	23	Chevy	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO 43	HOM	151st	34	^[38]
2007	Whitney Motorsports	19	Dodge	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP 23	CGV	GLN												79th	422	^[39]
		49																										MCH 33	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM 10	TEX	PHO	HOM 11
2008	Jay Robinson Racing	28	Chevy	DAY	CAL 33	LVS 42	ATL 31	BRI 31	NSH	TEX	PHO	MXC	TAL																										53rd	776	^[40]
	Whitney Motorsports	92	Dodge											RCH 30	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH DNQ	KEN 35	MLW 27	NHA	DAY	CHI DNQ	GTY 40	IRP 15	CGV	GLN	MCH 24	BRI DNQ	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN DNQ	CLT	MEM 31	TEX	PHO	HOM
2009		26		DAY 25	CAL 29	LVS 19	BRI DNQ	TEX DNQ		PHO 27	TAL 14	RCH 21	DAR 24	CLT 30	DOV 16	NSH 30	KEN 35	MLW 31	NHA 34	DAY DNQ		GTY 20	IRP DNQ	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV 42	ATL 33	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT					37th	1412	^[41]
		96						TEX 38	NSH 41												CHI DNQ														MEM QL^†	TEX	PHO	HOM DNQ
2010	K Automotive Racing	26		DAY 11	CAL 34	LVS 32	BRI 39	NSH 24	PHO 20	TEX 36	TAL 33		DAR 24	DOV DNQ		NSH 37	KEN DNQ	ROA 40	NHA 39	DAY	CHI DNQ	GTY 38	IRP 34	IOW 33	GLN 27	MCH 38	BRI	CGV	ATL 31	RCH	DOV 41	KAN 42	CAL 40	CLT	GTY 41	TEX DNQ	PHO 34		31st	1566	^[42]
		92										RCH 43		DOV 42	CLT																							HOM 34
2011	Key Motorsports	47	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	TAL	NSH	RCH	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH	IRP	IOW 42	GLN DNQ	CGV	BRI 42	ATL DNQ	RCH 43	CHI DNQ	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM		112th	0^1	^[43]
^† - Qualified for Michael McDowell

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2015	Brad Keselowski Racing	29	Ford	DAY	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	GTW	IOW	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL 17	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	63rd	28	^[44]

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2004	Bob Ducharme Racing	29	Dodge	DAY	NSH	SLM	KEN 9	TOL	CLT 38	KAN	POC	MCH	SBO	BLN	KEN 18	GTW 25	POC	LER	NSH 10	ISF	TOL 8	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL		34th	840	^[45]
2005	K Automotive Racing		Ford	DAY DNQ	NSH	SLM	KEN					MCH 17	KAN	KEN 7						MCH 7	ISF				SLM 29	TAL	34th	1250	^[46]
			Dodge					TOL DNQ	LAN	MIL	POC				BLN 9	POC	GTW	LER 7	NSH			TOL 7	DSF	CHI
2006			Ford	DAY	NSH	SLM 31	WIN	KEN			MCH 11	KAN	KEN			GTW 27	NSH	MCH 4	ISF	MIL 7	TOL 5*	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL	IOW 10	29th	1260	^[47]
			Dodge						TOL 4	POC				BLN 1	POC
2007			Ford	DAY DNQ																							22nd	2020	^[48]
			Dodge		USA 5	NSH	SLM 1*	KAN	WIN 2	KEN	TOL 6	IOW	POC	MCH 10	BLN 1	KEN	POC									TOL 31
	Gerhart Racing	5	Chevy															NSH 5	ISF	MIL 22	GTW 18	DSF	CHI 40	SLM 25*	TAL
2012	Sinica Motorsports	94	Chevy	DAY	MOB 24	SLM	TAL	TOL	ELK	POC	MCH	WIN	NJE	IOW	CHI	IRP	POC										85th	225	^[49]
	Brian Keselowski Motorsports	29	Dodge															BLN 23	ISF	MAD	SLM	DSF	KAN
2015	Brian Keselowski Motorsports	29	Ford	DAY	MOB	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH	CHI	WIN	IOW	IRP 13	POC	BLN 4	ISF	DSF	SLM 6	KEN	KAN				40th	575	^[50]
2016	Keselowski-Gerhart Racing	5	Ford	DAY	NSH 28	SLM 10	TAL	TOL 9	NJE	POC	MCH	MAD	WIN	IOW	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	DSF	SLM	CHI	KEN	KAN				51st	460	^[51]

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

References

1. "Driver".
2. Swan, Raygan (August 15, 2008). "Brian Keselowski: An older brother looking for success". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
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32. Beard, Brock. "CUP: Early crash hands Kevin Harvick his first-ever last-place finish in 1,089 combined NASCAR starts". LASTCAR. Blogger. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
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42. "Brian Keselowski – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
43. "Brian Keselowski – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
44. "Brian Keselowski – 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
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47. "Brian Keselowski – 2006 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
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51. "Brian Keselowski – 2016 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• Brian Keselowski driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Brian Keselowski crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference