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Brad Keselowski

Written by: Reid Spencer
Updated February 2, 2023
10 min read

The scion of a dedicated racing family from Michigan, Brad Keselowski has risen to elite status in NASCAR’s foremost division.

Driving for team owner Roger Penske, Keselowski won the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Two years later, he reached the pinnacle of the sport, giving Penske his first title in the NASCAR Cup Series.

After 12 full seasons with Team Penske, Keselowski took an ownership stake in Roush Fenway Racing—rebranded as Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing—where he assumed the role of owner/driver in 2022.

Brad Keselowski

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Fast Facts

  • Full Name: Bradley Aaron Keselowski
  • Nicknames: Kez; Bad Brad
  • Height: 5’10”
  • Born: February 12, 1984
  • Birthplace: Rochester Hills, Michigan
  • Other Interests: His own high-tech manufacturing company; art; veterans affairs

Career Highlights

  • NASCAR Cup Series Champion in 2012
  • NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion in 2010
  • Southern 500 winner in 2018
  • Brickyard 400 winner in 2018
  • Three-time Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver—2008, 2009 and 2010
  • 35 NASCAR Cup Series victories
  • 18 NASCAR Cup Series pole positions
  • 39 NASCAR Xfinity Series victories (fourth all-time)

Brad Keselowski Bio

Brad Keselowski grew up in a racing family. Both his father, Bob Keselowski, and his uncle, Ron Keselowski, competed in NASCAR racing, with Ron scoring two top fives in 68 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Brad literally worked his way from the bottom up, starting his connection with racing by sweeping and mopping the floors and cutting the grass at his family-owned shop.

In 2004 he began his NASCAR career behind the wheel of the No. 29 Ford, the family entry in the Craftsman Truck Series, with father Bob Keselowski as his team owner and crew chief.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s “Discovery” Is Keselowski Big Break

It was a fortunate coincidence, however, that propelled Keselowski’s career skyward.

On one occasion when Keselowski was driving a less-than-stellar Xfinity Series Chevrolet for owner Keith Coleman at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. happened to be observing from a suite high above the track.

Earnhardt soon noticed that Keselowski was passing cars that should have been better and faster than his. When Earnhardt decided to make a change to his own JR Motorsports team later that 2007 season, Keselowski got the call.

Driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Earnhardt, Keselowski won six Xfinity races over the next two seasons before signing with Team Penske for the 2010 season. In 2009, Keselowski also picked up his first NASCAR Cup Series victory, driving for Hendrick Motorsports affiliate James Finch at Talladega.

That was the first of Keselowski’s six victories at NASCAR’s largest oval. He’s tied with Earnhardt Jr. for the second-most career wins at Talladega. The late Dale Earnhardt Sr. won 10 times there.

In his first year with Penske, Keselowski won six Xfinity races and the series title. Driving the vaunted No. 2 Dodge, he won five times and captured the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2012 before Penske switched to Ford the following season.

With Penske, Keselowski won at least one race per season for 11 straight years, a streak that ended in 2022 when he moved to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing as an owner/driver.

In addition to his driving duties, Keselowski founded Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing in Statesville, North Carolina, a company that specializes in additive metal technologies, 3D printing and CNC machining.

Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation has earned acclaimed for its work with armed forces veterans, notably for providing high-speed ride-around in stock cars to disabled veterans at the race tracks the Cup Series visits.

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AUTHOR

Reid Spencer

215 Articles

Award-winning motorsports writer Reid Spencer has served as lead writer for the NASCAR Wire Service for 16 years, having also spent a four-year stint as NASCAR columnist and beat writer for Sporting News. He is currently serving as president of the National Motorsports Press Association. Email: [email protected]

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