Brad Keselowski Continues NASCAR Family Tradition
Check out
Keselowski's video interview
Brad Keselowski currently pilots the No. 88 U.S. Navy Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He has two top-5 and nine top-10 finishes in 44 career NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
Keselowski,
24, hails from Rochester Hills, Mich., and got his start in racing at
Waterford Hills in Waterford, Mich. Keselowski began racing there when he
was just 12 years old in a Quarter Midget competition. The first
race Keselowski ever won was a go-kart race in Pensacola, Fla. He was 7
years old and in Florida with his family for the ARCA race his dad was
competing in.
He is a third-generation driver who follows in the footsteps of his father, Bob, and grandfather, John. Bob won his one and only NASCAR race in the 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Keselowski’s brother, Brian, competed in four NASCAR Nationwide Series races last season.
In 1998 at age 14, he began racing in the Senior Honda 120 Quarter Midget division, collecting six feature and five heats wins. Keselowski then moved to the Senior Honda 160 Quarter Midget Division one year later and registered eight feature victories and eight heat wins in just 12 starts. In 2000, he moved to Factory Stocks and won nine events, including Rookie of the Year honors at both the Auto City and Dixie Speedways in his native Michigan. From 2001-2003, he ran Limited Late Models and Super Late Models, and posted five wins during that period.
Keselowski made his NASCAR national series debut in 2004 when he competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He made eight starts for his father’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, including his series debut at Martinsville Speedway where he started the race 26th and finished 33rd. In 2005, he ran a full schedule for his father’s team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and finished 21st in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points.
Last year, he ran in only three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, but competed in 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series races with Keith Coleman Racing, and joined JR Motorsports in July after KCR suspended operations. Keselowski was third in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and finished the year 25th in series points.
He presently resides in Mooresville, N.C. While off the track, Keselowski enjoys racing his quarter-scale car, playing video games, especially football, and learning more about our country’ history, especially World War II.
Here is more with Brad Keselowski.
What's the most memorable moment so far in your racing career?My most memorable moments of racing are road trips to various race tracks with my family when I was growing up. My family often drove to whatever track we were competing at on a given weekend, from late models, to ARCA and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Who/what inspires you?
I am inspired by anyone who can make the most out of the opportunities they are given. At this time I think that Kevin Harvick personifies this trait, as he is successful at racing and owning/operating his own team.
What's your favorite track and why?
I don’t have a favorite track. My theory is that if you don’t have a favorite track, you can’t have a least-favorite track.
If you weren’t a race car driver, what would you be?
If I wasn’t racing, I would most likely be an attorney because I like to ask questions and argue.
If you could have dinner with two people who are no longer alive, who would they be?
That’d have to be Thomas Edison and either John F. Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln.
Describe yourself in three words or less.
Inquisitive
Nicknames?
It depends on who you ask. I probably have more than 20 or so different nicknames.
Most prized possession?
I don’t really place a lot of value on possessions, so there isn’t one thing I hold above the rest.
What would you grab if your house was on fire?
I’d just make sure I got out OK. I wouldn’t really miss anything. I’d probably grab my coat and be irritated that I had to clean up the debris.
