Dodge Motorsports

Brad Keselowski returns for his third full season in a Penske Racing Dodge in 2012. The second generation driver finished a career-best fifth in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points in 2011. The native of Rochester Hills, Mich. won three times last year and racked up 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes over the course of the 36-race season. Keselowski led nearly 300 laps during the season and earned over $5 million in prize money.

Keselowski, the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, will be teamed with crew chief Paul Wolfe again in 2012. Wolfe guided Keselowski to his three wins last year and a spot in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. Keselowski joined Penske Racing near the end of the 2009 season and completed his first full season with the team in the Sprint Cup Series in 2010.

In his first full season as a member of the Penske Racing family, Brad Keselowski did something that no other driver in motorsports history was able to accomplish. The 26-year-old driver from Rochester Hills, Mich. was able to capture the first NASCAR championship for Roger Penske. With crew chief Paul Wolfe calling the shots and committed sponsors like Discount Tire and Ruby Tuesday adorning the sides of the No. 22 Dodge, Keselowski re-wrote the record book as he won the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series title.

Growing up in a racing family, Keselowski is well aware of the sacrifices that need to be made to make it to the top level of the NASCAR Cup Series. After years of climbing the rungs of the NASCAR ladder, it’s somehow fitting that the second-year Penske Racing driver has the opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of the most iconic rides in motorsports history – the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge – for the 2011 season and beyond. Keselowski makes the move with confidence and momentum, fresh off his first NASCAR championship in the Nationwide Series. With Wolfe also moving up to join Keselowski as crew chief of the Miller Lite team, Keselowski is well positioned for a strong Cup Series run in 2011.

After establishing himself as one of NASCAR’s rising stars with his success in both the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, Brad Keselowski officially joined Penske Racing in September of 2009. He was named to drive for the team full-time beginning in 2010 behind the wheel of the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the Cup Series and the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge in the Nationwide Series. In his first full season with the team, Keselowski cruised to a 445-point victory in the Nationwide Series championship standings on the strength of six wins, five poles and a series-record 26 top-five finishes.

He also captured his third-consecutive Most Popular Driver award in the Nationwide Series. Keselowski will once again compete in the Nationwide Series in 2011 with Discount Tire and Ruby Tuesday returning as sponsors of the No. 22 Dodge Challenger.

After his successful 2010 campaign, Keselowski was chosen to drive the “Blue Deuce” in 2011, and he will join select company as only the third driver in the 21-year history of the historic ride. With former drivers Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch, the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge has averaged an 8.8 season finish in the final Cup Series standings. Keselowski brings an impressive pedigree to the No. 2 car team and he is ready to embrace the traditions and expectations that come with being entrusted with a top-notch car.

Keselowski grew up in an environment where spending time at the race shop and the track was just a way of life. His father, Bob Keselowski, was a 1997 race winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His uncle, Ron Keselowski, competed at the Cup Series level in the early 1970s.

At the age of 14, Keselowski made the transition from turning wrenches for his family-owned team, K Automotive Motorsports, to racing. He started competing in the Senior Honda 120 Quarter Midget division in 1998. In his first season, he earned six feature wins. The next year, he moved up to the Senior Honda 160 Quarter Midget division where he won eight feature races and the championship.

In 2000, Keselowski began racing stock cars in the Factory Stock division. That season, he collected nine feature wins as well as Rookie-of-the-Year honors at two Michigan tracks – Auto City Speedway and Dixie Motor Speedway.

During the next three years, Keselowski balanced his budding racing career with his full-time job working for his family’s Camping World Truck Series operation. He advanced to the Limited Late Model and Super Late Model divisions and continued to rack up wins, despite competing on a limited basis. In 2001, he earned five fast-qualifier positions, one feature win and five top-five finishes. Over the next two seasons, he collected 11 fast-qualifier positions, two Super Late Model and two Limited Late Model wins and nine top-five finishes.

Keselowski graduated to Camping World Truck Series competition in 2004 as he drove the truck operated by his family’s team for eight races. The following season, he ran the full Truck Series schedule. His best finish was seventh, which he recorded in February 2005 at Daytona International Speedway.

In 2006, Keselowski gained more NASCAR experience as he ran a partial schedule in both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. He earned valuable seat time as he competed in 13 combined races – seven in the Nationwide Series and six in the Truck Series. That experience prepared him for 2007, when he caught the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR Motorsports.

Keselowski entered the 2007 season expecting to compete full-time in the Nationwide Series for Keith Coleman Racing. But Keselowski had to alter his plans when the team suspended operations in June. Keselowski, who already raced in two Truck Series events earlier in the season, was given another chance later that month when Germain Racing needed a last-minute replacement for Ted Musgrave in the Truck Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park.

Though Earnhardt was aware of Keselowski’s talent, he really became intrigued as he watched the young driver win the pole position, lead 62 laps and compete for the win that day in Memphis. But what struck Earnhardt the most about Keselowski was how he handled himself on the track, especially after being spun out with 10 laps to go by eventual race winner Travis Kvapil.

Keselowski still salvaged a 16th-place finish after the incident. The race was the turning point in Keselowski’s NASCAR career. Realizing how much Keselowski had to offer, JR Motorsports signed the young gun to drive the No. 88 car in the Nationwide Series.

Keselowski made his debut for JR Motorsports in the July 2007 Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. He earned a 14th-place result – the first of eight top-15 finishes he would score during the season. Keselowski competed in 27 races in all, but earned his best results driving the No. 88 entry, recording five top-10 and eight top-15 finishes in 14 starts.

In 2008, Keselowski enjoyed his breakout season. He finished third in the Nationwide Series standings as he produced wins at Nashville Superspeedway and Bristol Motor Speedway in his first full season of Nationwide Series competition. He also earned one pole position, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. The promising racer led laps in 21 races for a total of 295 as he earned the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award for 2008. Keselowski also was chosen by the fans as the Nationwide Series’ Most Popular Driver.

On Nov. 2, 2008, Keselowski made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway, driving the No. 25 car for Hendrick Motorsports. He climbed from his 37th starting spot to finish 19th. Later that month, he made his second Cup Series start and finished 23rd in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The 2009 campaign was a season to remember for the 25-year-old Rochester Hills, Mich. native. Not only did Keselowski capture four victories and two poles in the Nationwide Series, but he won the biggest race of his career when he took the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway in April, marking his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Over the final three Cup Series events of the season, Keselowski took over the reins of the No. 12 Penske Dodge and he earned a top finish of 25th place at Homestead.

Keselowski earned four top-10 results in a total of 15 Cup Series starts in 2009. He once again was a force in the Nationwide Series as he finished third in the championship battle for the second consecutive season and he was also voted the Most Popular Driver in the series for the second year in a row.

In 2010, Keselowski entered his first full-season in the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as his first full year with Penske Racing. In addition to his record-setting performance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Keselowski also garnered two top-10 finishes and nine results inside the top-15 during the season. He also captured his first career Cup Series pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. The confidence level for Keselowski remains high as he prepares for his first season behind the wheel of the “Blue Deuce.”

“To follow champions like Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch in the legendary ‘Blue Deuce’ is a dream come true,” said Keselowski. “The Miller Lite racing team is accustomed to winning on and off the track, and I can’t wait to do my part to build on that tradition. I’m also excited to return to the Nationwide Series in the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge. I feel confident in my growth as a driver since I became part of Penske Racing and I look forward to a successful 2011 season.”

Birth Date: Feb. 12, 1984
Birthplace: Rochester Hills, Mich.
Residence: Mooresville, N.C.
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 155 lbs.
Primary Sponsor: Miller Lite (Cup), Discount Tire (NNS), Ruby Tuesday (NNS)
Car: Dodge Charger (Cup), Dodge Challenger (NNS)
Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe (Cup), Todd Gordon (NNS)