 | |
| Owner | Brad Keselowski |
|---|---|
| Base | Statesville, North Carolina[1] |
| Series | Craftsman Truck Series |
| Race drivers | |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet(2008–2009) Dodge(2010–2011) Ram(2012) Ford(2013–2017) |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Closed | 2017 |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2008Toyota Tundra 200 (Nashville) |
| Latest race | 2017Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead) |
| Races competed | 305 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 11 |
| Pole positions | 18 |
Brad Keselowski Racing was an American professionalstock car racing team that competed in theNASCARCamping World Truck Series. Started in 2007, it was owned and operated byNASCAR Cup Series andXfinity Series championBrad Keselowski. The team most recently fielded the Nos. 19 and 29Ford F-150s forAustin Cindric andChase Briscoe.[2] On August 17, 2017, BKR announced that they would suspend operations after the 2017 season.[3]
Brad Keselowski Racing first raced a third truck, the No. 2, driven by Brad Keselowski on May 17, 2013 atCharlotte Motor Speedway
On February 8, 2016, it was announced that BKR would field a third truck entry withAustin Theriault driving the No. 2Ford F-150 at Daytona. It previously ran in 2013 with Keselowski at Charlotte. On April 28, it was later announced thatAustin Cindric andAustin Theriault would run additional races in the No. 2. Theriault and Cindric didn't qualify for their races atCharlotte Motor Speedway andDover International Speedway due to owner point standings when rain caused NASCAR to cancel qualifying. However, Cindric made four starts later in the season atBristol Motor Speedway,Canadian Tire Motorsport Park,Talladega Superspeedway andPhoenix International Raceway with sponsorship fromPirtek.
2008 saw BKR expand its operation to include participation in the NASCARCamping World Truck Series. Robb Brent signed on to drive the No. 19Chevrolet for three races, with a best finish of 21st. Keselowski drove the No. 19 Chevrolet himself in theLucas Oil 150 at thePhoenix International Raceway. Using the engine out of his race-winning Nationwide Series car fromBristol Motor Speedway, he started seventh and finished the race in the sixth position.
In 2012, team owner Keselowski also drove a second truck, the No. 19, for four races.Ryan Blaney drove it for one race, andDavid Mayhew for four races.
2013 was the first full-time season for BKR's No. 19 truck, the races shared byRoss Chastain (14), Keselowski (4),Joey Logano (3), andRyan Blaney (1). In 2014, the No. 19 truck got its first ever win, by Keselowski, who won his only Truck Series victory, at Bristol.Tyler Reddick ran 16 of the races in the No. 19, scoring 9 top tens, Joey Logano ran 2 races and Alex Tagliani ran the road course to fill out the full schedule.
In 2015, the No. 19 was driven full-time byTyler 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. Hemric qualified for the inaugural NCWTS Chase and ended the season sixth in the driver point standings. Hemric departed to XFINITY Series competition atRichard Childress Racing in 2017.
Austin Cindric was named as full-time driver for the No. 19 Draw-Tite Ford F-150 in 2017 and is running for Rookie of the Year honors. Cindric won his first NCWTS race in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in his 22nd start in the series, and only two weeks after team owner Keselowski announced the team's closing at the end of the season.
Keselowski entered the team in eight NCWTS races in 2009, driving the Keselowski family's familiar No. 29. BKR broughtMikey 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 atLas 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 atGateway Motorsports Park.
In 2011, BKR fielded the No. 29 Ram for development driverParker Kligerman. The team intended to run 15 races beforeTeam 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 andCooper Standard sponsored the No. 29 team.[8] Due to a lack of performance, Kligerman was released from the No. 29 andRyan Blaney was brought in to fill out the remaining schedule. Blaney immediately made a splash, winning atIowa Speedway in his third start, earning the team its first victory.
Blaney returned to the No. 29 Ford F-150 full-time in 2013, capturing the pole atKentucky Speedway and the win atPocono Raceway. In 2014 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.
In 2015 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 atMartinsville Speedway,[9] and Ryan Blaney earned the team its second-consecutive win at Bristol Motor Speedway.Austin Theriault drove the truck for several races[10] until his injury atLas Vegas Motor Speedway. In his place, Brad's brotherBrian Keselowski drove the truck atTalladega Superspeedway,[11] and rookieAustin Cindric drove the truck for two races before Theriault's return in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 2015 also saw BKR relocate fromMooresville, NC to its new facility in Statesville, NC.
Tyler Reddick switched to the No. 29 for 2016.[12] Despite missing the inaugural Truck Series Championship Chase, Tyler Reddick won the DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Speedway, leading the team to its first ever 1-2 finish in the NCWTS in what would be his last win for Brad Keselowski Racing. Reddick announced at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he would not be returning to BKR in 2017 to run forChip Ganassi Racing in the XFINITY Series.
In 2017, Chase Briscoe was named as the full-time driver of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150 to compete for Rookie of the Year honors, in addition to being named as the first driver in theFord Performance Driver Development Program. Briscoe earned his first-career NCWTS pole at Dover International Speedway. He also won his first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the final race of the season and for BKR.
During the team’s inaugural season in 2007, BKR competed in select events in the ARCA Racing Series. WithRobb Brent behind the wheel of the No. 00, the team earned one top-10 finish atNashville Superspeedway. In 2009, Keselowski entered a part-time ARCA entry forDeWitt, Michigan driver, 17-year-oldChad Finley, son of former ARCA winnerJeff Finley. Finley won his first-career pole atRockingham 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.
BKR at one time also fielded an Outlaw Super Late Model, inMichigan, where Brad Keselowski is originally from.Australian driverAndrew Hagen moved to Michigan in 2009 to drive the car, originally from anopen wheel/road racing background, using this class to gain experience in closed-body stock cars.