Brad Keselowski - Official Thread

Ok. You didn’t specify the time frame but I still say it wasn’t much, if any. They were great when Rusty drove for them, when Kurt drove for them, when the rookie Ryan Newman drove for them, and when Brad joined up. Sure Brad brought something to the table but so did everyone else.

Kurt was a champion when he joined Penske, yet he never repeated while still in his prime. Newman was Mr Pole at Penske, and not much more. Brad and Paul won the championship as 1 of just 2 Dodges in cup.

all I'm saying is what Roger said. He wasn't attracting top drivers [for some time] until Brad won the championship. Sorry, but I'm not going to argue with Roger. He knows the facts better than both of us.
 
Rusty was a part owner. There were 3 owners during that time frame. Nascar was more hobby for Roger while his main objective was IRL championships. Both guys sold out to Roger and it didn't look all that good for Penske until Brad got going and things got better from there.

The above is only my opinion, not stating facts.:D

Roger did an interview around the time of the championship and he stated that he had been lacking commitment to NASCAR. How much Brad had to do with all that isn't known, but Roger outbid his buddy Rick for Kez, and Brad made some demands about commitment and focus on NASCAR. I don't think the timing was coincidence.
 
I would like to see some evidence that Penske outbid Rick for Brad's services. All I have heard is there was "No Place at the Inn" for Brad because they went with MM. Are you saying MM got the ride because Brad turned it down and signed with Roger?
 
Hendrick said one time he doesn't do the development driver thing. He said they wrecked around 50 cars trying it. I would imagine pure guess, Roger needed a driver, Hendrick didn't really at the time.
 
I would like to see some evidence that Penske outbid Rick for Brad's services. All I have heard is there was "No Place at the Inn" for Brad because they went with MM. Are you saying MM got the ride because Brad turned it down and signed with Roger?

Maybe one of us isn't reading Ricks comment that "Nothing will keep me from getting Brad back" comment correctly. :idunno:
I always assumed it meant Rick wanted Brad, but Roger drew him away.
 
Hendrick said one time he doesn't do the development driver thing. He said they wrecked around 50 cars trying it. I would imagine pure guess, Roger needed a driver, Hendrick didn't really at the time.

Justin showed he had bulldog talent when he drove for Penske in NW.
 

Brad Keselowski: "We stole the last three races" from better cars

I don't know if I believe ol Kez or not

"This week we were probably a top three or four car. The 78 (Truex) was clearly the best car, and we put everything together when it counted and kind of stole it. Same scenario the last two weeks.

"I thought the (Kyle Larson) was the best car in Darlington, and we hit the strategy right and executed the last pit stop and that put us in position to win.

"And in Indy we were nowhere near probably even a top-10 car. We were probably a 15th-place car, and (crew chief) Paul Wolfe hit the strategy right and I hit the restart right to make all the passes when it counted and won that race.

"With that in mind, I feel like we stole the last three races. We're not complaining, but we still have a lot of work to do to go out there and win heads up without those issues."

https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-c...he-last-three-races-from-better-cars/3180014/
 
Maybe one of us isn't reading Ricks comment that "Nothing will keep me from getting Brad back" comment correctly. :idunno:
I always assumed it meant Rick wanted Brad, but Roger drew him away.
I read it as Rick saying "I made a mistake and I may try to get him back".
To much time gone by, ain't never going to happen.
 
Neat comeback. From zero to three-in-a-row. Huge jump in form.
 
Damn straight. I love the run Brad is on. This is Champion stuff.
Funny how Brad can take a non-winning car and win with it, and everybody gives him and his team credit, but nobody could give the 18 team credit when they stole some races earlier in the year.
 
Funny how Brad can take a non-winning car and win with it, and everybody gives him and his team credit, but nobody could give the 18 team credit when they stole some races earlier in the year.

Did KB admit he stole those wins, like Brad said about his wins? One of the problems I have with KB is his "I am a racing God" attitude.
 
Did KB admit he stole those wins, like Brad said about his wins? One of the problems I have with KB is his "I am a racing God" attitude.
My guess is that attitude is why both networks are declining Kyle's attempts to be a guest broadcast analyst. The guest analyst has to talk about the racers on the track... not about themselves. I don't think Kyle can talk about other drivers for several hours... it's all about him. Just my $0.02.
 
My guess is that attitude is why both networks are declining Kyle's attempts to be a guest broadcast analyst. The guest analyst has to talk about the racers on the track... not about themselves. I don't think Kyle can talk about other drivers for several hours... it's all about him. Just my $0.02.

Oof.

Commentating is not meant for everyone tbh.
 
Oof.

Commentating is not meant for everyone tbh.
I hope they are thinking that about Burton. Some of the guest announcers that did Xfinity were good. Harvick and Kez were IMO a couple of the best. I wouldn't count out Boyer, reminded me of BP's way of doing things.
 
I would like to see some evidence that Penske outbid Rick for Brad's services. All I have heard is there was "No Place at the Inn" for Brad because they went with MM. Are you saying MM got the ride because Brad turned it down and signed with Roger?
Who is MM? Mark Martin? Michael McDowell?
 
Did KB admit he stole those wins, like Brad said about his wins? One of the problems I have with KB is his "I am a racing God" attitude.

....and you think Brad really means that? Really? One of the things I like about Brad although my guy hates him is that he plays mind games with the media. You bit. The "Racing God' thing is something you made up. Kyle certainly has confidence--arrogance if that makes you feel better--but to characterize him as taking all of the credit all of the time is just silly. I am sure that @StandOnIt will post Kyle's "all talent" quote right after I hit this button, but we all know that was tongue and cheek.
 
Funny how Brad can take a non-winning car and win with it, and everybody gives him and his team credit, but nobody could give the 18 team credit when they stole some races earlier in the year.

You get used to it. #WhiteNoise
 
Kurt was a champion when he joined Penske, yet he never repeated while still in his prime. Newman was Mr Pole at Penske, and not much more. Brad and Paul won the championship as 1 of just 2 Dodges in cup.

all I'm saying is what Roger said. He wasn't attracting top drivers [for some time] until Brad won the championship. Sorry, but I'm not going to argue with Roger. He knows the facts better than both of us.

As much as I like and respect Brad, can’t call him the savior of Penske South. And I doubt Rog thinks so as well. I’d bet he’s just stroking that ego Brad probably has. But you are right if Roger said it. Only he knows what he truly meant...

I would like to see some evidence that Penske outbid Rick for Brad's services. All I have heard is there was "No Place at the Inn" for Brad because they went with MM. Are you saying MM got the ride because Brad turned it down and signed with Roger?

“No place at the Inn” comment was when bidding for Jr opened up and KB was in the 5. Odd how a place came open not long after that though.

Brad said he lost the 5 ride when he found out Mark was staying longer than a year, when Brad went to Penske, Rick said “ I’ll know where he is at”.....I always thought that meant when he had an open seat he would get Brad if he could?
 
As much as I like and respect Brad, can’t call him the savior of Penske South. And I doubt Rog thinks so as well. I’d bet he’s just stroking that ego Brad probably has. But you are right if Roger said it. Only he knows what he truly meant...

Not really. This article verifies everything I said about Kez and Penske.

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2016/04/29/keselowski-and-hendrick-what-might-have-been/

Penske racing..

But the Keselowski opportunity was intriguing, according to Czarnecki.

“We’ve tried to sign on what we consider to be the best available young drivers with a great deal of potential that we could mold and have them grow in our organization,” he said. “And I think that Brad certainly fit that description.

“But above and beyond that, he had a bigger vision as to what role he wanted to play in terms of the development of the team. … Just how he saw different things coming together …

“Some of it may have been a little unrealistic; some of it was certainly the enthusiasm of a young man who had a goal in mind. … But he had this great enthusiasm and he had this great desire and this great commitment. And that appealed to us.”

With the Hendrick effort seemingly stalled, Keselowski went back to Penske with a request — to compete full-time in both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series.

In addition to its Sprint Cup effort, Team Penske was fielding one full-time XFINITY Series team with driver Justin Allgaier. Expanding that program to two teams running all the races was problematic, given the economy at the time.

Told such a scenario was unlikely, Keselowski was left to consider his few available options. But Penske officials continued to work until enough of the appropriate pieces were in place.

“Sure enough, Roger called me one night and said ‘Alright, I’ve got it put together,’ ” Keselowski said. “It kind of caught me off guard. I was sold. That’s it; he made it happen.”

“I don’t want to sound mercenary but he brought us our first Sprint Cup championship (in 2012),” Czarnecki said. “Because that vision that he outlined, we tried to work with him and bring people along, bring people into the organization, have him work with people like (crew chief) Paul Wolfe, it was really the realization of that vision. That’s what it (has) meant. “And his intensity hasn’t changed.”

Say what you want, but reality is Kez had a huge impact on Penske racing.

Rick...

“I wanted him to wait a year,” Hendrick told NASCAR.com. “… I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember that Mark had done so well, and I had tried to talk (Mark) into staying.


“I’ve told all our guys, the first time I sat down with Brad he impressed me because he was so intense about the whole car and wanted to be involved in everything. He was just so committed. I told our guys he’s got the right attitude about racing and driving. I just needed him to wait.”
 
I don't see how anybody that follows the sport very closely couldn't say that about Brad's role. They were really the lone Dodge out there with any speed. Penske's bunch with Dodge's help were making the car AND the engines and they beat all of the mega teams and Brad drove the wheels off of it.
 
Kez speaks
Three Wins
IMG_3150-400x534.jpg


http://www.bradracing.com/2018/10/18/three-wins/
 
Have seen Brad win at Martinsville and Dega. The man has had a constant chip on his shoulder and that’s something that’ll always make him successful. I’ve often wondered if he’d have gotten back to back championships if Dodge would’ve stayed.
 
I think car changes play a bigger role in who is champion. Yes JJ won in various cars BUT
he won his championships ( IMO ) because of the final tracks in the Chase. Of course that means he did have great cars regardless of the rules in those years.
This years rules are obviously great for the big 3 and a couple other drivers.
Next year the cars will be different and so the same 3 drivers may be up front, the win percentage will change some and it may favor different drivers.

Take Joey for example while at JGR. In cup cars he didn't do well and part of the reason was
his CC and another reason was his team mates. BUT when you consider his Xfinity races, he was better than his team mates in the same cars and that was because the twisted sister cars better suited his style and he outperformed his teammates.
This is also the reason some drivers are much better at certain tracks.
 
Funny how Brad can take a non-winning car and win with it, and everybody gives him and his team credit, but nobody could give the 18 team credit when they stole some races earlier in the year.

Strange my thought is 180° apart. Kyle fans have it worse than a teenage girl over a boy band. And they sing a love ballad for him on a non stop loop.
 
I was shocked last November when Joey Meier announced that he would not be spotting for Brad K in 2019. It sounded like it was not Meier's choice to climb down from the roof. He has spotted for Brad since 2006, and full time since 2010. I've felt for a long time that Meier is one of the best spotters in Nascar... I guess others who know more than me have another opinion. IDK if Meier will spot for another driver, but I believe he will continue as Brad's pilot.

Coleman Pressley to spot for Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski will have a new spotter in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series next season as Coleman Pressley will join the No. 2 Ford team.

The personnel move was first revealed Friday in a newsletter to Keselowski's fans and confirmed by a Team Penske representative Monday. Pressley replaces Keselowski's longtime spotter Joey Meier, who announced last November that his tenure atop the spotter's stand had ended after the 2018 season.

Pressley served as the spotter for the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 team and driver AJ Allmendinger last season. The 30-year-old North Carolina native is the son of former Monster Energy Series driver Robert Pressley.


(Jayski, quoting Nascar.com)
 
All things change and those who fight change get left behind. If your not the current champion
then a change is needed.
Of course some people make a change for the sake of change. If you don't believe that ask
Truex, Kyle and Happy ( in this case unhappy) Harvick.
 
Strange my thought is 180° apart. Kyle fans have it worse than a teenage girl over a boy band. And they sing a love ballad for him on a non stop loop.
To piggy back...its moreso his fans acting like "winning with a non-winning car" is something that makes Kyle better than everyone else when isnt exclusive. Other guys have done it..and others have done it more

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
To piggy back...its moreso his fans acting like "winning with a non-winning car" is something that makes Kyle better than everyone else when isnt exclusive. Other guys have done it..and others have done it more

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Kyle Busch is like NASCAR's Lewis Hamilton. Sure, he has had some "junk cars", but the top teams' "junk cars" still do better than most of the field. Lewis Hamilton has had some challenging weekends in his top-flight Mercedes, and had to fight from 14th on the grid to win in Germany last year. Both of them are outstanding drivers, but neither are accomplishing something that hasn't been done before in winning in a slightly off-the-pace car in a few choice events throughout their respective seasons.
 
Friday’s speed chart

Keselowski, teammate of defending Cup champ Joey Logano, also came out of the test with a positive feeling.

“We were pretty good, and I feel like, if we’re as fast as we were today when we come back to race (for the Pennzoil 400 on March 3), I feel like we’ll be a threat to win,” said Keselowski, who won the first playoff race in LVMS history last September. “(The car) is about as different as it can be, but it’s our job to master it and be the best with it.

“I feel like we learned some things and got better, and that’s kind of what you expect when you have something so much different than what we’re normally accustomed to, but I’m glad to see that’s how it played out.”

Johnson was fastest of 21 NASCAR Cup and Xfinity drivers that took part in the test, hitting a top speed of 178.885 mph on Thursday. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski was fastest in Friday’s abbreviated half-day session, just a tick below Johnson’s previous day’s speed at 178.436 mph.

https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2019/02/01/teams-leave-two-day-nascar-las-vegas-with-positive-feelings/
 
Back
Top Bottom