Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski enters the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season riding a wave of momentum. Keselowski begins his 12th season with Team Penske competing at NASCAR's most elite level following a successful 2020 campaign that saw him earn four race victories and guide the No. 2 Ford Mustang to a runner-up NCS championship finish.
As he closed the 2020 Cup Series season ranked second in the standings for his best season finish since he won the title in 2012, Keselowski also produced an average finishing position of 10.1 to equal his career-best mark. After he earned a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons, Keselowski raced his way into the Championship 4 as he advanced to the final round for the second time since the Cup Series' elimination format was introduced in 2014.
In 2020, Keselowski was paired with crew chief Jeremy Bullins for the first time at the Cup Series level. Team Penske adjusted its driver/crew chief lineup prior to the start of the season and the realignment brought strong results for Keselowski and Bullins, who teamed up to win NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) championships together for Team Penske in 2013 and 2014. Keselowski, Bullins and the No. 2 Ford Mustang team will look to build on their success in 2021 and once again compete for the Cup Series championship. A total of 10 partners will be featured on the No. 2 Ford Mustang this season. Discount Tire returns for its fourth season as a primary sponsor on No. 2 Ford. Wurth, Freightliner, Autotrader, Wabash, Snap-on, MoneyLion, PIRTEK and Dent Wizard all return for multiple races as primary sponsors in 2021. MolsonCoors also returns to Team Penske for its 30th season on the No. 2 car, with the Keystone Light brand representing a partnership that dates back to 1991 with driver Rusty Wallace.
Keselowski and the No. 2 Ford team captured four NCS victories in 2020, highlighted by an overtime win in the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The performance gave Keselowski victories in three of NASCAR's major events (in 2018 he won the Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400) and it marked his first career triumph in NASCAR's longest race. Keselowski won at Bristol Motor Speedway one week later and he also produced dominant victories at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway last season. Keselowski shined on short track in 2020 as he led all series competitors with the most wins (two), top-five finishes (four) and top-10 results (four) on the smaller circuits. He also won three or more races for the fifth consecutive season and qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.
Keselowski has produced some memorable victories for Team Penske over the years, including some historic recent performances. In 2019, his first win of the season came at Atlanta and it marked Keselowski's 60th career victory with Team Penske as he became the winningest driver in team history. Keselowski scored dramatic wins on three consecutive weekends in 2018 that were also landmark victories for the team. He won the Bojangles' Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway to mark Team Penske's first victory at the historic speedway since Bobby Allison swept both races there in 1975. Just a few days later, Keselowski gave team owner Roger Penske his first-ever Cup Series win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the legendary track that is now owned by Penske Entertainment. And less than a week later, Keselowski won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to produce the 500th victory in the team's storied history.
A native of Rochester Hills, Mich., it only made sense that Keselowski would find a home at the team founded by Roger Penske - a proud resident of the Motor City. Having been raised in a racing family, Keselowski embodies the "Effort Equals Results" mentality that is a common thread throughout the Team Penske organization. Keselowski worked full-time for his family's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team while managing his own short track career racing Factory Stocks and Limited and Super Late Models.
The first big break of Keselowski's young career came in 2007 when he competed for Germain Racing at Memphis Motorsports Park. He won the pole and led 62 laps, a performance that ultimately landed him a ride in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 NXS full-time entry just two weeks later. In 2008, Keselowski won two races for JR Motorsports and in 2009 claimed his first NCS victory driving for James Finch at Talladega Superspeedway. Keselowski caught the eye of Roger Penske, who hired him to compete full-time for his team in 2010. Since joining Team Penske, Keselowski has won a remarkable 66 races (combined in NCS and NXS competition), the team's first Cup Series championship, an NXS Driver title and four NXS Owner Championships.
Away from the track, Keselowski married his longtime girlfriend Paige White in February of 2017 and the two live in North Carolina with their young daughters Scarlett and Autumn. Brad and Paige are both active with Brad Keselowski's Checkered Flag Foundation, which honors and assists those who have sacrificed greatly for our country. Since 2010, the foundation has supported over 50 organizations and individuals in order to help veterans and first responders during their road to recovery.
Keselowski Key Accomplishments