Penske signs Keselowski
Tuesday, Sep. 01, 2009
AP
Driver Brad Keselowski is interviewed as he walks through the infield after winning the pole for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Food City 250 in Bristol, Tenn., Friday, Aug. 21, 2009. The race is scheduled to be run Friday evening. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
AP
Brad Keselowski puts on sunglasses before the start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Carfax 250 auto race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)
Brad Keselowski celebrates his NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 15, 2009. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)
AP
Brad Keselowski thanks fans after the winning the CARFAX 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Bob Brodbeck)
AP
Brad Keselowski celebrates after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series' U.S. Cellular 250 auto race Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Brad Keselowski, who just last year was referred to by Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick as “the future of our company,” has a new home.
As the Observer and its racing Web site, ThatsRacin.com, first reported on Aug. 21, Penske Racing confirmed Tuesday it has signed Keselowski to drive its No. 12 Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series beginning in the 2010 season.
Although terms of the deal were not disclosed in the statement announcing his hiring, Penske vice president Jonathan Gibson told the Observer Tuesday night Keselowski had signed a “multi-year deal.”
Keselowski, who currently drives fulltime in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, will also compete next season fulltime in Nationwide for Penske.
“Brad has shown terrific success on track the past several years and has quickly established himself as one of the top young stars in racing,” said team owner Roger Penske. “He comes from an impressive family background in motorsports. He is a proven winner and a welcome addition to our team.”
The 25-year-old native of Rochester Hills, Mich., is third in the Nationwide standings with three wins this season. He also earned his first Cup Series win earlier this year at Talladega Superspeedway driving for team owner James Finch.
“My intent is to come to Penske Racing and to build a home for the long-term future of my career,” Keselowski said. “That’s my full intent is to be successful and to accomplish those things.”
Keselowski has been exploring several Cup options, with a focus on those that would allow him to retain some connection to the Hendrick organization.
JR Motorsports is co-owned by Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski has run several Cup races this season in a Hendrick car. HMS currently has four full-time Cup drivers for next season, the most that will be allowed by NASCAR.
Calling his move to Penske, “The hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life,” Keselowski said becoming a Cup driver at Hendrick looked like “it was just not in the cards.”
“There was just too many things going against us with the team limit and so forth,” he said.
Keselowski will replace driver David Stremme in the No. 12. Penske officials said they were still exploring other options for Stremme for next season.
The Charlotte Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since charlotteobserver.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Charlotte Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
@Nyx.CommentBody@