Not many drivers would pass up the opportunity to drive for Hendrick Motorsports but Brad Keselowski isn’t any driver.
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”235″]
[/media-credit]Following his win at Talladega in the spring of 2009, Keselowski stated he wanted a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride for 2010. Already driving full-time in the Nationwide Series (NNS) for Dale Earnhardt Jr., while doing select Cup races in a fifth HMS car, Keselowski felt he was ready for the Cup Series.
There was only one problem; there was no room for Keselowski. Adamant about making the move, the Michigan native started exploring his options. Roger Penske came calling and Keselowski signed a multi-year deal to team with the Captain and 2004 NSCS champion Kurt Busch.
“Well, there’s no doubt that that was a very difficult decision,” said Keselowski Saturday night in Bristol after winning for the third time in 2011.
“Sometimes in life you have to step back and look at the complete picture and be able to see the complete picture and know that you have to let go to get what you want,” he said. “Let go of what you have, leave your comfort zone to make it to the next level. And I’m sure, although I did not have a spot at Hendrick for the 2010 season, I’m sure Rick and his team would have figured something out.”
Keselowski never gave them the chance, jumping at what Penske was offering. Drawn by the loyalty Roger Penske displayed while meeting with him, feeling it was the right time to join the organization and seeing many positives ahead of him, Keselowski made his decision.
“If I had gone to Hendrick or waited it out, there was a long list of bad things that could have happened and a very short list of positives things that could have happened,” Keselowski said. “And I didn’t see that at Penske. I only saw a list of thing that were good that could have happened and the biggest negative that could happened was everybody telling me I was an idiot.”
Being called an idiot is something he said he’s used to. So, he became a full-time Cup driver while still running a full NNS schedule, now with Penske and the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge. In 2010 he finally won the title that had eluded him for two seasons at JR Motorsports when he finished third in points.
The NNS program is something Keselowski is especially proud of. It was a team that he built with Paul Wolfe from the ground up from their vision. They clinched the championship early and by almost 500 points, winning six races in the process. But on the Cup side it was anything but a fairy tale.
Keselowski finished 25th in points with no wins, no top fives and only two top tens. It wasn’t the reward that Keselowski thought he’d get by joining Penske.
“I’ll be honest, last year in Cup I was miserable,” he said. “There were a lot of people that told me, ‘You should have waited, you should have waited.’ But there just wasn’t an opportunity and it’s such a tough question to answer because no one here can sit here knowing all the pieces to the puzzle.”
With just two races before the start of the Chase for the Championship it’s easier for Keselowski to say that he made the right decision. Coming into the year the puzzle pieces changed when Keselowski was moved into the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge that had been driven by Busch as Busch moved to the newly formed 22 team. Wolfe was prompted to Keselowski’s Cup crew chief and they haven’t looked back.
Three wins, rocketing from 21st to 11th in points over the last four weeks thanks to finishes of first, second, third and first. He’s most likely going to make the Chase either through moving into the top 10 in points or the wild card. Even if he only has nine top 10s and six top fives.
Just as NASCAR intended, winning means a whole lot more this season. Keselowski is winning in more ways than one, something he’s glad he’s proving was possible to everyone who doubted him.
“I’m glad we’re able to perform now and prove to everyone that it was [the right decision],” said Keselowski. “I think the performance at the end of the day is always the proof. I’m really proud of this whole group to be able to prove that this was the right call. It certainly wasn’t the easy call, but this was the right call.”
For Keselowski, where he’s at now and what he’s doing means more to him. And while he’s currently outrunning those he would have been running with at HMS, the test becomes doing it for another 12 weeks and into the season finale.
“Not the easy call, for sure,” said Keselowski. “But it’s looking real good right now.”
Did I miss something? I think he drove for Phoenix Racing in select races. Hendrick might be involved with JR Motorsports, but as you see with Danica there are several other options besides moving to Hendrick. I see your point here, but its not as if he “left Hendrick” or as if he drove for a “5th Hendrick Team in select races”. These are loose connections, but they are written as if they are facts.
Brad did drive for Phoneix racing and won dega for them but he also drove the 25 car for rick.
He drove races for both Hendrick in the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevy and Phoenix Racing in the No. 09 Chevy. He won at Talladega driving for Phoenix that weekend.