Brad Keselowski and the rest of the Nationwide Series was busy getting ready for the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway all day Friday. Everyone else was busy with the rumor that Keselowski was going to drive for Roger Penske in the NASCAR Sprint Cup next year.
The move to Penske is a surprise since Keselowski currently drives for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series, which is part of Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr merged JR Motorsports with the Hendrick Nationwide teams in 2007.
Rick Hendrick has made it clear he wanted to keep Keselowski in the Hendrick organization. The problem is there are no seats available. Hendrick already has the maximum four drivers that NASCAR allows. Defending three-time and Sprint Cup defending champion Jimmy Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. are all currently driving for Hendrick.
Over the past few months, there have been speculations of all sorts of deals being worked on to keep Keselowski in the Hendrick organization. From a third team being added to Tony Stewart’s new organization that Hendrick has a support agreement with, to a ride with the James Finch team that Keselowski won his first Sprint Cup race with at this year’s Talladega race in the spring.
But if the rumors going around the short Bristol bullring are true, Keselowski will be driving a Dodge next year instead of a Chevy as he has been. At this point the rumors are that Penske has an agreement with Keselowski to drive the #12 car next year in the Sprint Cup Series. Apparently it is just an agreement at this point and nothing has been signed, so the deal could still not go through. And Penske Racing is not confirming or denying anything other than they have talked with Keselowski.
Keselowski was busy winning the pole for the race on Friday night and did not want to talk about next year. He was only interested in concentrating on what it would take to win the race and add to his already impressive season. Currently he is third in the Nationwide points with three wins. He also has twelve top 5’s and seventeen top 10’s.
Although his Nationwide season has been one to remember, Keselowski’s part-time Sprint Cup season has shown the hope of a bright future that Penske is banking on. In only 8 starts this season in the Sprint Cup, he has one win and three top 10’s.
If the deal with Penske goes through, Keselowski will replace David Stremme who has not had a good year in the Penske Dodge #12. Stremme is 31st in the points and his best finish is only 13th, which he has done twice. Keselowski would be teammates to the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch and three-time IRL champion Sam Hor
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