- Brad Keselowski 2009 Sprint Cup Schedule in the #25
Las Vegas - 3/1
Texas - 4/5
Darlington - 5/9
Dover - 5/31
Chicago - 7/11
Michigan - 8/16
Kansas - 10/4
- Brad Keselowski 2009 Sprint Cup Schedule in the #09 Chevy
Daytona - 2/15
Talladega - 4/26
Richmond - 5/2
All-Star Race - 5/16
New Hampshire - 6/28
Daytona - 7/4
Bristol - 8/22
Richmond - 9/12
Texas - 11/8
Phoenix - 11/15
Homestead - 11/22
- Keselowski to talk to Hendrick about Cup move UPDATE: Rick Hendrick said he plans to meet with Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski this week to discuss his plans for moving up to Sprint Cup in 2010. Hendrick mentioned two possible options for Keselowski -- a third car at Stewart-Haas Racing, which is affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports, or a chance to stay at JR Motorsports if Dale Earnhardt Jr. decides to move his Nationwide team to Cup next year. "We're looking at different options with some of our external situations with other teams," Hendrick said Sunday at Infineon Raceway. "I told Brad that I want him to have the best opportunity. If we can't give it to him, then I want him to have the best." Keselowski told reporters at that event that he would love to drive a third Stewart-Haas car next year. Tony Stewart said Friday a third car for his team is a possibility for 2010. Stewart's team is a satellite operation with Hendrick Motorsports, leasing engines from Hendrick. Hendrick also said Earnhardt Jr. is considering moving his Nationwide operation to Cup in 2010. Either way, Keselowski would stay in the Hendrick family, so to speak, if he signed with Stewart-Haas Racing or stayed at JR Motorsports. "Brad wants to do something that is somehow associated with our company," Hendrick said. "We're working on it and hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have something sorted out. He'll be running Cup [in 2010]. Whether he'll be running them all or whether he'll be running 75% of them or what, I don't know."(ESPN)(6-22-2009)
UPDATE: As scheduled, Dale Earnhardt’s Jr.’s Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski spent some time this weekend talking with team owner Rick Hendrick, probing the two could possibly work together on the Sprint Cup Series next season. Keselowski felt it was a positive meeting. “It went pretty well and we talked about a number of different subjects. He’s a neat guy to be around and I always enjoy talking with him.” Keselowski admitted, though, they couldn’t talk a whole lot about specifics. “It just takes time. This is not an easy process. The rope is being pulled but you know everyone wants it to pull faster. We’re weighing all the options and waiting for things to fall into place and there are certain things that are out of both of our control. Obviously, the economy is a large piece of it, sponsorship fits into there. We’re happy working together and we’re going to continue to work together, but don’t really have a clear cut plan forward other than to continue to review our options and get back together.(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)(6-26-2009) Comment here
- New crew chief for Dale Jr.: Hendrick Motorsports today named Lance McGrew as interim crew chief of the #88 Sprint Cup Series team of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. beginning with the June 7 event at Pocono Raceway. Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover. "Our performance hasn't been where it should be," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "It's impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point. We have a plan in place, and we're going to move forward with it." Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick Motorsports' lead chassis engineer, have been assigned to support McGrew on a full-time basis. Whitesell, who won two of seven races as Jeff Gordon's interim crew chief in 1999, will join McGrew and team engineer Tom Stewart on the #88 pit box to assist with race strategy. "We're going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races," Hendrick said. "It's going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level." Tony Eury Jr. will move from the crew chief position into a key role with Hendrick Motorsports' research and development group. Eury posted one victory, one pole position, 19 top-10 finishes and 11 top-fives in 48 races with the #88 team. "I have mixed feelings, and that's just natural," Eury said. "But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be. I'll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship. I think a new challenge will be good." McGrew, 41, earned the 2003 Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers. He won the October 2006 Sprint Cup race with Vickers at Talladega, and most recently led Cup rookie #25-Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish May 9 at Darlington.
As a crew chief, McGrew has posted victories in all three of NASCAR's major touring series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck. He has won races with drivers Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and most recently Tony Stewart Feb. 14 at Daytona Beach.(HMS)(5-28-2009) Comment here
- Keselowski and JR Motorsports to move up? The buzz around the garage last weekend was JR Motorsports is setting the stage to move from the Nationwide to Sprint Cup series to field a team for Brad Keselowski. Keselowski said he is negotiating exclusively with Hendrick Motorsports for a fulltime Cup ride in 2010. HMS does not have an opening, but Rick Hendrick does have ownership in JR Motorsports with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although Hendrick would have to sell his interest in the company to make this happen, that would be a formality. Also, Earnhardt has said it's just as economical, maybe more, to run a Cup program than Nationwide under today's economic climate. Sponsors, such as GoDaddy.com that is on Keselowski's #88 Nationwide car, gain more exposure in Cup. Should JR Motorsports not move to Cup the only other way to remain associated with HMS would be to put Keselowski in a third car at Stewart-Haas Racing. Of course, that would squelch the rumor that Martin Truex Jr. will leave Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to join that team.(ESPN Insider)(5-21-2009) Comment here
- Hendrick to appear on Oprah: Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, will make an appearance on the Tuesday, May 19 edition of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." The episode is entitled "Heroes in Hard Times."
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" is produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions Inc. and syndicated to 214 domestic stations by CBS Television Distribution Group and to 143 countries by CBS Paramount International Television. It has been the No. 1-rated talk show for 22 consecutive seasons. Visit www.oprah.com for local listings.(HMS)(5-18-2009)
- Hendrick set to return from illness: Sidelined the past several weeks by a fast-spreading sinus infection, NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick plans to return to the track this weekend after a five-race absence. Hendrick has not been to the track since Jimmie Johnson helped his boss celebrate his 25th anniversary in NASCAR with a March 29th victory at Martinsville Speedway. He skipped the next two events, races in Texas and Phoenix, for personal and business reasons. Then he was stricken with a sinus infection that spread to both his chest and ears, keeping him away from the track another three races. He needed tubes inserted in both ears to fight the infection. "They say the tubes are for kids, so I guess I'm a 59-year-old kid with ear infections," he said Tuesday. "I've got a weak immune system, and this infection just jumped on me. I was a sick puppy there for about three weeks. But I am much better, feeling more like myself." Hendrick's immune system was weakened by a long, but successful, fight with leukemia 12 years ago. "If I am not careful, I get knocked on my butt," said Hendrick, who spent more than four hours with employees Tuesday passing out the championship rings from Johnson's third title. The illness kept Hendrick away from wins by Jeff Gordon at Texas, and Mark Martin in Phoenix and Darlington, S.C. Hendrick watched all the races he missed on TV, admittedly screaming at his set and often second-guessing strategy through text messages to team vice president Doug Duchardt. He then called his drivers in Victory Lane, a scene often caught on live television that drew attention to his absence. Hendrick said he'll ease back into at-track activities with the All-Star race this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he traditionally celebrates Charlotte Speedweeks by treating employees from both his motorsports and automotive programs to weekends at the track.(ESPN/AP)
AND: The Hendrick Motorsports Museum and Team Store has updated its exhibits and extended its hours for fans visiting during the upcoming race weeks. More info at hendrickmotorsports.com.(5-13-2009) Comment here
- Phoenix Racing plans car for Keselowski in all-star race: Phoenix Racing plans to field a car for Brad Keselowski in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in two weeks, crew chief Marc Reno said Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. Keselowski became eligible for the main event when he won the Aaron’s 499 last week at Talladega Superspeedway. Although he won in a Phoenix Racing car, Keselowski indicated Friday that he wasn’t sure who would enter a car for him in the all-star event. But Hendrick Motorsports Vice President Doug Duchardt said Saturday that Hendrick would not field a fifth car in the event for Keselowski. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said that the team could have a fifth car since it was a non-points event and it would not count against Keselowski’s seven races for the team as a development driver. Phoenix Racing had hoped to buy a car from Hendrick Motorsports for the race, but the re-certification process would take too long, Reno said. Instead, Phoenix will use the car that it had planned to use for Keselowski at Richmond. Keselowski’s Nationwide team wanted him to concentrate on that series because it was a one-day show Friday, so Mike Bliss competed in the Cup event Saturday.(Scene Daily)(5-3-2009) Comment here
- Why no Keselowski in RIR Cup race? Brad Keselowski, met with media. Some highlights from the transcript:
IS IT FRUSTRATING SITTING HERE KNOWING AFTER YOU WON LAST WEEK YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE RUNNING IN THE CUP RACE ON SATURDAY? “Frustrating as far as not running, it really hasn’t soaked in that I won. It’s hard to get frustrated when you don’t even picture yourself as a winner yet. I feel like I can run over there right now and be competitive but the opportunity isn’t there and until the opportunity is there it is what it is. There’s a lot of talent over there and you can’t take that away from those drivers that run over there every weekend. I’d love to be running over there. I’ve raced against 15 or 20 of the same guys over here on the Nationwide side so it’s very similar and I think I could run competitively but the opportunity is not there so I’m not really thinking about it. I’m thinking about the Nationwide car.“
I UNDERSTAND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO BE RUNNING THE ALL-STAR RACE WHICH CAR ARE YOU GOING TO DRIVE? “At this time we haven’t got the All-Star situation figured out as far as what I’m driving and so forth. At this point I haven’t figured out which car I’m driving or how that situation is going to work. I shouldn’t say that I haven’t figured it out I should said that the two teams that I drive for on the Cup side haven’t figured it out.
WHAT IS YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, HAS IT CHANGED AT ALL? “You know that schedule was changing every week before I won so it’s still changing every week. Originally we were going to run here at Richmond and that didn’t work out. A couple of weeks ago that actually got cancelled. As far as knowing locked in what all the rest of my races are I do not know. There’s a couple that I would like to run that we just haven’t figured out how to run them. I’m trying to run Watkins Glen but we don’t have that figured out. So there’s a couple of races like that we just don’t have figured out but I’m trying to run them.”
WOULD YOU FORGO YOUR ROOKIE STATUS FOR NEXT YEAR IF THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY CAME ALONG? “I think I already have or I’m intending to. I haven’t because I haven’t ran enough races but the way we’re trying to schedule it out we’re going through that process. When it comes to the rookie situation, I knew at the start of the year we were going to run somewhere around 16 races and the maximum I think is seven or eight, I can’t remember specifically. I didn’t file for rookie of the year because the last thing I wanted to see was my name at the bottom of that list knowing that you probably couldn’t win it unless you ran the whole deal.”(GM Racing)(5-2-2009)
- Keselowski negotiating with Hendrick: Brad Keselowski is exclusively negotiating with Hendrick Motorsports on a long-term contract. NASCAR's newest Sprint Cup Series winner has no ride lined up for next season. Rick Hendrick has considered him as an eventual replacement for #5-Mark Martin, but it's not clear when Martin will stop driving. Keselowski's surprise victory at Talladega Superspeedway last week has increased interest in the 25-year-old driver. Keselowski drives full-time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, and has a developmental deal with Hendrick. He's slated to run seven Cup races for Hendrick this year, but the 2010 season has not been determined. Keselowski's win last weekend was in a car owned by James Finch.(Associated Press/ESPN)
UPDATE: From a press conference Friday at Richmond:
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR POSSIBILITIES FOR A CUP RIDE NEXT YEAR, AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'LL END UP?
A: "Well, I'd like to be in Cup full time next year. I sat out this year because I didn't think that the timing was right and I didn't think I was ready for a full schedule. And I wanted to do this right as far as the Cup level goes. I wanted to come into it as someone who could run competitively and I kind of even shocked myself on how competitive I could run. The other ways of doing it last year was not the situation, so I didn't take them. I know that to make that next step, I need to run full time. I need to have a full time ride at the Cup level to be a guy who can run for the Chase or take wins. So it's a matter of making that line up. Opportunities or situations to make that work? I don't think you guys have time to hear them all. I've put some thought into it, but not a lot. The basics of it are that we still have a few months to work some other things out. Specifically I'm working with Hendrick Motorsports and owe it to them to see what they can work out. I think the key part about this whole situation of where I'm at with contracts and next year is that you stick with what got you to where you're at. Having competitive cars and having support from HMS and being able to look at their data and talk to their drivers is what got me into victory lane on Sunday. It's hard to run from that, you know. But at the same time, at this point and at this time, there isn't a clear opportunity there. So we'll have to see how that plays out." (Chevy PR)
AND: In order to drive for Hendrick, Keselowski initially might have to drive for a team with Hendrick support. One possibility is having JR Motorsports -- the Nationwide Series team co-owned by Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. that Keselowski drives for -- move up to Cup. Earnhardt has mentioned on several occasions the possibility of making the jump. Another possibility might be Stewart-Haas Racing, which has Hendrick support.(ESPN.com)(5-2-2009) Comment here
- Plans for Keselowski: from a Chevy Press Conference Transcript of Brad Keselowski:
ON PLANNING FOR NEXT SEASON: “There’s so many pieces to the puzzle as far as deciding where I’m going to be next year and what my situation is that it’s almost mind-boggling. You stop thinking about it and you just worry about running as competitively as you can and knowing that everything will work itself out.”
ON TAKING OVER THE #5 NSCS CAR IN 2010: “I haven’t had the discussion about that. I think ultimately its Mark’s (Martin) call and I don’t know how that’s exactly going to unfold, but I feel comfortable with the organization I’m with at Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports that it will work itself out in the end if I run competitively and can win races.”
WHO ARE YOU UNDER CONTRACT WITH?: “I’m still under contract with JR Motorsports, but we have an informal agreement with Hendrick Motorsports.”
ON OTHER OFFERS FOR THIS SEASON: “I had the offer last year to drive the Penske car and I still feel this way even though the season hasn’t gone the way I wanted it to go in the Nationwide series -- I still feel that this is my home with the 88 Nationwide team with having Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) and Mr. Hendrick as a boss. Even though it’s not been as competitive I feel like it’s my home and that it will continue to get better and that we will be an elite team.”(Chevy Press Conference Transcript)(4-4-2009)
- Keselowski back in the #25 at Texas: Brad Keselowski will attempt to qualify the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. This is Keselowski's fifth attempt at making a Sprint Cup Series event and his fourth for Hendrick Motorsports. Keselowski has qualified three times driving the #25 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports and most recently drove the #25 Chevy to a 38th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1. After this weekend at Texas, Keselowski will attempt to make the field in five more Sprint Cup races this season for Hendrick Motorsports. Keselowski will try to line up the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet at Darlington on May 9, Dover on May 31, Chicago on July 11, Michigan on Aug. 16, and Kansas on Oct. 4. Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 25-537 for this weekend's event at Texas Motor Speedway. The car, which will be pitted by Keselowski's #88 Nationwide Series crew, has not been raced or tested, although McGrew and his team took it to the wind tunnel last month.(HMS PR)(4-3-2009) Comment here
- 25th anniversary of Hendrick's 1st win: On Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports will mark the 25th anniversary of its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Since the organization began competing as All-Star Racing in 1984, it has grown from five employees and 5,000 square feet of rented work space to more than 500 employees and more than 100 acres straddling Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina. It was the eighth race of the 1984 Cup Series season, and Geoff Bodine lined up sixth at Martinsville Speedway in the #5 Chevy for Rick Hendrick's fledgling All-Star Racing team. On that day -- April 29, 1984 -- Bodine led 55 laps en route to capturing the organization's first win. Reaching Victory Lane wasn't easy, though. Bodine had to pass then-defending Cup champion Bobby Allison with 48 laps to go to take the lead. Hendrick wasn't at Martinsville to experience the first of his 17 Cup wins at the .526-mile oval. The car owner was attending church with his wife, Linda, in Greensboro, N.C., during the race. He received a phone call with the news and headed straight for Bodine's home in Pleasant Garden, N.C., to celebrate. Frank Edwards, 72, was one of the five original employees at Hendrick Motorsports. Initially a setup specialist, Edwards moved from his home in Danville, Va., when Hendrick told him about his plans to start the race team. Edwards has held many roles within the team and currently works in the company's show-car department as a fabricator and mechanic.(more on this and some images at the Hendrick Motorsports site)(3-27-2009)
- Phoenix Racing announces 2009 plans UPDATE: Phoenix Racing announced today that they are expanding their Sprint Cup schedule to include the entire 2009 season. Driver announcement will be forth coming. Miccosukee Resorts and Gaming will continue their partnership with James Finch and Phoenix Racing as primary sponsor of the #1 Nationwide Chevrolet driven by Mike Bliss and the #09 Chevy for ten Sprint Cup races starting with the Daytona 500.(Phoenix Racing PR)(1-22-2009)
UPDATE: Phoenix Racing will run Brad Keselowski in the #09 Miccosukee Resorts and Gaming Chevy for 10 races with Hendrick engines and the remaining races in Dodges bought from Ganassi with Ernie Elliott engines. The drivers for the #09 Dodge will be a combo of Sterling Marlin, Mike Bliss and Ken Schrader.(1-23-2009) Comment here
- Keselowski seven race schedule set: Brad Keselowski will kick off his 2009 Sprint Cup Series schedule by attempting to qualify for the March 1 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports this week finalized the Shelby 427 and six other Sprint Cup events for the 24-year-old driver. It was announced Jan. 7 that Keselowski, a native of Rochester Hills, Mich., will attempt a seven-race Sprint Cup schedule this season for Hendrick Motorsports in the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevys. The effort will be led by veteran crew chief Lance McGrew. "It's exciting to have everything finalized and ready to go for 2009," said Keselowski, who also will compete full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. "We're going to some tracks where I'm pretty confident, and we're going to some places where I really need the additional seat time. I'm especially excited about going to Michigan. The track isn't far from Rochester Hills, and it's going to be really cool to race in front of all my family and friends. All the tracks we're going to are great, but that one will definitely be a highlight for me. Scheduled races: Las Vegas, Texas [Apr], Darlington, Dover [May], Chicago, Michigan [Aug] and Kansas.(Hendrick Motorsports PR)(1-16-2009) Comment here
- Keselowski to run 7 Cup races in 2009: GoDaddy.com extended its partnerships with JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports, which will give the world’s leading registrar of Internet domain names a significant presence in NASCAR’s top two series in 2009. This season, GoDaddy.com will be the primary sponsor for 20 Nationwide Series events with JR Motorsports and seven Sprint Cup Series races with Hendrick Motorsports. The company also will be an associate sponsor of Hendrick’s #5 Sprint Cup Chevys with driver Mark Martin. The pact includes two Nationwide Series races with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #5 Chevys of JR Motorsports. Earnhardt is a GoDaddy.com spokesperson. In addition, GoDaddy.com will back the #88 Chevys of JR Motorsports and driver Brad Keselowski in 18 Nationwide Series races. Keselowski, 24, also will attempt a seven-event Sprint Cup schedule in the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevys of Hendrick Motorsports. The Cup effort will be led by veteran crew chief Lance McGrew. Details of the Nationwide and Cup programs, including race dates, will be announced at a later time. GoDaddy.com’s first foray into auto racing came in December 2006 with the Indy Racing League’s Danica Patrick. The company moved into NASCAR last season as a primary sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series (two events), Nationwide Series (six events) and Camping World Truck Series (five events). The extension and expansion of the GoDaddy.com relationship completes the 2009 sponsorship picture for the #88 JR Motorsports Chevys. The company joins Unilever (11 races) and Delphi Corp. (six races) as primary sponsors of championship contender Keselowski in the Nationwide Series.(Hendrick Motorsports PR)(1-7-2009) Comment here
- HMS Holdings suing DEI over engines UPDATE 2:: HMS Holdings, which operates the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop, is suing Dale Earnhardt Inc. for $1.5 million for the payment of a termination fee stemming from a contract to supply Hendrick engines to Ginn Racing. Ginn Racing, which also is a defendant in the suit filed Friday in North Carolina Superior Court, merged with DEI in July 2007. As part of the merger, DEI and Ginn Racing signed a termination agreement to a contract that was originally signed by Ginn in 2006. The termination agreement required payments to HMS of $1.754 million by July 31, 2007, and $1.5 million by Nov. 15, 2008, according to the suit. The first payment was made on time. The second payment has not been made, according to the suit. The original engine contract and termination agreement are not included in the suit, so it is unclear how much Ginn was paying to use Hendrick engines. HMS is asking for the $1.5 million, 12% interest and an additional $225,000. Hendrick Motorsports spokesman Jesse Essex said the company is looking forward to a swift resolution of the lawsuit. Dale Earnhardt Inc. Vice President John Story said the company has no comment.(SceneDaily)(11-25-2008)
UPDATE - engines cost $12.8M base: If you’re looking to lease engines from Hendrick Motorsports for a NASCAR operation, you’d better be prepared to open up your wallet. A legal battle being played out in North Carolina courts is offering rare insight into the usually secretive world of the sport’s finances as the Hendrick operation seeks compensation from the Ginn Racing team that wound up as part of Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2007. According to a contract filed as part of the case, the Hendrick engine lease agreement with Ginn Racing called for Ginn to pay a base rent of $12.8 million in 2007 and $13.7 million in 2008 to lease engines for its three Sprint Cup teams and one team in what is now the Nationwide Series. The fee covered Cup engines for 36 race events and up to nine tests or special events and Nationwide engines for 35 events, according to the contract filed as part of a lawsuit by HMS Holdings against Ginn Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. over the termination fees resulting from the Ginn-DEI merger in July 2007.(Scene Daily)(12-20-2008)
UPDATE 2: DEI claims that former NASCAR team owner Bobby Ginn is responsible for paying off any termination fees of Ginn Racing’s engine leasing contract with Hendrick Motorsports. Both DEI and Ginn have been sued by Hendrick in North Carolina Superior Court over $1.5 million in fees that Hendrick claims is owed under the termination agreement signed when DEI bought Ginn Racing in July 2007. In its response to the suit filed Dec. 22, DEI claims that DEI and Ginn have a signed agreement that DEI would not be responsible for any claims or payments under the engine lease termination agreement. DEI asks the court to rule that Ginn is responsible for any payments. Ginn has not yet responded to the suit.(SceneDaily)(12-30-2008) Comment here
- Keselowski to attempt Homestead: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy, will attempt to qualify for his second Sprint Cup Series race this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski, 24, made his Cup debut earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway and picked up Sunday's race at Homestead after his first qualifying attempt at Lowe's Motor Speedway was rained out. Keselowski joined elite company after making his Cup debut on Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway, rallying from a 37th-place starting spot to finish 19th. Of his four Hendrick Motorsports teammates, only Dale Earnhardt Jr. did better in his Cup debut. Earnhardt scored a 16th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1999. Veteran crew chief Lance McGrew once again will call the shots for Keselowski and the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy team at Homestead-Miami Speedway. McGrew, who has been successful working with young drivers like Ricky Hendrick, Vickers and Kyle Busch, is a former Sprint Cup Series race winner and Nationwide Series champion.(HMS PR)(11-12-2008)
- Keselowski to attempt Texas & Homestead: Brad Keselowski will attempt to put the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy in the Dickies 500 field during Friday afternoon's Sprint Cup Series qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway. Should he be successful, Keselowski will make his first-ever Sprint Cup start on Sunday. The 24-year-old driver was scheduled to attempt his first Cup race Oct. 11 at Lowe's Motor Speedway before qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. In addition to Texas, Hendrick Motorsports will enter the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy team in the Nov. 16 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Homestead race was added to Keselowski's Cup schedule this week as a replacement for the Lowe's Motor Speedway rainout. Veteran crew chief Lance McGrew will call the shots for Keselowski and the #25 GoDaddy.com team at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. McGrew, who has been successful working with young drivers like Ricky Hendrick, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch, is a former Sprint Cup Series race winner and Nationwide Series champion.(Hendrick Motor Sports PR), see an image of the car on my #25 Team Schemes page.(10-29-2008) Comment here
- Keselowksi standing by for Gordon: #24-Jeff Gordon has been feeling ill all weekend and Hendrick Motorsports will have Brad Keselowski standing by in case Gordon needs to get out of the car. Crew Chief Steve Letarte, interviewed on SPEED Channel's Race Day, said Gordon got a good night's rest and is expected to make it through the entire race.(9-28-2008)
- Brad Keselowski to make Cup debut at LMS: Hendrick Motorsports will enter 24-year-old Brad Keselowski in two Sprint Cup Series events in 2008, marking the successful young driver's first foray into NASCAR's top division. Keselowski will attempt to qualify a fifth Hendrick Motorsports entry -- the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy -- for the Oct. 11 Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and the Nov. 2 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Veteran crew chief Lance McGrew will direct the effort. "We've gotten a glimpse of what Brad is capable of in the Nationwide Series, and that's just scratching the surface," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "He has a load of talent and potential, and we're excited to give him an opportunity at the next level." A Rochester Hills, Mich., native, Keselowski sits third in the Nationwide Series championship standings with two victories, one pole position, 10 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy. The team, which is co-owned by Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr., has posted wins this season at Nashville, Tenn., and Bristol, Tenn. Keselowski, who already has tested the new Chevrolet Impala SS for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, will drive the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevy this week during the two-day Sprint Cup Series open test at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord. The two-race effort with Keselowski and the #25 Chevy will mark GoDaddy.com's first primary sponsorship of a Sprint Cup Series team. The world's largest registrar of domain names, GoDaddy.com joined JR Motorsports this season as a primary sponsor in the Nationwide Series. "Our move into the Sprint Cup Series has all the right ingredients," said Bob Parsons, CEO and founder of GoDaddy.com. "Hendrick Motorsports is a top-notch team, and Brad Keselowski is an exciting young driver. We're excited to be a part of Brad's Sprint Cup debut, and I can't wait to watch the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in action."(Hendrick Motorsports PR)(9-22-2008) Comment here
- NOTE: the #25 team from 2007 is now the #88 Chevy as of 2008 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving, for more news, see my #88 Dale Jr. Team News and Links page for more info and Casey Mears info is now on the #5 Team Schemes page
