K Automotive Racing, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series fixture since the inaugural race in 1995, will return the Keselowski name to competition at Martinsville Speedway after an absence of more than four seasons. Bob Keselowski competed in 86 series races, winning at Richmond International Raceway, before leaving the driver’s seat after the 1999 season for a crew chief’s role with the team owned by his wife, Kay. Now another Keselowski – 20-year-old Brad, who literally grew up in his parents’ suburban Detroit race shop – gets his turn behind the wheel of the team’s No. 29 Ford. He’s set to make his NASCAR national touring series debut in the Kroger 250 on April 17. Brad Keselowski is just the latest “next generation” competitor to hit the track in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Among series regulars with notable racing fathers are Joey Clanton (No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet), Matt Crafton (No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet), Carl Edwards (No. 99 Superchips Inc. Ford), Andy Houston (No. 2 Team ASE/Carquest Dodge), Steadman Marlin (No. 67 Forced Ignition Ford), Ted Musgrave (No. 1 Mopar Dodge), Steve Park (No. 62 Orleans Hotel Dodge) and David Reutimann (No. 17 NTN Bearings Toyota). The younger Keselowski, a veteran of nearly a decade with his parents’ team in a variety of roles including parts manager and engineer, has raced for six years, winning 28 features and one championship in five different types of race cars – most recently late model stock cars in Ohio and Michigan.
His debut truly will be a family affair, with father Bob on the pit box, mother Kay in the spotter’s stand and uncle Ron – a Daytona 500 veteran – a part of the over-the-wall pit crew. The team is among the series’ most successful, winning 10 times with five straight top-10 championship finishes. “Brad has been focused solely on this since December of last year,” Bob Keselowski said. “He is very focused and goal-oriented to start with but he knows what an opportunity this is and he is mentally prepared for the challenge. I think people will be surprised by his ability, but he was born into racing and he has been around the track his entire life. He knows the struggles and what it takes to be successful both at the track and in the shop.”
Indeed, Brad Keselowski has set high goals for Martinsville Speedway, a track on which he’s yet to compete. They include qualifying among the top five, racing in the top 10 “and not hitting anything that’s my fault,” he said. “I feel like if I can meet my own expectations or even get close to the goals that I have laid out for myself then I have out-done what others expected of me.” K Automotive has three top-five finishes at Martinsville, the best a third by Terry Cook (No. 10 Power Stroke Diesel Ford) in 2001.
Keselowski watched from pit road during the season’s opening two races at Daytona and Atlanta. The team is 17th in the owner points standings entering the Kroger 250 on the strength of veteran Frank Kimmel’s eighth-place finish at Daytona. Keselowski believes his ongoing behind-the-scenes experience should be helpful as he battles his rivals for the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award.
“I feel like I will still have a large say in how the truck is set up; I just may not have the chance to be as hands-on in the operation when I’m behind the wheel,” Keselowski said. “The truck needs to please the driver and the driver’s style. We will all still sit down and discuss the changes we need to make; I will just be looking at the changes from a different perspective.”
Kay Keselowski, one of the most veteran spotters on the series, will have the best vantage spot to observe her son’s series debut. She’s not worried – at least no more so than when her husband was at the other end of the radio. What advice does she have for her son? “You have nothing to prove out there,” she said. “Just be safe, run a clean race and do your best.”
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
* Martinsville a place for new faces … Keselowski is just the latest “son of” to make his initial NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series appearance at the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway. First was Barry Bodine, son of Geoffrey Bodine (No. 03 Team EJP Chevrolet), who joined his father in the inaugural event’s lineup on Sept. 25, 1995. In order to compete, the younger Bodine skipped high school classes after inclement weather postponed the race until Monday. The father-son duo finished 17th and 30th.
* Injured Atlanta drivers progress … Rick Crawford (No. 14 Circle Bar Motel & RV Ford), Tina Gordon (No. 13 Vassarette/Microtel Chevrolet) and Hank Parker Jr. (No. 21 Innovative Motorsports Toyota), injured in an incident March 13 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, continue their recoveries under care of their personal physicians. Each anticipates a return to competition at Martinsville.
* Etc. … Fritz Kroyer, who has more than 36 years experience in various forms of motorsports, has been named general manager of the No. 62 Orleans Racing team that fields Dodges for Steve Park. The father of engine builder Kevin Kroyer, he is a native of Denmark, winning off-road racer and former freelance film stunt person who once jumped a Porsche over the Berlin Wall. … Mark McFarland, the 2003 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series champion, will drive the No. 59 Harris Trucking Dodge in the Kroger 250. McFarland finished 15th in last October’s Kroger 200. … Reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil (No. 24 Line-X Toyota) returns to International Race of Champions (IROC) action on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.(NASCAR PR)(4-3-2004)
