Roger Penske and Brad Keselowski finally made the ‘worst kept secret’ in the garage official. Keselowski will replace David Stremme in the No. 12 Penske Racing (Verizon Logos) Dodge beginning in 2010.
Keselowski opted for a second-tier Sprint Cup ride over a top-tier Nationwide Series ride.
In 2007, Dale Earnhardt Jr gave Keselowski the opportunity of a lifetime.
At the time, Junior Motorsports was using Richard Childress Racing engines, but a string of impressive performances earned him the ride for the 2008, which of course was the first year Junior Motorsports competed under the Hendrick Motorsports banner.
Keselowski was the only Nationwide Series regular who was able to contend with Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and other Sprint Cup regulars on a consistent basis.
In 2009, Keselowski continued to prove that his 2008 season was no fluke, even winning the ‘crapshoot’ 500 at
Talladega in April.
Even though many feel as if the win fell into Keselowski’s lap, he was impressive that day, and he turned heads.
Unfortunately for the third generation driver, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon have at least a couple of years of driving ahead of them, and Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr are almost guaranteed a ride for as long as they want.
Hence, Keselowski, who is obviously ready for the pressure of Sprint Cup racing, looked elsewhere.
Roger Penske is one of the most respected men in the Sprint Cup garage.
Heck, he is the Rick Hendrick of the Indy Racing League.
His Sprint Cup operation is no slouch either; however, the Dodge-fielded team has not shown much consistency since Ryan Newman won eight races and eleven poles in 2003.
Kurt Busch has enjoyed a couple of impressive seasons since supplanting Rusty Wallace in 2006, including this season, but prior to this season, he only made the Chase for the Championship in one of three seasons in the Blue Deuce.
Ryan Newman was a perennial frontrunner from 2002 to 2005, but struggled from 2006 and onward until he joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.
It is difficult to gauge Sam Hornish Jr and the No. 77 team because the three-time IRL champion is just now figuring out the heavier stock cars.
Basically, Penske Racing is hit or miss and has been since 2006.
In 2008, they were a miserable miss, as both Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman missed the Chase for the Championship.
In fact, Keselowski declined an offer to drive the No. 12 Dodge in 2008.
In 2009, however, Kurt Busch has been a mainstay in the top six of the championship standings, including a dominating victory at
Atlanta in March.
He is almost a sure bet to compete for the title.
Sam Hornish Jr has shown substantial improvement, and if not for bad luck and questionable driving, Stremme and the No. 12 team have had some decent performances.
The performance improvement along with the lack of options in the Hendrick camp prompted Keselowski to accept the invitation to join the Penske pack.
Is Keselowski settling by signing with Penske Racing?
If he is as talented as I believe he is, and if Penske Racing is truly on the rise, then he is making a sound career decision.
Keselowski reminds me of Denny Hamlin a few years ago.
You just know the youngster is going to win races.
Keselowski has a champion in Kurt Busch to lean on.
Busch has seen the ups and downs of the sport, on the track as well as off.
He will have a teammate in Sam Hornish Jr who is also learning the ropes.
At Hendrick, he would likely ride in the shadows of the star-studded drivers.
Even at Stewart-Haas Racing, he would be third behind the Hoosier duo of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.
With Penske, Keselowski would be in big pond with less fish.
I do not necessarily believe that Keselowski is settling.
I believe he is ready to take the next step, and sees potential in an organization that has access to vast resources.
I project a solid tenure at Penske Racing for Keselowski, even though the critics are waiting for him to fail.
Comments
I am baffled how you can even state that Penske racing is a "2nd" tier organiztion.
Obviously you know nothing about racing.
I don't believe Brad is settling either. I think he has made a wise decision, is committed to Penske and raise the level of that team. Cheers to Brad.
Two weeks ago all the articles questioned Keselowski taking a ride at Penske as essentially the dumbest idea ever. Now those same pundits are saying how smart he is for accepting that same ride.
Media people are worse than politicians when it comes to talking out of both sides of their mouth. Geez. Make up you mind, Keseslowski and Penske is either a good idea or a bad one--it can't be both.
And the second tier thing? You could say the same about Gibbs. Without the younger Busch (who, hopefully, will stay on his meds and stay media friendly), they'd be 2nd tier. Same with Stewart--he's the only winning on that team. RCR and Roush--for the moment--are second tiers, too. And EGR? They must be 3rd tier or worse.
Ups and downs, right? That's racing.
Here's what nobody knows: a team is only as good as the equipment and the driver. Will Keselowski win at Penske? You bet he will and he'll win in 2010 and either get into the Chase or be so close he can taste it (no worse than 1
Two weeks ago everyone questioned Keselowski taking a ride at Penske as essentially the dumbest idea ever. Now those same pundits are saying how smart he is for accepting that same ride.
Media people are worse than politicians when it comes to talking out of both sides of their mouth. Geez. Make up you mind, Keseslowski and Penske is either a good idea or a bad one--it can't be both.
And the second tier thing? You could say the same about Gibbs. Without the younger Busch (who, hopefully, will stay on his meds and stay media friendly), they'd be 2nd tier. Same with Stewart--he's the only winning on that team. RCR and Roush--for the moment--are second tiers, too. And EGR? They must be 3rd tier or worse.
Ups and downs, right? That's racing.
Here's what nobody knows: a team is only as good as the equipment and the driver. Will Keselowski win at Penske? You bet he will and he'll win in 2010 and either get into the Chase or be so close he can taste it (no worse than 14th)...
"Obviously you know nothing about racing."
LOL ... I'm sorry, that just made me laugh ... LMAO
I'm not a particular fan of Keselowski, but we'll see what he does ... good article, Jeremy.
Thanks Michele,
Don't you just love the ones who get bent out of shape if your article or a statement in the article differs from their personal opinion?
Boy am I going against the tide. I think it was a very poor decision. I look for Kurt to be looking elsewhere next yearm and where does that leave Brad; looking to Sam Hornish for advice and guidance. I think he should have stayed with Jr Motorsports and won a championship in nationwide in 2010. Who knows how long Mark and Jeff are actually going to drive? If something happenes to each of them that takes either one of them out of a seat, where does that leave Brad? Out in the cold.
If by not being allowed to work in, or just outside, the grey areas of the rules means second tier, then yes Penske would be second tier. The only reason Hendick's teams are as good as they are is that when they're well into the grey area of the rule book, it's not an infraction, but a new rule makes it illegal for anyone following. Got a new HP or aero idea? Run it and it's OK. Until another manufacture tries it, then it's a rules infraction. Everyone else is second tier when your allowed those luxuries?
gap
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