A look at Brad Keselowski’s Sprint Cup Career – NASCAR Special
Brad Keselowski, the 28-year-old NASCAR driver is the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. During his 5 years Sprint Cup career, Keselowski has secured 9 victories, 43 top-10 finishes, 2 poles and 1 championship title which came in the 2012 Sprint Cup.
Keselowski made his Sprint Cup debut in 2008. Racing the No.25 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Keselowski was scheduled to compete in only 3 races, Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway. Keselowski could not qualify for Bank of America 500 and finished 19th and 23rd in Dickies 500 and Ford 400 respectively. With 200 championship points, Keselowski stood 57th on 2008 Sprint Cup drivers’ championship standings.
In 2009, Keselowski split up his Sprint Cup run amongst three racing teams, Phoenix Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Penske Racing.
With Phoenix Racing, Keselowski took part in 6 races of the 2009 Sprint Cup. He did not qualify in Daytona 500, and got his first Sprint Cup victory in Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. Keselowski also posted 2 top-10 finishes in Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and AMP
Energy 500. With Hendrick Motorsports, Keselowski took part in 8 races and was able to post only 1 top-10 finish during these 8 races. Racing the No.12 Dodge for Penske Racing Team, Keselowski competed in the last three races of the season finishing 35th in
Dickies 500, 37th in Checker Auto Parts 500 and 25th in Ford 400.
1 victory, 3 top-10 finishes, 1528 championship points and a 38th place on drivers’ standings were 2009 Sprint Cup run statistics for Keselowski.
2010 was Keselowski first full-time run in his Sprint Cup career. Although he could not clinch any victories and only got 2 top-10 finishes, still 2010 Sprint Cup was an improvement in for Keselowski. He had not only completed his first full-time Sprint
Cup schedule but had also improved his position on drivers’ standings finishing 25th.
Continuing the improving trend in the next season, Keselowski finished 5th on drivers’ championship standings. He clinched 3 season victories, first in STP 400 at Kansas Speedway, second in Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway and the third in Irwin
Tools Night Race at Bristol. Along with the three victories, Keselowski also clinched 6 top-5 finishes.
After the 2011 season came the glorious Sprint Cup season for Keselowski. Keselowski clinched career best 5 victories in one season in the 2012 Sprint Cup. Food City 500, Aaron’s 499, Quaker State 400, GEICO 400 and AAA 400 were Keselowski’s winning rounds
of the season. 8 top-5 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes also materialised for Keselowski along with the 5 victories. Keselowski claimed the Sprint Cup Champion Title with 2400 championship points to his name.
A Sprint Cup career that started 5 years ago with a 57th place finish, has led Keselowski to being the NASCAR Sprint Cup World Champion. It remains to be seen how Keselowski is going to fare in the 2013 Sprint Cup Series but speculations are that Keselowski
has high chances of claiming his second championship title on the go. With a little over 45 days to go to the start of 2013 Sprint Cup season, NASCAR fans are anxious to see Keselowski back to racing once again.
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