Should Brad Keselowski reconsider possible move to Penske Racing?

August 30 2009

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Brad Keselowski’s likely move to a full-time Sprint Cup ride with Penske Racing next season could have consequences not in the best interest of the young driver.

If Keselowski joins Penske’s Dodge organization, he must sever ties with both his JR Motorsports Nationwide Series team and part-time Hendrick Motorsports Cup team because those organizations field Chevrolets and that would present an obvious conflict in manufacturer allegiances for Keselowski.

But if Keselowski waited another year to join the Cup ranks full time, he might be able to step into the potent No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet that Mark Martin has wheeled to four wins this season. In fact, plans called for Keselowski or another driver to share the No. 5 with Martin in 2010 before Martin decided earlier this year to run another full season.

If Martin retires or goes back to a partial schedule in 2011, however, Keselowski, with his talent and quick success, would be the logical choice to replace Martin or join him in sharing the seat for a season or two.

Keselowski is currently making select Cup starts in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 25 car in addition to a full Nationwide slate with the Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned JR Motorsports. However, the Michigan native appears intent on jumping ship if it means landing a full-time Cup ride in 2010.

No doubt the 25-year-old Keselowski believes he is ready for NASCAR’s top series and few would argue against that being the case.

With all due respect for Penske Racing and its accomplishments, the organization is not Hendrick Motorsports. So while Keselowski might be a good fit at Penske, he would be unlikely to achieve the level of success he could at Hendrick.

Even though Rick Hendrick has said that he would be open to the idea of Keselowski rejoining his organization somewhere down the road even if he went to another team for the time being, there’s no guarantee of that happening.

If Keselowski’s main priority is his short-term term future, Penske is the way to go since Hendrick won’t have a full-time Cup ride available for him next season. But if Keselowski cares more about his long-term future, perhaps keeping his ties with Hendrick intact would be wiser.

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3 responses to "Should Brad Keselowski reconsider possible move to Penske Racing?". Post a Comment.

1

wahoo1615 said:
Aug 30, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Jared I'm gonna remember what you said about how Brad could "not achieve the level of success" with Penske that he would at Hendrick. I believe that the Penske operation will be a serious threat in 2010 with all three (3) of their cars positioning for next year's chase...just my opinion, but Penske was the only organization that did not layoff employees over the off-season and worked hard to make improvements in their programs for this year. Kurt's record is a good sign of that and Sam Hornish Jr has had the most difficult start to a NASCAR career than anyone I can remember. When Roger brought Sam into the Cup series there was only Sam and a sponsor...nothing else, car, crew, everything and then try to put some kind of setup notes together when you haven't had any time at a track. His cars were so bad nobody could drive them. He has made a huge step in NASCAR this year and I am waiting to see what will happen next year. Then we have Stremme. I beleive Brad could bring more information to the #12 team to make sure that his car is what he wants. And don't compare Stewart-Haas to Penske as to startup teams...Haas had subpar equipment and good crew members. Smoke brought a few key people and Hendrick supplies the rest including the playbook. They've done a masterful job. I think Mark Martin will stay with Hendrick longer than many think because I believe he really enjoys what he has...so why should Brad wait?
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galvan18244 said:
Aug 31, 2009 at 2:13 PM
whats with everyone doubting anything good coming from penske racing? kurt is doing better than martin and jr, he is right there with jeff and jimmie, and sam has shown he can race with those guys, penske has showed they can be as good as hendrick!
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knchevy41 said:
Oct 1, 2009 at 11:47 AM
No, but RPM should reconsider switching to Ford.
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