Should Brad Keselowski reconsider possible move to Penske Racing?
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.
