Catchfence

Gets Push from Brother Brad
Dad, ’89 ARCA Champ Bob on as Crew Chief

(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – February 18, 2011) – Brian Keselowski, using a push from his brother Brad, finished fifth in the second Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway Thursday to qualify for the 53rd Daytona 500. Keselowski won three races in 34 ARCA Racing Series starts between 2004 and 2007.

Keselowski will start 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season opener, which will also mark his debut in NASCAR’s top series. A 29-year-old from Rochester Hills, Mich., Keselowski won at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in 2006 and 2007 and at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in 2007 in ARCA competition. Prior to his ARCA Racing Series success, he also earned the Late Model track championship at Toledo Speedway in 2003. He is the son of 1989 ARCA Racing Series national driving champion and former Toledo Speedway Late Model champion Bob Keselowski

With just 61 owner points carried over from 2010 – well short of the 2549 held by the 35th-place entry – Keselowski’s self-owned No. 92 Dodge entered Thursday’s qualifying races a longshot and needing to finish among the top two non-qualified cars in the second Duel race to make Sunday’s main event.

Keselowski took advantage of the two-car drafting which has become a staple at Daytona in the past week and received a shove from his brother, 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Brad, late in the 60-lap qualifier. Brad Keselowski had just sustained an accident, moving him to the back of the field and closer to his brother.

The two coasted to fifth and seventh place, respectively. Brian Keselowski’s fifth-place finish ranked the highest of Duel 2 drivers needing to race their way in to the Daytona 500.

Asked whether he owed his brother for the big push, Brian Keselowski responded positively.

“In a thousand ways. We wouldn’t have even made it here if it wasn’t for him. When he had his accident, I’m not really sure what happened, but it put him back there with us just enough to make sure he could get behind us. A couple times, the caution came out, and he couldn’t line up. We worked together and tried to get a hole. He jacked me a couple (times) sideways, but that’s just the way this two-car draft goes. You can’t lift, and you can’t stop for the guy in front of you, or you’re going to get wrecked by the guy behind you.

“I owe everything to everybody right now.”

Brad Keselowski, a former ARCA competitor himself and current driver of Penske Racing’s No. 2 Dodge, was happy to help his brother into the Daytona 500.

“What a day,” Brad Keselowski said. “I pushed my brother to the Daytona 500.  That’s pretty cool.  It feels good for him.  We really wanted to win, but it was nice to do that with Brian.”

The most historical ARCA connection of all in the magical Keselowski story, however, is not even on the track – it’s atop the pit box. Bob Keselowski, the 1989 ARCA Racing Series champion and a winner of 24 races in ARCA competition, is one of two employees (with Brian) for the race team, K Automotive, and will act as the crew chief in Sunday’s race.

- ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, Press Release