TribLIVE’s daily and weekly email newsletters deliver the news and information you need straight to your inbox.
LOUDON, N.H. – Brad Keselowski admits that it was « hard to walk away from a NASCAR career » that nearly everyone spent driving for Roger Penske and is optimistic about a fresh start in 2022 – as a driver and owner.
Keselowski will compete for Roush Fenway Racing in 2022, and the team was planning a « big announcement » in the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday to make the signing official. About 75 miles from Fenway Park, Keselowski said Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that the time was right to part ways with Team Penske, after nearly 12 years in the No. 2 car, 34 cup wins and the 2012 championship.
« Everyone certainly wants things to work where they work, where they can stay forever and continue to grow, » said Keselowski. “Life has other plans. There is no bitterness there. »
A sticking point at Penske was Keselowski’s wish to keep a stake in a cup team. Keselowski used his team of the same name in the NASCAR Truck Series for a decade and the desire to be part of a team in the Elite Cup Series was never lost. He will get this chance at RFR.
« I just enjoy the idea of ownership and management and seeing people grow, » he said. « I take a lot with me from the idea of building teams and seeing how people grow and are successful together. »
Keselowski had a lengthy contract negotiation a year ago, which only brought him a year extension and a cut in salary. Penske said last week he would have extended Keselowski’s contract for two to three years if ownership had not been part of the negotiations. A multi-year championship contender, Keselowski has one win this season, 35 in his career, and joins a once proud team that hasn’t won a cup race since 2017.
« I think right now there is a lot of demand for proven drivers who can win races and that demand remains, » said Keselowski.
Penske said last week the move was simply « a business decision ». 37-year-old Keselowski insisted that there were no hard feelings.
« He’s been really good to me over the years, » said Keselowski. “Sad to leave this situation. Excited about the further way. »
His departure sparked a change at Penske with Austin Cindric, the 22-year-old son of Team Penske’s President Tim Cindric, 2020 Xfinity Series champion, slipping into the # 2 Ford in 2022. Cindric should be Matt. replace DiBenedetto in Ford No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing. That seat now goes to Xfinity Series driver Harrison Burton. Wood Brothers and Penske act as partners.
DiBenedetto, who was victorious in 233 career starts, was dejected, unable to continue his journey and posted a nine-minute video on social media expressing his frustration over losing the 21st.
DiBenedetto had known since last year that he would lose the seat to Cindric after the season. But the ripple effect of Keselowski leaving Penske and Cindric behind with the second car instead sparked DiBenedetto’s expectations that he would continue his journey.
« If Brad is obviously leaving, OK, opportunity, » DiBenedetto said on Sunday. “I was cool when I opened there. Let’s build this team. »
« Our team never clicked, » said DiBenedetto. “We worked hard to get it there. It just wasn’t. Nobody is to blame. I need to have a good relationship with my crew chief. Everything has to click. It just wasn’t there. »
With few vacancies in 2022, DiBenedetto said he didn’t have any bites for next season.
« Really nervous, » he said. “This news was tough. Driving for the Wood Brothers is something special. You are family. This timing is just so terribly wrong. We finally have our team where it belongs. It took longer than it should have been. I was honest about that. I’ll take something to blame for that. »
Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney said Burton and Cindric would join the series at the right time, as NASCAR will be heralding a new car for 2022.
« It’s probably the best time to be a rookie and get in, » said Blaney. “Everyone somehow starts over. I don’t think the learning curve is anywhere near as high as a newbie who comes this year and tries to learn these cars. Everyone will learn the new ones. »
Support local journalism
and help us keep sharing the stories that matter to you and your community.
TribLIVE’s daily and weekly email newsletters deliver the news and information you need right to your inbox.
We welcome relevant reader comments on our sports stories on TribLIVE.com. Comments on other stories are not available.
You are solely responsible for your comments, and by using TribLive.com you are consenting to ours
Terms of Use.
We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide pertinent comments to a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed comments that improve the quality of our news and information.
While most comments are posted when they are topic-related and not offensive Moderation decisions are subjective. We will create them as carefully and consistently as possible. Due to the amount of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.
We value thoughtful comments that have a range of views that express their point of view quickly and politely. We strive to protect discussions from repeated comments by the same or different readers.
We follow the same taste standards as the daily newspaper. A few things we will not tolerate: personal attack, profanity, vulgarity, profanity (including swear words and letters followed by hyphens), commercial advertising, imitation, incoherence, proselytizing, and shouting. Don’t add urls to websites.
We don’t edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or partially quoted in an article. In this case, we can correct spelling and punctuation.
We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we want comments not to get lost in discussions about our guidelines and will moderate accordingly.
We look forward to it , when readers and persons quoted in articles or blog posts point out factual or content-related errors and investigate all allegations. But these suggestions should be sent
by email. In order not to distract other readers, we do not post comments suggesting a correction. Instead, corrections are made in a blog post or article.
Keywords:
