Penske Racing South

With Penske's press conference announcing the washing of hands with Kurt Busch, it has to come up, Who will fill the void? Penske has some great drivers in the stable and a fantastic future ahead with Brad Keselowski truly beginning to hit his stride.

Regardless of the desired parting ways with anything titled "Busch" and a need for a more consistent driver all eyes should be on David Ragan, the currently seat-less driver out of Roush Fenway. He didn't have a Chase year, but two poles and a win isn't bad considering he was the red-headed step child at Fenway.

David Reutimann is another possible replacement in the Penske garage, but something about Reutimann blends in too much on the track. Nothing overwhelmingly screams, "I can win at this!" On the other hand, Regan over the course of this past season, caught my eye.

It was possible the drama of ending his time with Fenway drew it to him more, but he seemed to have something over Reutimann, and even at times a certain spark even Busch lacked. Of course, Roger Penske may select Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr.

But in truth, Hornish seems to fit better in Indy, and Ragan would be a more adjusted fit. Given the right chance, like Penske likely would for Ragan could really help the young driver blossom.

One thing is for sure: With Kurt Busch gone, Penske can step away from unneeded drama and back into forming a solid stable for next season.

As for where Busch could end up, it would seem anything with the last name is Busch may be tainted beef in the Nascar community. Not that it is surprising after his behavior this past season.

For Brad Keselowski 2010 was an up and down year. There were both figurative ups, winning the Nationwide Series championship with a brand new Penske Racing team the highest, and literal ups, such as Keselowski’s flight at the hands of Carl Edwards in the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta early in the season. But there were plenty of downs, too, particularly in Cup; Keselowski only mustered a 25^th place finish in points in his first full season at NASCAR’s highest level.

But knowing Roger Penske, that wasn’t going to be enough for 2011. With Sam Hornish relegated to the Nationwide Series, both Keselowski and remaining teammate Kurt Busch would receive more focus as Dodge’s only two fully-backed Sprint Cup teams. In fact, Keselowski would slide into the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, and while Penske has always been able to count on Busch, he was looking for significant improvement from Keselowski. He needed to be good.

But nobody saw it coming that he would be this good.

Granted, that’s partially because Busch started the season so hot. The No. 22 team won the season-opening Budweiser Shootout and its Gatorade Duel, and held the points lead for two weeks early in the season. Keselowski, meanwhile, dipped as low as 28^th in points after the first Richmond race, setting up what could have been the worst season of all time for Penske’s flagship car.

And then there was a glimmer of hope. Keselowski took his first win of the season at Kansas in June on fuel mileage, running out of gas as he celebrated. He then put in a string of so-so performances until, in a testing accident at Road Atlanta in early August, he broke his ankle.

Suddenly and inexplicably, an injured Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe became the hottest tandem in the sport. As the regular season wound down and the desire to make the Chase was reaching crunch time, they strung together a series of championship-caliber runs. A win at Pocono, days after the testing accident. Second at the Watkins Glen road course, a superb effort given his hurt ankle. Third at Michigan. Another win at Bristol. When all was said and done, they’d scored three wins and ranked 11^th in points before reseeding.

And so the No. 2 team made the Chase as one of its two wild cards, based on the strength of those wins. But as a wild card, that meant that the bonus points earned for wins wouldn’t count. It’s a shame they didn’t, because they might have made this weekend’s race a three-way title fight otherwise.

Their Chase performance has been solid if not spectacular – four top fives and only one finish outside of the top 20—and they sit fourth in points. But Keselowski’s championship hopes effectively ended at Texas when he ran out of fuel late in the race and had to take a 24^th place finish, one lap down. Phoenix saw the No. 2 team come home 18^th, mathematically eliminating them, and they head into Homestead looking to maintain their position from the challenges of former champions Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth.

Just about every year, there is at least one Chase driver that defies all expectations to put together an unassuming title run. This year, Keselowski was that guy. He was the biggest surprise in NASCAR this year, but everybody will see him coming from this point forward. The question now is how much further up the ladder can he climb?

As we entered the season at Daytona International Speedway in February, not many people expected Brad Keselowski to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, much less be a contender! 

With seven races left in the season, Brad has three wins and is currently in sixth position in points.  He is taking NASCAR by storm in just his second full-time year in the Cup series. 

Keselowski worked hard to get in the position that he is in. 

In the first nine races of the year he finished out of the Top-10, not getting his first Top-5 until Southern 500.  Since that race, Keselowski jump-started his game and raced his way to the Top-20 in points.  Earning three wins before the Chase for the Sprint Cup gave him the Wild-Card slot, granting him access to the Chase.

He hasn’t stopped his momentum there, finishing 12th at the Chase cut-off race at Richmond and earning two Top-5 finishes at Chicagoland and Loudon.  Even when his No. 2 Penske team faces challenges, like at Dover this past weekend, they still manage to rally back for a Top-20 finish.

Keselowski has strong statistics at the last tracks of the season.  We head to Kansas Speedway next weekend, where Brad earned his first win of this season.  He has one win in the Nationwide Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway and started on the pole for the Coca Cola 600 this year in the Cup Series. 

Brad won his first race in 2009 at Talladega Super Speedway and is one of the best drivers at restrictor plate racing. 

So why do I think Brad is going to be the 2011 Sprint Cup Champion?  

He doesn’t let other drivers get in his head.  Keselowski races his own race and doesn’t worry about what anyone else is doing on the track.  He has consistent finishes every week, not matter what circumstances he faces. 

Brad has a strong team in Penske that works hard in and out of the shop, to guarantee he has the best cars to go out and race with every week.

Overall, if I have to choose someone to win this year’s championship, I choose Brad Keselowski.

When you think you’re having a tough day, just look back at Brad Keselowski’s week, starting at his Nationwide win Saturday night.

After the race, Keselowski had to jump on Twitter to defend himself as fans attacked his hard driving style that got him to Victory Lane. Not even Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was racing Keselowski for the win, could calm down the fans by saying he would have done the same thing.

“After thinking about doin something different I need better restarts...and if I was @keselowski I woulda done the same thing.” Stenhouse said on Twitter.

But Keselowski’s win on Saturday wasn’t the only thing criticized this week, as his comments about having one of the best cars after the Sprint Cup race on Sunday, where he finished ninth, allowed another attack on the driver.

“I felt like Jeff Gordon and I were the two best cars,” Keselowski told Nate Ryan of USA Today.

He never could have guessed that his words would spark off another rough experience two days later at the hands of Jimmy Spencer on Tuesday's Race Hub.

"Every week, he has the best car, but he rarely competes for wins. I think he’s trying to sell his superhuman abilities to the fans and the sponsors," Spencer said during his segment on the show.

Once again, Brad Keselowski, being the Twitter expert he is, pulled off a defensive move by tweeting stats about his speed to counter Spencer's argument.

Keselowski definitely had to feel like he was put through the ringer over the comments made to him up until this point, but the racing gods had more in store for him.

This afternoon, while testing at Road America, the No. 2 Dodge flew into the wall in Turn 1 after his brakes failed. He was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure according to Penske Racing. Soon after his tweet informing followers about his wreck, Keselowski tweeted that he would be okay to race this weekend at Pocono.

But not only did followers get to hear from the driver himself that he was okay, they also got to see some of his injuries, including his ankle. He also let everyone know that while the foot looked bad, it wasn't broken.

"X-rays on feet r good" Keselowski tweeted with the pictures.

Jimmie Johnson also showed some on-track photos of the accident, including a picture of the wall Keselowski hit in the accident and the remains of his car.

While Keselowski will definitely be sore tomorrow (and he may even tweet about it), there's no doubt viewers will see him racing hard at Pocono this weekend to better his 23rd finish there in June.

Keselowski sits one spot outside of the Top 20 in points, a spot he hopes to improve so he can make an attempt at the Chase Wild Card for those with wins in the No. 11 to 20 spots in points.

It took a mad rant over the radio at Richmond to make the point that something had to change with his No. 22 Penske Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and change it did.

His boss, Roger Penske, got the gang together and pretty much told them they had to come together or it wouldn't be pretty.

Changes were made with personnel and the driver and his team are reaping the rewards. Busch had three consecutive pole positions and now has his first road-course win and first win of the season at Sonoma.

Busch is the 2004 NASCAR Nextel (Sprint Cup) Champion with 23 career wins in the series.

Coming out of Sonoma he swapped positions with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the points. Busch went to third and Junior dropped to seventh place.

While many of the cars looked as though they had barely survived a bad night on a short track, Busch brought his No. 22 to Victory Lane like it just came out of the showroom.

It is obvious Penske Racing has made fruitful changes because not only is Busch running strong, but Brad Keselowski is also  improving with his Blue Deuce.

Except for the times Busch gets irritated with his car and its performance, even if he is running third, he appears to be a calmer person who is well-spoken and very sponsor friendly.

Perhaps his happiness is based on more than his racing endeavors and his outside interests like baseball. We also see a new beauty by his side by the name of Patricia Driscoll.

Could she be his new lucky charm? We may never know what happened with the often photographed Eva Busch whom he married in 2006.

His wife was always beside him at every race and was present at the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet. This season Busch stood alone by his car until just recently.

Ms. Driscoll was there to greet Busch in the winner's circle at Sonoma, so it certainly appears she is his new girlfriend.

Busch also has his Pro Stock NHRA car that he will run whenever it does not conflict with his NASCAR schedule.

It looks as though life is good for the elder Busch brother as he makes a serious run for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title. He is confident he will be a contender and from the looks of thinks he may well be.

Before Sunday's win at Kansas Speedway, Brad Keselowski's NASCAR Sprint Cup career was largely defined by a pair of airborne crashes.

Keselowski's first Cup win came in 2009 at Talladega in a race that is more remembered for Carl Edwards's car losing control while coming to the checkered flag and flying into the catch fence along the front stretch than it is for Keselowski winning.

Then in 2010, Edwards retaliated by intentionally sending Keselowski's car into the catch fence at Atlanta.

But Sunday's fuel mileage win at Kansas involved no airborne cars and validated Keselowski as a 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup contender.

Contending for wins in the Sprint Cup series has not come easy for the Rochester Hills, Mich., native.

Rough Start in 2010

After his breakout win in 2009, Keselowski signed with Penske Racing at the beginning of the 2010 season—but 2010 was hardly a success.

His average finish in 2010 was a lackluster 22.4 and featured just two top 10's, no top 5's, one pole and 41 laps led.

2011 has been a different story, though. The growing pains from moving up from the Nationwide series to the top-level Cup series seem to have subsided.

In just 13 races so far this season, Keselowski has improved in every aspect. His average finish sits at 19.7; he has two top-5 finishes, one win, two top 10's and has led 59 laps.

Even with the improved stats, the most important stat might be that he sits in 21st place in the point standings. With his win on Sunday in his pocket, a Chase berth might be in sight.

Chase Potential

To be eligible for the Chase, Keselowski would need to be one of two drivers with a win to be ranked from 10th to 20th in points. Right now, he sits only seven points out of 20th.

With the new wild card points format, Keselowski's chances are better, but it's still not a given he can make the Chase.

The biggest help Keselowski could get is to have Jeff Gordon—currently in 13th place—move into the top 10 in points. Gordon is currently the only other driver who is outside of the top 10 with a win.

Having Gordon in the top 10 would give Keselowski a bit of a cushion with other drivers likely to get a win—or two—in the next 13 races. The most likely would be Juan Pablo Montoya or Greg Biffle.

If they were to each grab a win and not make it into the top 10 in points, that would leave Keselowski on the outside of the Chase looking in.

Like every other driver, Keselowski's chances at making the Chase are in his hands. One more win, and he would all but cement his spot in the Chase.

Given the way he has run this season, that's not a tall order. 

Kurt Busch seems to be on a roll with his performance this year, but it is hard to not notice the absence of a fixture once by his side at the track.

Busch started the season by winning the Bud Shootout and one of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway.

This season he moved from the well-recognized No. 2 Penske Blue Deuce to the bright yellow Shell-Pennzoil No. 22 Dodge.

Busch appears perhaps more at ease and upbeat this season than we have ever seen him. He relished the hype generated when his younger brother Kyle Busch was first in points, and he was second as they headed to Las Vegas.

After a fifth place finish in the Daytona 500, he followed up finishing eighth at Phoenix. At his hometown track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he recovered from a spin and finished ninth.

The 2004 Cup Champion had not finished higher than 23rd the past four years. Prior to the race, Busch said, "It just seems like we've been off since we unloaded the car." Obviously, they overcame the problem as he fought back to a top-10 finish.

Currently, he remains second in the Sprint Cup point standings, tied with Tony Stewart who is at the top of the rankings.

Busch is spending his week away from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in a straight line. He is heading to the National Hot Rod Association Gatornationals at Gainesville, FL.

Last year he raced his 160 mph Dodge Challenger every chance he got, but now he moves to the pro ranks of NHRA.

Busch will pilot an Allen Johnson prepared Pro Stock car. This class of drag cars has doors and resembles factory models. They are considered "all motor" because turbocharging, supercharging or nitrous oxide is not allowed.

The Pro Stock cars run on high octane racing gasoline. They cover the straight quarter mile track in the 6.50 second range at speeds hovering around 210 mph.

Moving to another topic, his younger brother Kyle married long-time girlfriend, Samantha Sarcinella, this past New Years Eve.

The older Busch brother, Kurt, married the lovely Eva Bryan in 2006. She could always be seen at his side during NASCAR pre-race events as photographers found her to be very easy on the eyes.

The Busch brothers have a knack for marrying attractive women who appear to be strong supporters for their driver and husbands. 

Eva Busch's presence has been missed this year, as Kurt stands proudly by his No. 22 Dodge before the start of each race.

Now, understandably, the personal life of drivers should be just that, and he owes no explanations to anyone in the public, despite his highly visible profile as a NASCAR driver.

One can't help but observe the absence of the traditional marriage symbol worn on the left hand where it used to be.

Now, this could all be as simple as his wife is just very busy, and perhaps the missing metal on his hand is to further lighten him up as a driver to give him that tiniest advantage with a lighter car on race day.

Well maybe that is a stretch on both counts, but as the younger Busch brother gains a wife, it would be ironic for the other to be missing one.

Anyway, we hope the rivalry of the Busch brothers continues throughout the season because that kind of thing is good for the sport of NASCAR.

Good luck to Kurt with his Shell Dodge Avenger Pro Stock at Gainesville. He loves drag racing, though he won't be leaving his regular job as a driver for Penske Racing.

Today at Texas Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski won the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship after finishing third in the O'Reilly Challenge. 

Keselowski, who only had to finish 21st or better to clinch the title, won the first ever NASCAR title for team owner Roger Penske. 

"Part of you feels honored to do it for Roger,'' Keselowski said. "To get to see him carry that (NASCAR) trophy and do something he's never done, it's hard to give a billionaire something. It's pretty cool.''

One-time rival Carl Edwards, who won the race today and is currently second in the Nationwide Series standings, leaned into Keselowski's cockpit and congratulated. 

"It's his first championship. They've done a good job,'' Edwards said. "We've had our differences and our battles, but today is his championship day and he beat us.''

This season, Keselowski has won at Talladega, Richmond, Nashville, Michigan, Charlotte, Fontana, and Gateway. He has 24 Top Fives and 27 Top 10s in 33 races as well as five poles. 

This is the first championship for Dodge in NASCAR since Ted Musgrave won the 2005 Craftsman Truck Series Championship and the manufacturer's first ever Nationwide Series title. 

Keselowski has held the points lead since winning at Talladega in the eighth race this season—April 25. He got to Texas with a 485-point lead over Edwards that got trimmed by only 20 Saturday.

"Going through the last few weeks knowing that it looked pretty good to win the championship, I couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong,'' Keselowski said. "When you think of those things, I don't want to get my hopes up until it's really there. It's here. It really happened.''