One of the bigger moves for next year’s NASCAR season is reportedly set in stone. After over a decade at Team Penske, 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski is now expected to move to Roush Fenway Racing. This coming from a Friday tweet from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern. It all but confirms a rumor that was first picked up on by Jim Utter of Motorsport.com about a month ago. Details of this move and what it means for both Roush and Penske here.
Driver/Co-Owner Status
.@RoushFenway has told partners that it has a done deal with @Keselowski to become driver and co-owner starting in 2022, per sources, though it has held off on announcing in deference to @Team_Penske.
➖ @Jim_Utter first reported in May that Keselowski was considering the offer. pic.twitter.com/Odn1rlw7P3
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 25, 2021
The kicker in this move for Keselowski is that he will become a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. This of course is not the first time that Keselowski has owned a team, having run Trucks Series team Brad Keselowski Racing from 2009 to 2017. Roush currently does not operate any teams in either the Xfinity or Trucks Series at the moment. Keselowski should be all over those programs in the event that they return, due to the mind-numbing level of prospective talent that he had run for BKR. Drivers included Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Hemric, and Austin Cindric just to name a few that got chances there.
As far as racing is concerned, Ryan Newman’s contract is expected to expire at year’s end. Unless the team opts to go back to a three-car operation, this feels like the end of Newman’s tenure with the team, largely due to the fact he turns 44 this December. Newman also has recorded just five top-10 finishes and one top-five finish in his last 50 outings. Chris Buescher, meanwhile, just signed a three-year extension with the team earlier this year and brings along sponsor Fastenal for the same amount of time. With this in mind, Keselowski will more than likely be piloting the six-car for Roush in 2022. This is a huge splash for the team that has not won a Cup Series title since Kurt Busch in 2004.
Penske Fallout
Last year Keselowski signed what was just a one-year contract extension. At the time, it felt like a smoking gun that 2021 would be his final year with the team. While still a great driver, Blaney and Joey Logano are both significantly younger than the 37-year-old Michigan native. With both of his current teammates’ contracts locked in for the foreseeable future, this leaves Keselowski as the odd man out. He leaves Penske having given the team its first Cup Series championship, as well as Dodge’s final title back in 2012. 34 of his 35 career Cup Series wins came with the team.
With Keselowski now on the way out, here is what is almost certainly the corresponding move for Penske. With a veteran-heavy free agent pool, defending Xfinity Series Champion Cindric likely has a clear path to replace Keselowski. He has made a number of Cup starts this year for the team; his best outing being a 15th in the Daytona 500. While his father, Penske Team President Tim Cindric, got his foot in the door, Cindric has made the most of his opportunity. Just last year in his title run he won six races and had a mid-season run of eight consecutive top-three finishes. He also stands as the lone prospect in the Penske pipeline, which also helps his cause. Without question, this feels like the right move to make.
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