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Keselowski is taking over for Stremme immediately
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Published: November 4, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. - Brad Keselowski will replace David Stremme in the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge for the final three races of the Sprint Cup season, moving up the schedule on a driver change that the team announced earlier this year.
Penske announced Sept. 1 that Keselowski will drive the No. 12 Dodge full time in the Sprint Cup Series next year, and the team has chosen to get an early start on the transition.
"Penske Racing wants to give Brad an opportunity to work with the team and get to know the race car as we prepare for the 2010 season," owner Roger Penske said Monday. "These three races will provide a good base for both Brad and the team as we head into next year."
Keselowski, 25, has been driving part time in the Cup series for Hendrick Motorsports and James Finch's Phoenix Racing while competing full time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. Keselowski is third in the Nationwide standings with four victories this year, the most recent coming Oct. 24 at Memphis Motorsports Park.
"I am very excited to begin working with the Penske Racing team, and I look forward to competing in the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the final three Cup series races of the year," Keselowski said. "We all have high expectations for next season and beyond and being able to race with the team this year will only help us as we look toward 2010."
Keselowski finished eighth in Sunday's Amp Energy 500 Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway in his last ride in Finch's No. 09 Chevrolet. Keselowski has four top 10s in 12 Cup starts in 2009 and scored his only win in the series at Talladega in April driving for Finch.
Stremme, 32, is winless in 108 Cup starts and doesn't have a top 10 in 33 starts this season. He is 31st in the points standings. This was his first year in the Cup series with Penske Racing after breaking in with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005.
In other news, NASCAR tested the redesigned Nationwide series car at Talladega this week. On Monday, eight cars took to the asphalt, first in single-car runs and later drafting together in groups.
Four Chevrolet teams and drivers participated: Richard Childress Racing (Jeff Burton), Kevin Harvick Inc. (Kevin Harvick), JR Motorsports (Kelly Bires) and Phoenix Racing (James Buescher). The test roster also included two Roush Fenway Racing Fords (Colin Braun and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), a Penske Racing Dodge (Justin Allgaier) and a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota (Trevor Bayne).
"Initially, (we got) very favorable comments," said Brett Bodine, NASCAR's director of cost research.
"Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton were the first to go out in a little bit of a draft session, and one of the things that stuck in my mind was a comment that these cars race better in the draft than the current Nationwide car."
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition said he was pleased with the early results.
"We've got a target to start shaking the cars down at 190 miles an hour and get our gears and restrictor plates as close as we can," he said. "None of that will be finalized, as far as that part of it goes, when we leave here. But it's to get enough speed in the cars, let the guys work on the chassis setups and, for a few of them, to do a little drafting out there and see how the cars react to the draft.
"We're in hopes that it should be different enough from the Cup car that it'll take a little bit different strategy when they get on the racetrack."
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