Keselowski, Penske end foundational relationship
Team Penske announced Thursday that Austin Cindric will pilot the No. 2 Ford in 2022, replacing Brad Keselowski.
Cindric will replace Keselowski who has been with Team Penske since 2010, marking one of the biggest non-retirement moves in recent memory for the sport.
Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion, was heavily rumored to be taking on an ownership stake with Roush-Fenway Racing.
Roger Penske all but confirmed the rumors during Thursday’s press conference when he discussed his talks with Keselowski about an ownership stake in the team.
“The way we’re structured at Penske Corp. and the subsidiaries that we have, it wouldn’t work out and he understood that. I think we came to the end of our contract at the end of last year,” Penske stated. ” We sat down and he and John Caponigro and had good discussions and basically the final meeting that we had he said that he had an opportunity that would give him ownership, and I said at that point that we wouldn’t have that available. We’d go on.”
“Brad has done a hell of a job for us, and I think he’ll bring a lot of value to Roush Yates in the future.”
Keselowski was offered a two-year option last season when he signed a one-year deal with Team Penske. However, Keselowski’s interest in the ownership stake led to a one-year deal.
Despite Keselowski and Penske parting ways after 12 seasons, Penske emphasized that, “this was not a disagreement, this was a business decision that was made on both sides fairly and squarely, and, quite honestly, Brad will be a friend of the family and a friend of the team forever.” Penske also stated that Brad “brought some tremendous credibility”.
Keselowski’s replacement, Austin Cindric, is only the fourth driver to pilot Team Penske’s flagship No. 2 car. The entry first ran in 1991 with Rusty Wallace. Starting in 2006, Kurt Busch took over for Wallace and Brad Keselowski took over for Busch in 2011.
“It means a great deal and obviously running the 2 car for Roger and Team Penske certainly comes with a great responsibility and obviously great heritage,” Cindric stated. “I’ve obviously come a long way and I’m sure everyone in this room has seen a lot of that and it’s been a lot of fun, and to be able to tackle this head-on and obviously have the whole season to prepare for the opportunity to go Cup racing.”
Austin Cindric won the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship for Team Penske and has earned 12 wins, 51 Top 5s, 77 Top 5s and seven poles in 118 races with the team. Cindric has made six starts in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021.
Brad Keselowski has earned 34 wins, 133 Top 5s and 216 Top 10s in 420 NASCAR Cup Series starts for Team Penske, dating back to November 2009.
Keselowski also earned the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series and 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series championships for the team.
SOURCES:
Ford Performance
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com