Brad Keselowski has been in Victory Lane before at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but not as a driver, a feat he would like to accomplish in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 200.
Keselowski’s two trips to the winner’s circle at NHMS came when his family-owned NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team won with drivers Dennis Setzer in 1999 and Terry Cook in 2002. On both occasions, Keselowski was working on the team as a scorer and an engineer, respectively.
"Working on my family's Truck team was a special experience for all of us," Keselowski said. "I think that experience helps me appreciate things a bit more now as a driver I have a really good understanding of what goes into getting a team to the track to compete and I know just how much wrecking cars puts stress on everyone involved.
"I also got to see just how much fun it was when we won. We got to experience that a couple times at Loudon, and those are really cool memories."
This weekend’s 200-lap race will mark Keselowski’s first Nationwide Series start at the 1-mile New Hampshire track. However, he does have one start in the Craftsman Truck Series, finishing 21st in 2005.
The trip to Loudon couldn’t come at a better time as Keselowski is coming off his first series pole at another 1-mile track, The Milwaukee Mile. That event also marked the first time Keselowski led more than 100 laps in one race after he held the No. 88 Chevrolet up front for 145 laps. But in the end, he had to settle for eighth after contact damaged his car.
On Saturday, Keselowski will look to settle the score with his Milwaukee chassis (No. 434) when he makes his 32nd career start with JR Motorsports. Since joining the team mid-way through the 2007 season, he has gone on to score one win, five top fives and 14 top 10s.
"The No. 88 team has come a long way in the last year,” Keselowski said. “It’s been pretty incredible to see the steady improvements everyone has made. We’ve got great cars and great people who work on them. They’ve improved a lot and that’s allowed me to continue to improve as a driver as well."
