Brad Keselowski Stats: The 2012 Cup Series champion by the numbers

It’s been nearly 15 years since Brad Keselowski first entered a NASCAR Cup Series race. He entered the 2008 Bank of America 500 for Hendrick Motorsports but failed to qualify. Since then, he’s risen to the top 25 Cup Series drivers all-time in wins.

Keselowski’s current team, RFK Racing, recently posted a video to Twitter from downtime during a production day. The crew asked Keselowski to remember winners of specific races from the last decade and a half. Over three minutes, he proved a reliable encyclopedia of results from some of the 499 races he’s participated in since his first Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in 2008.

The winner of last year’s race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin? Keselowski rightly named Ross Chastain. Who won in the spring Darlington race in 2011? Keselowski correctly stated Regan Smith. He even correctly remembered Jeff Gordon’s come-from-behind victory at the 2007 Fall Talladega race, an event he didn’t participate in.

There’s plenty of information in Keselowski’s head. But what about his performances on the track? Here’s a look at the impressive Brad Keselowski stats he’s amassed over almost 500 races.

An Impressive Start to his Cup Series Career

When Keselowski first joined the Cup Series, it was called the Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson was in the midst of his run of five consecutive titles. He appeared at the tail end of the 2008 NASCAR schedule with his entrance into the Bank of America 500. He failed to qualify but managed 19th in his first official race a few weeks later at the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Four more NASCAR races saw some average results. A return to Texas saw him finish 23rd in the Samsung 500. Two weeks later, everything changed,

Keselowski won the 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega in his fifth career start. He led just one lap the entire race, but it was the last one as he managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. That’d prove to be the only win for the Phoenix Racing Team in the Cup Series.

Keselowski joined Penske Championship Racing full-time the next year after driving the no. 12 Dodge for the last three races of the 2009 NASCAR schedule.

The Championship Run with Penske

Keselowski had a slow start to his time with Penske. His 2010 season saw just two top-10 finishes and 25th in the championship. Things changed the following year.

In 2011, Keselowski emerged as a top contender in the Cup Series. Wins in Kansas, Pocono, and Bristol earned him his first spot in the Cup Series playoffs. He’d finish fifth behind champion Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth.

The next season would be a special one. During the regular season, three victories at Bristol, Talladega, and Kentucky secured his spot in the 2012 Sprint Cup playoffs. His wins in Chicagoland and Dover pushed him past the other contenders for the 2012 championship. It was both his and team owner Roger Penske’s first Cup Series title.

The Post-Championship Era with Penske

Keselowski’s title defense in 2013 started well, with four consecutive top-four finishes to open the season. But it took the following 32 races for him to match that total from the opening races. He’d manage just 14th that season.

The 2014 season was much better. He’d notch a career-best six wins that season (Las Vegas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Richmond, Chicagoland, and Talladega). That was the most of any Sprint Cup Series driver that year but inconsistency meant he only managed fifth place.

Keselowski continued with Penske through the 2021 season. That period showed he was a solid choice when betting on NASCAR. He finished seventh in the 2015 Cup Series championship with one win (Fontana). The next year he’d manage 12th but with four wins (Las Vegas, Talladega, Daytona, Kentucky).

From 2017 through 2021, he finished at least eighth in the standings for Team Penske. In the 2017 season, he was fourth with three wins; in 2018, he won three races in a row but finished eighth; 2019 saw the same eighth-place result with three wins.

The 2020 season was his best since his championship in 2012. Four wins but, importantly another nine top-five finishes meant he’d finish second to champion Chase Elliott. In 2021, he finished sixth with just one win.

A Switch to RFK Racing

After the 2021 season, Keselowski switched to Roush Fenway Racing. The team was subsequently renamed Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing. He’s yet to win a race with the new team and finished 24th last season. That was his worst standing since his first full-time season in 2010.

Despite the recent absence from victory lane, Brad Keselowski’s stats are impressive. Eighteen poles, 35 wins, and more than 9,000 laps led. And, on top of that, he’s a walking encyclopedia of Cup Series knowledge.

We put a camera on @keselowski during a production day and started asking him winners of past NASCAR races.

His memory will blow your mind. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OlNddxXwQU

— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) June 7, 2023

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