By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor
After announcing that Austin Cindric would fill one of the team’s two driver slots for 2017, Brad Keselowski Racing completed their driver lineup on Thursday as they announced that Chase Briscoe would be coming on board full-time in their second team truck.
Briscoe, who won the championship in the ARCA Racing Series in 2016 with six wins, becomes the first driver in Ford’s newly announced driver development program, which starts with Brad Keselowski Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, but will also encompass other levels of the sport.
The new Ford driver development program will develop talent for all of the Ford teams in NASCAR. While the current Ford teams will have their input on driver selections, the drivers that are included in the program will be under contract with Ford. In addition to their race efforts, the driver development participants will also serve as test drivers within the Ford product development program.
“Starting this program with BKR makes sense since it has made a significant investment in its NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operation and it is reflected in its success on the track. As we at Ford look to develop new winning drivers for, ultimately, our Cup Series teams, the BKR model is a proven step in that ladder. We are enthusiastic about the role BKR will play in our efforts and we look forward to working very closely with the team in driver selection, engineering, and other mission critical areas,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance.
“This is a big day in the history of BKR. To be recognized as a true partner to Ford and Ford Performance and what they are trying to do speaks directly to the hard work our team has put in over the last several years. It is an honor, frankly, and it is really what BKR is all about – providing young, talented drivers with championship-caliber equipment to continue to hone their craft and showcase their talents. We have been fortunate to have had a lot of success together with Ford across the three major NASCAR touring series and to now elevate that relationship in an official capacity is a testament to what we set out to do,” said Brad Keselowski.
So excited and blessed to get this opportunity. Words can’t express how thankful I am to @keselowski, @FordPerformance, and @TeamBKR! https://t.co/dioMA01iA0
— Chase Briscoe (@ChaseBriscoe5) January 12, 2017
The 22-year old Briscoe will make his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series beginning with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona on February 24th. There was no mention of which truck number Briscoe will pilot in 2017 or of his sponsorship and crew details.
