By NASCAR Wire Service
A rare exception as a driver from outside of NASCAR’s developmental hotbeds, Brad Keselowski calls Rochester Hills, Michigan home.
Decorated already – even with his prime years potentially still in front of him – Keselowski, 32, boasts the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship and 19 career wins. One achievement the No. 2 Team Penske driver would dearly like to add to his resume is a win in his native state.
Keselowski gets the chance to visit Victory Lane beneath the roar of his hometown fans in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FS1).
“Michigan will always be my home track and that puts it at a whole other level compared to other tracks of wanting to win in front of your family and your friends at the place you recognize as home,” Keselowski said.
With a win at Michigan, he would become the eighth active driver to win a race in his home state, joining Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
In 13 starts at Michigan, Keselowski claims three top fives, six top 10s and an average finish of 16.5. His career-best finish in The Great Lakes State was a runner-up showing in August of 2012.
“We’ve had a lot of good runs at Michigan and opportunities to win races where we’ve just fallen a little bit short. I think we need just a little more speed and I need to execute at just a tiny higher level, and we can win there.”
This season, Keselowski has established himself as a bona fide contender for his second career championship. He ranks second on the Chase Grid on the strength of two wins, five top fives and nine top 10s. Keselowski placed third last week at Pocono.
“It’s hard to say what a win (at Michigan) would mean to me, but gosh I would sure like to find out.”
