It’s goodbye to the Camping World Truck Series for Brad Keselowski in 2018 and it’s bittersweet for the Cup veteran.
“There were months of planning and thinking and making sure that everything was right,” said Keselowski. “Making sure the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed, there was definitely a few months. It wasn’t an overnight thing.”
The announcement was made late Thursday at Bristol and the Penske Ford driver elaborated more on the painful decision that he came to in shutting down the operation for 2018. But if given an option, if the team had made money, Keselowski isn’t sure he would have closed the operation.
“I don’t know, Probably not,” replied Keselowski. “There were a lot of decisions that went into it. There really wasn’t one reason.”
Keselowski says that despite his team’s departure the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be around.
“It’s going to be around a lot longer than me, so I’m not so self centered to think the series is based solely on my team and participation,” commented Keselowski. “I don’t know where the future is going to take me in my life.”
Keselowski broke the news to his drivers and team and said the decision was very difficult. “I feel like we’ll be able to find a home for about 75 percent of the group but I really feel bad for the other 25 percent that I am not going to be able to find a spot for, but I’m wishing them the best and thankful for their help over the years.”
The news did not go unnoticed with other drivers in the sport. Cup driver David Ragan tweeted yesterday after the announcement : “How many more teams will go before the industry gets together and develops rules that help the team owners save real $$? #tooexpensive”
Former Cup driver and Virginia native Ward Burton discussed the challenges in a question posed to him earlier on Friday. Burton’s son, Jeb, is racing at Bristol in his last race for the season and Ward Burton said that sponsorship and staying alive in the sport as opposed to when he was driving have changed incredibly over the years and it has become more expensive even in the smaller divisions.
Keselowski says the hardest part is not the racing, rather it’s the relationships.
“There’s a lot of relationships. Being a business owner, it’s more about the people than anything else. You care about them and they give you their all, and you want to give them your
all,” said Keselowski. “In some ways, you feel like you’re letting them down when you’re not able to keep it going, so that’s never fun.”
He added, “We’ve learned a bunch and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. I don’t feel like we’re done yet. We’re just going a different path.”
Keselowski will continue driving duties in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series for Roger Penske in 2018.
Story by Rod Mullins/Augusta Free Press
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