Ryan Blaney Honors Brad Keselowski: The Mentor Who Shaped His Career and Half of Today’s Playoff Field

Brad Keselowski is a hero. That’s not just a bold claim. It is what the majority of the NASCAR community feels, and they have made it clear by recognizing how important his Truck Series venture has been for so many drivers in the sport today. One of them is Ryan Blaney.

Blaney broke into the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014 as a part-time driver, but before that, it was in the Truck Series where he truly honed his skills with Brad Keselowski Racing. He then rose to prominence in the Xfinity Series before finally reaching the Cup Series, where he climbed the ranks and became a champion in 2023. Today, he looks back on his time with BKR as the period that shaped him into the driver he has become.

In his two full-time Truck seasons, Blaney finished sixth in 2013 and runner-up in 2014, winning once in each campaign. He also picked up two more victories in part-time starts under Keselowski’s guidance. Just as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports became a pipeline for Cup-ready talent, Keselowski’s Truck program proved to be a launching pad for young drivers.

Keselowski founded Brad Keselowski Racing in 2008 and folded the team in 2017 due to financial strain. Yet in that nine-year span, BKR left a lasting mark. In fact, of the current twelve drivers in the Round of 12, six honed their skills with BKR: Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick.

Asked about that legacy, Blaney didn’t hesitate to credit his mentor. “I saw that also this week, and I think it just speaks a lot to Brad’s knowledge of finding drivers that he thinks have potential to have a solid Cup career. I’ll never forget when Brad asked me to drive his trucks for him in 2012, the second part of 2012, and eventually, at the same time, led to the Penske opportunity running some Nationwide stuff, and led to this today.”