Brad Keselowski at Daytona February 2012
Photo – Tyler Barrick/Getty Images
Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR) announced Tuesday their plans for the Camping World Truck Series in 2013. The team will field two trucks – one driven full-time by Ryan Blaney and a second truck shared among multiple drivers.
Ryan Blaney will be competing for the series’ championship in the No.29 truck. Blaney won at Iowa last year for BKR, becoming the youngest winner in Truck Series history.
The second truck fielded by BKR will be the No.19 truck and will have multiple drivers behind the wheel throughout the season, making it not eligible to run for a driver’s championship. Ross Chastain will drive 15 races in the No. 19 truck. BKR picked up Chastain for 2013 after Chastain competed for SS Green Light Racing last season. Dave Blaney (Ryan’s dad) will race in one event for BKR in the No.19 truck at Eldora. Dave Blaney has a background of dirt racing, so it was an obvious choice for team-owner Brad Keselowski to put Dave in the truck for the Series’ inaugural race on dirt at Eldora. Keselowski’s teammate in the Cup Series, Joey Logano, will run select races in the No.19 truck along with boss-man Keselowski running a few races. Chad Kendrick will be the crew chief for the No.19 truck.
Since BKR’s affiliate team is Penske Racing, and with Penske switching manufacturers from Dodge to Ford, for the 2013 season, so will BKR.
Ryan Blaney is one great young racer and when BKR/Penske picked him up late last season, they scored big. Blaney has the talent to contend for the championship and with a full-time ride he surely will be looking to become the youngest Truck Series champion ever. BKR paired Blaney up with crew chief Doug Randolph last season and success came immediately, so Randolph will return as crew chief this season. With Ryan Blaney paired up with a good team at BKR, success is surely around the corner for Blaney.
BKR sure did pick out some great talent to drive their trucks in 2013. From two young talents in Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain, to a few Cup stars in team owner Brad Keselowski and his Penske teammate, Joey Logano and finally a dirt track expert to run at Eldora in Dave Blaney. BKR will be hungry for success this season and with their lineup of drivers, there is every reason for success to come their way.