K Automotive Racing
Encyclopedia
K Automotive Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. K-Automotive previously raced in ARCA
and the Nationwide Series. The team is owned and operated by Bob
, Brian
, and Kay Keselowski. They currently field a full-time entry, the 92 Chevrolet driven by Brian Keselowski
. The team has no plans to run the Nationwide Series.
The team began racing in ARCA and USAC Series in the 1969 with Ron driving and Bob serving as the team’s crew chief
.
, Homer Newland finished 36th in the teams debut at Michigan International Speedway
. Newland also ran K Automotive’s car at the inaugural event at Alabama International Motor Speedway, starting eighth, but dropping to twenty-seventh due to an engine failure.
In 1970, Ron began running most of the races for the team. He ran seventeen races, finishing eighth at the West Virginia 300, and finished 39th in the final points standings. They also fielded a car for Dave Marcis
at the Southern 500
, finishing 29th. In 1971, K fielded entries for a variety of drivers, including Ron, Dick Polling, and Bill Shirley
. After taking the following year
off, K returned in 1973
, fielding a car for Ron in two races. He finished fifth at Michigan International Speedway
. They made one start in 1974
with Bob Whitlow
before making their final Cup start at the 1975 Daytona 500
when Jim Vandiver
finished 35th after a wreck.
and moved to full-time USAC racing in 1976, running 1974 Dodge Challenger
s and Aspens
, garnering a best finish of seventh in competition. In 1978, he also ran some NASCAR Late Model Sportsman races in addition to the USAC series. He continued to run USAC and the NASCAR Grand American Series over the next several years, and won the 1983 track championship at Toledo.
In 1986, Bob Keselowski began running the ARCA series in the #29 Chevrolet, making seven starts and getting two second-place finishes before winning his first race at Berlin Raceway
. He continued to win many races and awards through the next several years, and was the 1989 ARCA Supercar champion. That same year, Chrysler
re-entered auto racing, starting with the ARCA series. K was selected as one of the teams, and Mopar Performance sponsored Keselowski's #29 Chrysler LeBaron
throughout the 1990 season. Together, they won the season-opener at Daytona and finished 3rd in points. Keselowski would continue to compete in the ARCA series until the end of the 1994 season.
Ten years later, the Keselowskis returned to the series to field the #29 Competition Graphics Dodge under a partnership with Bob Ducharme. Brian Keselowski drove seven races and had a top-ten in his debut at Kentucky Speedway
along with two other top-tens. Despite failing to qualify twice in 2005, he had a string of five consecutive top-ten finishes out of seven starts. In 2006, he won his first career race at Berlin with Holloway Motorsports sponsoring and finished 29th in points. He followed that up with additional wins in the 29 in 2007. That year Mike Ciochetti drove at Talladega but wrecked and finished 39th. In addition, they expanded to a second car, the #00 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge owned by Brad Keselowski with Robb Brent. Brent ran two seasons in limited schedules and had five top-tens in sixteen starts.
In 2009, K returned to ARCA with the #29 Chevrolet and hired Mikey Kile and Chad Finley to drive on a part-time basis. Kile had four top-ten finishes in the Greased Lightning Cleaning Products Chevy, and Finley had three in the Auto Value Chevy. Jesse Smith drove the season opener at Daytona in 2010.
Dodge Ram
, starting sixteen races and finishing in the top-ten four times, earning him a fourteenth-place points finish. He dropped to sixteenth in the standings the next year when he posted just one top-ten. In 1997, he finished a career-best fourteenth in the standings and won his only truck race at Richmond International Raceway
in the Mopar
Dodge. During the 1998 season, Keselowski was injured and was replaced by Dennis Setzer
. Over a span of five races, Setzer had two eighth-place finishes. Keselowski returned and finished tenth at Heartland Park Topeka
before handing the driving chores back to Setzer for the rest of the season. Setzer then won his first career race at Mesa Marin Raceway
. In 1999, K created a second truck, the #1, for Setzer to drive while Keselowski drove the #29 part-time, doing research and development for Dodge. Keselowski ran five races and had a top-ten finish at Texas Motor Speedway
before he retired. Setzer won three times and lost the championship by 108 points.
In 2000, Setzer won one race at Nazareth Speedway
and fell to seventh in the standings. Terry Cook
drove the #29 in a one-race deal at the season finale at California Speedway
and finished seventh. When Setzer left and the team switched to the #29 and Ford Motor Company
, Cook joined the team full-time with sponsorship from Power Stroke Diesel. In his first year with the team, Cook won the pole at Nazareth and finished tenth in the standings. In 2002, he won four races and two poles but dropped to ninth in the final points. After he did not win again in 2003, he and PSD left the team.
The team began 2004 with Frank Kimmel
driving. He finished eighth at Daytona
before Brad Keselowski began driving. He made eight races, his best finish sixteenth at Mansfield
before Deborah Renshaw
finished out the season. Her best finish came at Martinsville Speedway
, where she finished fifteenth. Brad became the team’s full-time driver in 2005 with SUBcrews.com/Samson Stone as primary sponsors. He had a seventh-place finish at Daytona and finished 21st in points. Due to a lack of sponsorship, the team only ran the first two races of the season before suspending operations. While they did not attempt a race for the rest of the year, they loaned their owner's points to Morgan-Dollar Motorsports
and partnered with MB Motorsports
to run the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 that season with Brad driving. He finished 34th after an engine failure.
. After he drove briefly for Jay Robinson Racing
, Keselowski moved to the team's #92 Dodge to drive on a part-time schedule.
In 2009, the team changed numbers from #92 to #26 for their main car, and began to run full-time with limited sponsorship from Fischer Honda and Dusty's Collisions. Brian drove most of the races early on in the year with not a lot of luck with his best finish being 14th at Talladega. Later in the year Michael McDowell took over the ride. He drove to a 8th place finish in Iowa as well as a 10th at Bristol. After one off starts with Danny O'Quinn
and Dennis Setzer
, Kevin Conway
leased the team's owner points for the rest of the year and ran the ExtenZe
car with a best finish of 20th.
at Michigan with Willie Allen driving. He and Setzer made a total of seven starts in the car that season, but neither finished a race. Johnny Chapman
began the 2010 season as driver, but after only qualifying for one race, he was replaced by Setzer, with Brian and Andy Ponstein
occasionally filling. The #92 is a start and park entry to help fund the #26.
and The Real Yellow Pages sponsoring, getting an eleventh place finish at Montreal. Setzer was expected to drive the car for most of 2010 before the team closed and merged with the #92. Dennis Setzer ran the #96 in Homestead.
In 2011, K-Automotive shut down their Nationwide team and moved up to Cup full time. Keselowski qualified for the Daytona 500 after he raced his way from the slowest of the 48 cars who attempted the race to finishing fifth in his qualifying race, giving him the 12th starting position for the 2011 Daytona 500. Offers also started pouring in from Ray Evernham, Roger Penske, and Golden Corral. Discount Tire later sponsored the #92. The team finished 41st after a crash and did not qualify for the next two races.In March, Brian had his gallblader removed. Dennis Setzer
took over the car for Keselowski in Bristol and qualified for Bristol and finished 38th after engine trouble. The team then entered with Setzer in Martinsville, but was forced to withdraw after a crash in practice when the cars breaks failed and they did not have a backup car. K-Automotive then scaled down to a partial schedule because they only had one car. They announced a switch to Chevrolet prior to the Michigan race in June and attempted the race with sponsorship from Melling but failed to make the race.
in preparation for the Michigan race.
ARCA
ARCA or Arca may refer to:* Automobile Racing Club of America, a stock car auto racing sanctioning body founded by John Marcum in 1953 in the United States...
and the Nationwide Series. The team is owned and operated by Bob
Bob Keselowski
Robert "Bob" Keselowski is a former U.S. race car driver. He owns K Automotive Racing and was a competitor in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, now called the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.-Racing career:In the ARCA series he had 24 wins, 26 poles, and a...
, Brian
Brian Keselowski
Brian Keselowski is an American race car driver, currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A past winner in the ARCA Racing Series and competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he currently drives the #92 Chevrolet Impala for K-Automotive Motorsports, and is competing for the 2011...
, and Kay Keselowski. They currently field a full-time entry, the 92 Chevrolet driven by Brian Keselowski
Brian Keselowski
Brian Keselowski is an American race car driver, currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. A past winner in the ARCA Racing Series and competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he currently drives the #92 Chevrolet Impala for K-Automotive Motorsports, and is competing for the 2011...
. The team has no plans to run the Nationwide Series.
The team began racing in ARCA and USAC Series in the 1969 with Ron driving and Bob serving as the team’s crew chief
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
.
Grand National/Winston Cup
K Automotive made its debut in the NASCAR Grand National Series in 1969, the team being owned by John Keselowski. Fielding the #62 Kaye Engineering DodgeDodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
, Homer Newland finished 36th in the teams debut at Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...
. Newland also ran K Automotive’s car at the inaugural event at Alabama International Motor Speedway, starting eighth, but dropping to twenty-seventh due to an engine failure.
In 1970, Ron began running most of the races for the team. He ran seventeen races, finishing eighth at the West Virginia 300, and finished 39th in the final points standings. They also fielded a car for Dave Marcis
Dave Marcis
Dave Marcis is a retired driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final win in 1982...
at the Southern 500
Southern 500
The Showtime Southern 500 is the annual spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, USA, and is the second such event at Darlington to bear the name. It began in 1957 as a race in the Convertible Division, known as the Rebel 300. In 1966, the race was...
, finishing 29th. In 1971, K fielded entries for a variety of drivers, including Ron, Dick Polling, and Bill Shirley
Bill Shirley
Bill Shirley was an American actor, perhaps most famous for voicing Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Another famous voice role of his was an uncredited role as the singing voice of Freddy Einsford-Hill in My Fair Lady...
. After taking the following year
1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season began on Sunday January 23 and ended on Sunday November 12. Richard Petty won his second consecutive Winston Cup Championship and third overall. Larry Smith was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year....
off, K returned in 1973
1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday January 21 and ended on Sunday October 21. Benny Parsons was crowned Winston Cup champion at the end of the season finishing 67 points ahead of Cale Yarborough. Lennie Pond was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year. David Pearson dominated the season...
, fielding a car for Ron in two races. He finished fifth at Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...
. They made one start in 1974
1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Season began on Sunday January 20 and ended on Sunday November 24. The first 15 races were shortened 10 percent due to the 1973 oil crisis. Richard Petty was Winston Cup champion at the end of the season finishing 567.45 points ahead of Cale Yarborough...
with Bob Whitlow
Bob Whitlow
Robert Edward Whitlow is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland Browns...
before making their final Cup start at the 1975 Daytona 500
1975 Daytona 500
The 1975 Daytona 500 was a crucial race in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history.-Summary:From the start, it appeared that David Pearson was on his way to his first Daytona 500 victory as he built a sizable lead on second place Benny Parsons late in the race...
when Jim Vandiver
Jim Vandiver
Jim Vandiver is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup driver that raced from 1968 to 1983.-Summary:...
finished 35th after a wreck.
Local racing & ARCA
In 1975, Bob and Ron switched roles, with Bob becoming the team's driver and Ron the crew chief. Bob made his late model debut at Toledo SpeedwayToledo Speedway
Toledo Speedway is a racetrack located in Toledo, Ohio. It is owned jointly by Roy Mott and ARCA President Ron Drager. It is operated by ARCA and run as the sister track to Flat Rock Speedway in Flat Rock, Michigan.-Weekly program:...
and moved to full-time USAC racing in 1976, running 1974 Dodge Challenger
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
s and Aspens
Dodge Aspen
The Dodge Aspen, produced from 1976 to 1980, was a compact car from Chrysler Corporation's Dodge division; its Plymouth-branded counterpart was the Volaré . It was launched as a two-door coupe, a four-door sedan, and a unique-for-the-segment station wagon...
, garnering a best finish of seventh in competition. In 1978, he also ran some NASCAR Late Model Sportsman races in addition to the USAC series. He continued to run USAC and the NASCAR Grand American Series over the next several years, and won the 1983 track championship at Toledo.
In 1986, Bob Keselowski began running the ARCA series in the #29 Chevrolet, making seven starts and getting two second-place finishes before winning his first race at Berlin Raceway
Berlin Raceway
Berlin Raceway is a 0.438 mile long paved oval race track in Marne, Michigan, near Grand Rapids. It opened in 1950. The track is notable for the lack of an outside wall on the back straightaway, a unique feature for a national series such as ARCA...
. He continued to win many races and awards through the next several years, and was the 1989 ARCA Supercar champion. That same year, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
re-entered auto racing, starting with the ARCA series. K was selected as one of the teams, and Mopar Performance sponsored Keselowski's #29 Chrysler LeBaron
Chrysler LeBaron
The Chrysler LeBaron was originally a classic luxury car of 1930s manufactured by Chrysler which competed with other luxury cars of the era such as Lincoln and Packard....
throughout the 1990 season. Together, they won the season-opener at Daytona and finished 3rd in points. Keselowski would continue to compete in the ARCA series until the end of the 1994 season.
Ten years later, the Keselowskis returned to the series to field the #29 Competition Graphics Dodge under a partnership with Bob Ducharme. Brian Keselowski drove seven races and had a top-ten in his debut at Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and Jerry Carroll, who, along with four other investors, owned...
along with two other top-tens. Despite failing to qualify twice in 2005, he had a string of five consecutive top-ten finishes out of seven starts. In 2006, he won his first career race at Berlin with Holloway Motorsports sponsoring and finished 29th in points. He followed that up with additional wins in the 29 in 2007. That year Mike Ciochetti drove at Talladega but wrecked and finished 39th. In addition, they expanded to a second car, the #00 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge owned by Brad Keselowski with Robb Brent. Brent ran two seasons in limited schedules and had five top-tens in sixteen starts.
In 2009, K returned to ARCA with the #29 Chevrolet and hired Mikey Kile and Chad Finley to drive on a part-time basis. Kile had four top-ten finishes in the Greased Lightning Cleaning Products Chevy, and Finley had three in the Auto Value Chevy. Jesse Smith drove the season opener at Daytona in 2010.
Craftsman Truck Series
K returned to NASCAR in 1995 with the formation of the SuperTruck Series by Craftsmans. Bob began driving the team’s #29 Winnebago IndustriesWinnebago Industries
Winnebago Industries Inc., , is a manufacturer of motor homes, a type of recreational vehicle or RV, in the United States. It is based in Forest City, Iowa.-Corporate history:...
Dodge Ram
Dodge Ram
The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks...
, starting sixteen races and finishing in the top-ten four times, earning him a fourteenth-place points finish. He dropped to sixteenth in the standings the next year when he posted just one top-ten. In 1997, he finished a career-best fourteenth in the standings and won his only truck race at Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
in the Mopar
Mopar
Mopar is the automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler Group LLC. The term was first used by Chrysler in the 1920s and has been in continuous use ever since. Mopar parts are original equipment manufactured parts for Chrysler vehicles...
Dodge. During the 1998 season, Keselowski was injured and was replaced by Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer is a NASCAR driver. He has driven in all three of NASCAR's top series. He currently splits time between the #23, #49, and #70 cars, all for Jay Robinson Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...
. Over a span of five races, Setzer had two eighth-place finishes. Keselowski returned and finished tenth at Heartland Park Topeka
Heartland Park Topeka
Heartland Park Topeka is a multi-purpose motorsports facility located south of Topeka, Kansas.When it opened in 1989, it was the first brand-new auto racing facility to be built in the United States for 20 years. Its facilities include a road-race course with 4 possible configurations , a ⅜ mile...
before handing the driving chores back to Setzer for the rest of the season. Setzer then won his first career race at Mesa Marin Raceway
Mesa Marin Raceway
Mesa Marin Raceway was a NASCAR affiliated oval racetrack located in Bakersfield, California from 1977 until 2005. It was leveled in the fall of 2005 after being sold to developers....
. In 1999, K created a second truck, the #1, for Setzer to drive while Keselowski drove the #29 part-time, doing research and development for Dodge. Keselowski ran five races and had a top-ten finish at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
before he retired. Setzer won three times and lost the championship by 108 points.
In 2000, Setzer won one race at Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing track in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004. The track is often associated with local drivers Mario and Michael Andretti. It was associated with Frankie Schneider in its earlier dirt track history....
and fell to seventh in the standings. Terry Cook
Terry Cook
Terry Cook is an American former stock car driver. He is married to former Craftsman Truck pit reporter Amy East, and brother-in-law to driver Bobby East...
drove the #29 in a one-race deal at the season finale at California Speedway
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway is a two-mile , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. The track was also used for open wheel racing events until 2005. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and...
and finished seventh. When Setzer left and the team switched to the #29 and Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, Cook joined the team full-time with sponsorship from Power Stroke Diesel. In his first year with the team, Cook won the pole at Nazareth and finished tenth in the standings. In 2002, he won four races and two poles but dropped to ninth in the final points. After he did not win again in 2003, he and PSD left the team.
Frank Kimmel
Franklin James Kimmel is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Ford in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive...
driving. He finished eighth at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
before Brad Keselowski began driving. He made eight races, his best finish sixteenth at Mansfield
Mansfield Motorsports Speedway
Mansfield Motorsports Park is a half-mile oval racetrack located in Mansfield, Ohio, United States. Featuring moderately high banks and a wide racing surface, it is suitable for close racing and passing. The track hosts an ARCA RE/MAX Series race in 2009...
before Deborah Renshaw
Deborah Renshaw
Deborah Renshaw-Parker is a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver. She currently does not have a ride.-Pre-CTS:...
finished out the season. Her best finish came at Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...
, where she finished fifteenth. Brad became the team’s full-time driver in 2005 with SUBcrews.com/Samson Stone as primary sponsors. He had a seventh-place finish at Daytona and finished 21st in points. Due to a lack of sponsorship, the team only ran the first two races of the season before suspending operations. While they did not attempt a race for the rest of the year, they loaned their owner's points to Morgan-Dollar Motorsports
Morgan-Dollar Motorsports
Randy Moss Motorsports with HTM is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. It is owned by David Dollar and former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss. Former driver Rob Morgan co-owned the team until 2004...
and partnered with MB Motorsports
MB Motorsports
MB Motorsports is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team based in Foristell, Missouri owned by Mike Mittler. The team is one of few to field entries every year since the Series' inception in 1995...
to run the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 that season with Brad driving. He finished 34th after an engine failure.
Car #26 history
Beginning in the 2007 season, the team partnered with Holloway Motorsports to field entries in the Nationwide Series. They ran one race as the #19 and then as the #49 for three more races with Brian Keselowski driving, with a top-ten finish at Memphis Motorsports ParkMemphis Motorsports Park
Memphis International Raceway is an auto racing park located across the Loosahatchie River from Memphis, Tennessee, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile road course...
. After he drove briefly for Jay Robinson Racing
Jay Robinson Racing
Jay Robinson Racing is a racing team that competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Currently, they field the #28 MAXelence Chevrolet Impala for Derrike Cope. Formed in 1995, they moved to the Nationwide Series in 2000, where they have attempted both full-time and part-time schedules.- Car #28...
, Keselowski moved to the team's #92 Dodge to drive on a part-time schedule.
In 2009, the team changed numbers from #92 to #26 for their main car, and began to run full-time with limited sponsorship from Fischer Honda and Dusty's Collisions. Brian drove most of the races early on in the year with not a lot of luck with his best finish being 14th at Talladega. Later in the year Michael McDowell took over the ride. He drove to a 8th place finish in Iowa as well as a 10th at Bristol. After one off starts with Danny O'Quinn
Danny O'Quinn
Daniel O'Quinn, Jr. is an American professional stock car racer from Coeburn, Virginia. He currently drives the #39 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Go Green Racing.- Background :...
and Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer is a NASCAR driver. He has driven in all three of NASCAR's top series. He currently splits time between the #23, #49, and #70 cars, all for Jay Robinson Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...
, Kevin Conway
Kevin Conway (NASCAR)
Kevin Conway is an American NASCAR driver. He is the 2010 Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Conway has raced in motocross, legends, the World Karting Association, and the United States Automobile Club.-2002-2005:...
leased the team's owner points for the rest of the year and ran the ExtenZe
ExtenZe
ExtenZe is a herbal nutritional supplement claiming to promote "natural male enhancement", which suggests a euphemism for penis enlargement. However, television commercials make few definitive claims, employing suggestion and euphemism or promising a "better" or "more fun" sexual experience...
car with a best finish of 20th.
Car #92 history
The 92 car debuted in 20092009 NASCAR Nationwide Series
The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series began on February 14, 2009 at Daytona International Speedway with the Camping World 300. The season concluded on November 21, 2009 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 300. With 25 top-five finishes, Kyle Busch was the season champion...
at Michigan with Willie Allen driving. He and Setzer made a total of seven starts in the car that season, but neither finished a race. Johnny Chapman
Johnny Chapman
Johnny Chapman is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.-Racing career:...
began the 2010 season as driver, but after only qualifying for one race, he was replaced by Setzer, with Brian and Andy Ponstein
Andy Ponstein
Andy Ponstein is a race car driver. Ponstein, a long time veteran on the ARCA circuit, won the CRA Sunoco Super Series Rookie of the Year award in 2002, and also ran some NASCAR races in 2003 and 2004...
occasionally filling. The #92 is a start and park entry to help fund the #26.
Car #96 history
The 96 car also debuted in the 2009 season, but in the second race of the season. Setzer drove for the first three starts, followed by Brian Keselowski and Willie Allen. Eventually Michael McDowell would become the driver of the car with AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and The Real Yellow Pages sponsoring, getting an eleventh place finish at Montreal. Setzer was expected to drive the car for most of 2010 before the team closed and merged with the #92. Dennis Setzer ran the #96 in Homestead.
Car #92 history
K-Automotive motorsports returned to the Cup Series in 2010 with the #92 Dodge. The team attempted the Daytona 500 with Mike Wallace and four races with Brian Keselowski, but the team did not qualify for any of the events. The team also raced in the Sprint Showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Robert Richardson Jr. driving and sponsorship provided by The Grill Topper.In 2011, K-Automotive shut down their Nationwide team and moved up to Cup full time. Keselowski qualified for the Daytona 500 after he raced his way from the slowest of the 48 cars who attempted the race to finishing fifth in his qualifying race, giving him the 12th starting position for the 2011 Daytona 500. Offers also started pouring in from Ray Evernham, Roger Penske, and Golden Corral. Discount Tire later sponsored the #92. The team finished 41st after a crash and did not qualify for the next two races.In March, Brian had his gallblader removed. Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer
Dennis Setzer is a NASCAR driver. He has driven in all three of NASCAR's top series. He currently splits time between the #23, #49, and #70 cars, all for Jay Robinson Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series...
took over the car for Keselowski in Bristol and qualified for Bristol and finished 38th after engine trouble. The team then entered with Setzer in Martinsville, but was forced to withdraw after a crash in practice when the cars breaks failed and they did not have a backup car. K-Automotive then scaled down to a partial schedule because they only had one car. They announced a switch to Chevrolet prior to the Michigan race in June and attempted the race with sponsorship from Melling but failed to make the race.
Switching Manufacturers
Brian Keselowski and the #92 K-Automotive team skipped the Coca-Cola 600, but hope to run at at Kansas, Pocono, and Michigan in June. That is contingent on Keselowski getting a motor program in place, meaning that for the driver/owner, a change in manufacturer may be coming. "I'm working really hard to get a motor program together before we go to Kansas," Keselowski said. "Problem is, I can't seem to make that work on the Dodge side. There's probably not a single manufacturer out there willing to give me anything, but there might be some manufacturers out there willing to make some better deals, or some deals, because now I have none. I don't want to change by any means, I've been a Dodge guy since I was a kid. But they can't just keep burying me in the dirt either. I need some light. I'm trying to make my race team work. If that's the way to do it, I'll do it." Keselowski eventually parted ways with Dodge, switching manufacturers to ChevroletChevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
in preparation for the Michigan race.