Every legendary NASCAR racer has an equally legendary background story to tell. The same goes for Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion and current RFK Racing driver/owner. The 40-year-old veteran has spent over two decades in the sport, winning 36 Cup races and building a team from scratch. All the qualities that make Brad excel at his work originate from two beloved people in his life.
Who are Brad Keselowski’s parents?
If you know who Brad Keselowski is, you almost certainly have heard about his father. Bob Keselowski has been one of the best drivers to grace the motorsports world. After joining the circuit full-time in 1986, Bob Keselowski won 24 races in his ARCA career and was the series champion in 1989. When he moved up to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, he became one of the pioneering drivers for the series’ first-ever season. He earned the lone victory of his career at Richmond in 1997. After that, Bob focused on his team, K-Automotive, which fielded race-winning trucks for drivers like Dennis Setzer and Terry Cook while also helping to launch the careers of his two sons, Brad and Brian.
Bob Keselowski passed away in December 2021 at the age of 70 due to complications related to cancer.
Kay Keselowski, Brad’s mother, was the strong better half of Bob. She was actively involved with her family’s motorsports business, being an important part of the family team. She co-owned the race truck and spots for the K-Automotive Motorsports team until it shut down due to financial troubles in 2006. Kay is the proud mother of five children – Brad and Brian with Bob Keselowski, and also three daughters from a past marriage – Ginger, Kathy, and Dawn. She is 77 years old and keeps supporting her son Brad’s motorsports ambitions.
Where did Bob Keselowski and Kay Keselowski meet?
John Keselowski, Brad’s grandfather, worked in a drill bit plant shortly after World War II. The racing genes sprang from that time, as John got his start racing motorcycles in the 1950s before moving over to stock cars. He and his family were based out of Rochester Hills, Michigan, the place where Bob Keselowski grew up. It was the place where Bob and his brother Ron started working for their dad’s race shop – and also where Bob met the love of his life.
Kay Keselowski moved into her future husband’s neighborhood in the Rochester Hills with her three daughters after being freshly divorced. Thereafter, she met with Bob – as Brad Keselowski recounted in a November 2024 interview. “My mom moved into this house in the late 70s. She was recently divorced, had three kids. Made friends with the neighbor across the street over here who had a brother who was single. And that was my dad… That’s where it all began. So, my mom and dad met here, got married, and next thing you know, there was me and my brother.”
What is the ethnicity of Brad Keselowski’s parents?
Although his family was settled in Michigan, Brad Keselowski’s heritage is European. The Cup Series veteran’s grandfather, John Keselowski, came to the US from Poland to work in the Ford factory. Brad shared in a 2024 interview: “My family, obviously a Polish descent family, immigrated and came here to work for Henry Ford. That’s how they got to the Detroit area, and Rochester Hills is a suburb of Detroit.” John got drafted as a soldier for World War II. And after the war, he came back as a skilled tradesman and worked at a nearby drill bit plant.
Inside Brad Keselowski’s Relationship with His Parents
Bob Keselowski started working in his father’s garage when he was 6 years old. Hence, the amount of effort that he poured into the family’s Truck Series team was immense. Brad Keselowski moved his way up to the team in 2004, ran a full season in 2005.
However, after he ran two races in 2006, the team had to shut down. Bob had to sell the property with their 15,000-square-foot race shop and trucks, but it wasn’t enough to cover what they owed. The ARCA phenom saw his life’s ambition go up in dust. “Watching them have to sell all of their assets and not even being able to get to the race track,” Brad said, “that’s as low as it gets.”
However, Brad Keselowski worked hard enough to rebuild his parents’ dream, for which the latter were infinitely grateful. At the cusp of achieving the 2012 Cup Series championship, his mother, Kay, said emotionally, “He pulled us out of bankruptcy all by himself. He gave us every penny he had to pay our bills and bring us back out. He ended up not having much himself, but he paid all of that to the tune of six-digit numbers. He bailed us out; otherwise, we would have lost probably our home and everything else that was involved in that.”
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