Tyler Reddick |
Brad Keselowski Racing today announced its full-time driver lineup
in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Tyler Reddick will pilot the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-150
while Daniel Hemric joins the organization as the driver for the No. 19 Ford
F-150 with support from partners California Clean Power and Cequent, a Horizon
Global company.
"We're very fortunate to have partners like Cooper Standard,
California Clean Power and Cequent that make it possible to give two young
drivers an opportunity and that's something I'm very proud of," Team Owner
Brad Keselowski said. "Our main goal is to build off our momentum
from 2015 and pursue a championship with two great full-time drivers.
Both Tyler and Daniel have shown a lot of success on the racetrack and have
more than earned this opportunity. We have two of the best drivers in the
Series running on a full-time basis and I'm really happy about that and very
optimistic about our future and chance for success in 2016."
Keselowski added that his organization would like to field a third
team with a variety of drivers behind the wheel and his company is hard at work
in an effort to put a program together.
Daniel Hemric |
Tyler Reddick, 19, will return for his second full-time season at
Brad Keselowski Racing in 2016 moving from behind the wheel of the Team's No.
19 Ford F-150 to the No. 29 Ford F-150 with primary sponsorship from Cooper
Standard and the company's Careers For Veterans program. The 2015 NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season has been a breakout year for Reddick,
who scored his first career win in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources
250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. His second victory came
just five races later at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Reddick has
been atop the NCWTS championship standings or ranked third or higher after
every race.
Reddick said competing on a full-time basis for BKR "means
everything to me.
"This is an outstanding opportunity that I have for a second
consecutive season," Reddick said. "Cooper Standard is a
long-time partner of the Team and it will be great to work with them in an
enhanced role to support their objectives including furthering awareness of
their important Careers For Veterans program. It's so much fun to drive
for Brad Keselowski Racing. It's such a great organization to be
around. We've grown so much as a team from the first part-time season in
2014 and I've really enjoyed the experience. I'm very happy to be coming
back for a second full-time year to get to do it all over again."
Hemric, 24, said it is an honor to drive for Keselowski and that
finalizing his plans for the upcoming season is a weight lifted off his shoulders.
"When the opportunity was available with Brad Keselowski
Racing and all of our great partners, it seemed like a good deal for everyone
concerned," Hemric said. "It's an honor to team up with Brad
and to have common goals when you go to the racetrack: win races and put
yourself in contention for a championship. To be able to insert yourself
on a championship contending team and a team that has a solid baseline on what
they need every weekend. I'm really excited about continuing my
relationship with California Clean Power and can't wait to work with everyone
at Cequent and their brands such as Draw-Tite. I'm already looking
forward to Daytona."
The 2015 season was Hemric's first in the NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series. He has racked up four top fives and 12 top 10 finishes and
is currently seventh in the series championship standings. His best
finish this season is fourth-place (three times, most recently on the road
course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada).
"One of the things
I wanted to do at BKR is give talented young drivers an opportunity,"
Keselowski said. "Both Tyler and Daniel are perfect examples of what
I'm trying to accomplish. We saw a lot of improvement with Tyler in 2014
and he's done a great job in 2015. We hope we can finish it off with our
first championship but we're also excited about running for it again together
in 2016.
"The first time I
went to watch Daniel race in 2012 he won and that impression hasn't left
me. He's having an incredible year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series as a rookie. I feel like he has a lot of untapped potential that
we hope to showcase for our team."
so does that mean NTS Motorsports is shutting down, losing Hemric?
ReplyDelete