The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Mom of two Nationwide Series drivers likes the fast lane

High school sports results for May 26
5/26/12
Reds' six-game winning streak broken
5/26/12
Annual Warrior Soccer Classic kicks off today
5/26/12
Dragons' rally falls short against Lansing
5/26/12
WSU baseball ousted from tournament
5/26/12
> More sports headlines

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer 12:15 AM Sunday, June 14, 2009

To hear NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brian Keselowski tell it, he and fellow NWS driver and brother Brad aren’t the only ones who like to go fast.

Kay Keselowski — their mom and a Miami Valley native — has also found the right groove driving, especially coming back home to New Carlisle.

“I make fun of her sometimes because we’ve been in Ohio and gotten pulled over by a cop and she won’t get a ticket,” said Brian, who started 41st in the 43-car field Nationwide Series field at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, June 13. “I said it must have ‘Made in Ohio’ stamped on her license.”

Growing up on a farm on Dayton-Brandt Road, the 1966 Bethel High School graduate never imagined a job-related move to Michigan in 1978 would steer her toward a life in auto racing. In Michigan she met Bob Keselowski, a successful ARCA driver. Sons Brian, 27, and Brad, 25, then caught the racing bug.

So who does mom follow on the track? Brian. She’s his spotter in the Nationwide Series when it runs at separate tracks from the Sprint Cup.

“They both know I’m their biggest supporter,” Kay said. “Brad had the big sponsor (with Dale Earnhardt Jr.) and the big team and we have the underfunded team. Realistically we know Brian is not in a spot to finish where Brad can. I want Brad to win every race and if Brian can finish in the top 15 or top 10, it is a win for us.”

Brad — who won his first Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway when Carl Edwards went airborne and started ninth Saturday — entered the race fourth in NWS points, while Brian was 22nd.

As for mom, she gets her thrill coming back home for holidays mostly. She still has a brother in Tipp City and a sister in Columbus.

“(I miss) everything. It’s where you grew up,” she said. “It’s where your heart’s at. It was a great place to grow up and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”

Share this article