For Keselowski, there's no place like home -- at Team Penske

While his teammate Joey Logano wrapped up his contract extension before the season began, Keselowski’s negotiations dragged on until July.

There was no splashy press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend. There was no teleconference to discuss the sentiments of the driver, the owner or the sponsor. Team Penske simply sent out a one-page release on Tuesday announcing the renewal of the only driver to win the company a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Wanting to stay with Penske

Clearly times have changed when it comes to sealing deals in NASCAR.

"The whole time I wanted to get a deal done there,” Keselowski said at Pocono Raceway on Saturday. “I never personally reached out to anyone else. I think there might have been some opportunities elsewhere. I’m a big believer that Roger (Penske) gave me a great opportunity seven or eight years ago and I wanted to continue to see that play out. I kind of wanted to water my own grass and I felt like I had that opportunity it’s a matter of working out all the pieces of the puzzle to do so.

“It also seems like on these deals that if they’re not done by February, twelve months ahead, everybody starts to panic. So when you get a deal done in July everybody looks at you and asks what took so long. In some respects, yeah, I wish it would have gotten done sooner and in other respects you say, ‘Time out, I still have six months until it really matters.’ I can so both sides of that. At the end of the day I feel like I have a great group. I’ve won races, usually multiple races every season I’ve been part of the 2 car. I think we’re going to have that opportunity for years to come and as a driver I think that’s a good thing to have.”

With Silly Season in full swing, Keselowski’s name was tossed around in talk of other rides. There was speculation he could return to the Hendrick fold. Whether that was a negotiation ploy or not, who knows but there was no logic behind the move. Keselowski said earlier this season he wanted to pass Mark Donohue for Penske’s winningest driver. He needs eight wins to accomplish that feat. Short of a miracle, it will take longer than this season to pull that off.

There was also Brad Keselowski Racing and his two truck teams with Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric to consider when crafting his latest deal. Keselowski pays it forward by offering young drivers at stepping stone to NASCAR’s top ranks just as Dale Earnhardt Jr. provided for him.

“It is important to me,” Keselowski said. “I think I have to be careful to not let the tail wag the dog. At the end of the day, the Truck Series model is one for me to participate in I have to be willing to make financial sacrifices or just cost money.

“Being a race car driver is what makes that possible. I have to be really care of that.”

Changing sponsor climate

At 33, Keselowski still has a lot of racing ahead of him. He enjoys being the alpha driver at one of motorsports — not just NASCAR’s — top organizations. In his first nine seasons, Keselowski has scored 23 wins, 13 poles and a Cup championship. Clearly, he wants more. But he understands the climate has changed.

“Everybody wants more for less,” Keselowski said. “That’s just not in the NASCAR sponsorship market, that’s in every market. Business models are changing rapidly. Our world changes rapidly with respect to communications and the next generation and consumption habits. I think sponsorship contracts are going to keep to evolve and change. I think the traditional model is going to go extinct soon and could be argued that it’s here right now.

“The traditional model (of just) being a consumer brand sponsor that just wants to see a car out there with there name out it will go extinct in the next couple years. That’s not always a bad thing. There’s other models that work and have proven to be successful. And the teams, although the owners may not agree with it, are still relatively healthy. So, time will tell what the true model is 10 years from now. I don’t think anybody really knows. I don’t we have it as bad as we say we do.”

Adding a third team

And Keselowski is with an organization that is expanding — not downsizing. Team Penske announced last month it is partnering with Acura to compete for the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a new DPi program. In NASCAR, the company will add a third team for Ryan Blaney next season.

“Hopefully, it will mean more depth,” Keselowski said. “More ability to extend resources engineering where you can make the car faster. The biggest battle that we have right now in motorsports is aerodynamics. The teams keep pushing aerodynamics further and further to improve that. It’s just really the time and energy that you can spend on it. The more people you have, the more revenue you have, the more that you can work in those areas with engineering tools or experiments to get better.

“There’s a lot of hope with respect to that. It’s just not aerodynamics. It also carries over to the engine side with Roush Yates Engines — and a number of other categories of depth. Whether it be pit crews or shop mechanics, fabricators and beyond. Assuming that it’s pulled off and executed in the right way at those levels it should be a gain for everybody at Team Penske.”

Keselowski's long-term plans

With Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe re-signing as well, the pair could be a force to contend with for a long time. But Keselowski would not elaborate on the length of his contract. Although Logano signed a seven-year extension earlier this season, per ownership, Keselowski kept his terms close to the vest. He only said he hopes to continue at this level into his 40s.

“I feel comfortable in saying that my contract is not for that long,” Keselowski said. “So there’s no guarantees that I’ll be at Team Penske for the rest of my career. Hopefully, when the next process comes up I’ll be able to have that opportunity to do so.”