“There was no drinking, no dating”: Brad Keselowski recalls his father’s ultimatum as a young aspiring racecar driver

Brad Keselowski recalled how his father warned him that he wouldn't help him with his driving career if Brad participated in activities such as drinking and dating. He said that his dad, Bob Keselowski, was fairly strict when it came to his son's passion for driving.

Brad is currently one of the most experienced drivers in the NASCAR fraternity. Coming from a family of racers, including Bob Keselowski, a former ARCA Menards Series champion, the RFK Racing owner had to follow a disciplined life.

His father died in December 2021 at the age of 70 after battling cancer for a long time. Since Bob Keselowski himself had a decorated career, including 24 race wins in the ARCA series and a championship run in 1989, he pushed Brad Keselowski to take racing seriously and reach a high level.

Recently, while speaking to Kevin Harvick on NASCAR on NBC, Brad Keselowski opened up on the matter, saying:

"My dad was fairly strict in the sense that, you know, I have an older brother. And my older brother was kind of... like really really strict. And growing up, he was like, 'If you want to drink, if you want to date, if you want to do any of those things, go ahead and do it, but just know I'm not helping your race at all.' [...] My dad was very clear like if you even touch any of that stuff—done." [at 29:01]

The #6 Ford driver also acknowledged that his father's advice was 'probably really good for him' and played a huge role in helping him become a NASCAR driver. He knew that his father wanted him to be '100% focused' or not do it at all.

"And it actually served me really well. So, I'm telling you that story because until I got to be, you know, racing with Dale and kind of off on my own, none of that was even an option for me, right? Because I couldn't race without my dad at least helping me in some way. Well, I think," Brad Keselowski added. [at 30:03]

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Brad Keselowski said he owes 'a lot' of his success to his late father

In 2021, Brad Keselowski was close to winning the Daytona 500, running second until what he called "stupid luck" on the last lap. Teammate Joey Logano blocked Keselowski’s attempted pass about a mile from the finish line, wrecking both of them. He seemed extremely frustrated after the race because he wanted to win it for his father.

A disappointed Brad Keselowski said, "But I told him before I left for Daytona, ‘I’m going to win you the Daytona 500, Dad.'" That loss frustrated him since his father never got to see him run the Daytona 500 again.

Talking about that loss after winning at the same track a year later, the 40-year-old said via USA Today in 2022:

"I owe a lot of my success to him. Some people are self-made and some people are 100% a product of their family and their upbringing. I think I’m somewhere in between. My dad was never a Cup racer. He never even had aspirations of that from what I can recall. He just wanted to race and kind of be a middle-class guy."

In the current season, Brad Keselowski is eyeing a second win in the regular season at New Hampshire, sitting at P9 with a tally of 498 points —86 behind the leader, Chase Elliott.