Holy moly, Keselowski to Ford?

[RedIntrepid9]

www.jayski.com has an item saying that the #29 Keselowski CTS team, with driver Terry Cook, will switch to Ford!! This is unbelievable, even though D-C did give them the shaft! The earth may stop turning if the #29 goes on anything besides a Mopar.........

[This message has been edited by RedIntrepid9 (edited December 19, 2000).]

[mopartodd]

Red. Don't be to suprised. Kesolowski used to run a chebbie back in the 80's. At least he wouldn't be taking the lowest road again.

[This message has been edited by mopartodd (edited December 19, 2000).]

[Stoga]

Well, Mopar pulled his sponsorship, the way I look at it, Mr. Keselowski got a raw deal in the first place. Mopar sure didn't reward him too well for his loyalty. I'm not going to look down on him for switching to Ford, because in this case, it looks like he wasn't given much choice. I love my Mopars, but this just seems like another bonehead or self interested move by certain members of Mopar management, kind of like the way they spit on Darrell Gwynn as well. If anyone was in his shoes, what would you do, quit? I can't knock a guy for not quitting.

[caveman]

They did run a Chebbie in the 80s ,Mopar wasnt into stock car racing at all then,it was run a Ford or GM,or nothing.I cant blame them for going with another brand ,the money is maybe right,and Mopar stuck it to them big.Like a lot of others,I'm not at all happy about it either

[Gary]

If the rumor is true, Ford must have come up with some cash. Bob's sons drive Chevys in local races, so you would think it would be a natural to go with that brand. With all the Mopar parts he had, I doubt he would have switched from Dodge without some type of funding from Ford or Chevy.

[RedIntrepid9]

Oh, I don't blame the Keselowskis at all for switching. They got a raw deal, for sure. I hope that #1 Ultra Motorsports driver spends a lot of time looking at the back bumper of the #29 truck in 2001, no matter what brand it is.........

[attsr]

Just read on the Nascar Online site that the Keselowskis will be running Mopars in 2001. Terry Cook will be their driver. Mopar is still a secondary sponsor. They are hoping for a primary sponsor soon. I hope they kick butt! The Keselowskis are long-time Mopar loyalists and Mopar should have rewarded that loyalty; instead they dropped their primary sponsorship of them in favor of a team that will still run Fords in Winston Cup. That makes NO sense.

[RedIntrepid9]

Yep, www.jayski.com is now reporting that K-Automotive will stay with Mopar after all:

UPDATE: Driver Terry Cook and the K-Automotive racing team have reached agreement to run the full NASCAR Truck series schedule in 2001 for Bob Keselowski, who owns the #29 K-Automotive entries with his wife, Kay, and brother, Ron. The team hasn't locked in a primary sponsor, but Keselowski doesn't expect it to be a problem long(That's Racin') AND Keselowski, whose team has been searching for sponsorship since being told in August by DaimlerChrysler that the manufacturer's Dodge factory backing would not continue on the primary sponsor level in 2001, said previously that due to his plethora of Dodge equipment he would continue with those trucks in 2001(NOL)(12-22-2000)

I like that word, "plethora," don't you? I'd say that pretty much sums up the amount of Mopar parts K-Automotive has "laying around".........

[viperstripeddakota]

sure glad to see that K automotive is staying
with Dodge.I have been a fan of Bob's ever
since he started to drive LeBaron's in arca,and I would sure hate to see them switch.I hope they have a great year in
2001 with Dodge and their new driver Terry
Cook,happy new year to all Mopar fan's

[RedIntrepid9]

Hmmmmmmmmm.........
www.jayski.com now has an item that says Keselowski WILL switch to Ford after all.........

[RedIntrepid9]

I copied this from jayski:

UPDATE 2: In addition to having new driver Terry Cook behind the wheel, K-Automotive will field Ford F-150 hardware for the upcoming season. That's big news considering that K-Automotive - Bob, Kay and Ron Keselowski - had campaigned the Dodge brand for nearly three decades. "Ford offered us support and you need the factory behind you if you expect to do well in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," said Bob Keselowski. "They will be there to help us with any problems and answer any questions we might have. It's a great opportunity for our race team. Cook, meanwhile, debuted with the K-Automotive team last October steering his black #29 entry from 25th starting position to a seventh-place finish in the 2000 NCTS season finale at California Speedway. During the off-season, talks between Cook and the team continued until an agreement for the 2001 schedule was completed last December. With the new driver and manufacturer in place, the challenge now will be to retool and get ready for the upcoming season according to Keselowski(StockCarFans CTS Newsletter)(1-9-2001)

[Glenn81]

All I have to say is this is a shame,a real black mark on D-C!

[9dodge]

A racer wants to race, unfortunatly you can't always do it in the ride you want.

If someone offered me a Craftsman Truck ride in a Toyota I would take it!

Michael

[Christopher]

I agree with 9Dodge,if Ford or GM offered me factory support and a ride as well......I'd HAVE to look at it.Racers are always going to be racers!!

[Gary]

Hmmm, call me stupid, but I wouldn't race anything but a Mopar, no matter what they offered. I won't even rent a non-Mopar when I travel. The last time I took a trip, the Stratus reserved for me was not available, and they tried to give me a Kia. I was on the last rental company in the airport before I found their lone Intrepid.

I was very disappointed in the Keselowski's decision.

[RedIntrepid9]

Well, Gary, maybe somebody like Bill Gates could afford to race that way, but just about everybody else on the face of the earth that races is at the mercy of the dollar. Not just bucks, but MEGA-bucks, are required to be competitive. When you don't have a sponsor, like the Keselowsis, and a manufacturer offers support, you HAVE to take it. You'd be a doofus not to.

It does seem kind of odd to see the number 29 on ANYTHING else but a Mopar. To me, it's like Uncle Sam going to work for the Russians or the Pope becoming the head of a Satanist group. Surely it just isn't so!

Alas, I'm sure many in here have read the stories about the Keselowski switch to Ford, and STILL don't believe it. Therefore I offer you the cold, hard truth: A photo of the Keselowski FORD at the Daytona test.........




------------------
RedIntrepid9
GO AWESOME BILL!

[Gary]

It only shows that most Mopar racers are involved with the marque, not committed.

There is an old saying about how to tell if someone is committed or merely involved. In a breakfast of ham and eggs, the chickens are involved, but the pig is committed.

I have a hunch the only reason Ford sponsored the #29 is a bit of revenge for the pirating of their top truck team by Mopar. They know the announcers will make a big deal talking about the switch of the #29 from Dodge to Ford. I predict that Ford support for the Keselowski's will end for the 2002 season when they have milked the PR cow dry.

[dowling]

Lets not forget that Bill Elliott has been a Ford man for all of his driving career but made the switch to Dodge this year so that shows that things can go both ways. A dedicated Dodge team went to Ford and a dedicated Ford team went to Dodge - score it a tie.

[RedIntrepid9]

I reckon it's Ford getting even for losing the Ultra Motorsports team to Dodge.........

------------------
RedIntrepid9
GO AWESOME BILL!

[David D]

Well, he had to do what he needed to do. Built a big new shop, has a large investment in equipment, Ford comes a knockin' waving a fist full of dollars. I'd know what I'd do. And Bob hasn't always been popular with Mopar stock car fans. I was at the Kil Kare ARCA race where Jerry Churchill debuted his short track LeBaron and literally blew everyone away being at least a 1/2 sec faster each lap and spent most of the race bulldozing through traffic. One of Jerry's victims was Bob and ol' Bob exacted his revenge by screaming out of the infield on Jerrys' victory lap and ramming his Chevy into the driver's door of Jerry's race dominating LeBaron pinning it to the gaurd rail under the flag stand then jumping out and started to wail on Jerry while still in his car.

[Gary]

Taking out Jerry Churchill wouldn't put anyone in a bad light as far as I'm concerned. He was one of the roughest, most unpopular drivers on the ARCA circuit and that's probably why Mopar dumped him, despite his success. Bob is pretty mild-mannered, and if he put someone into the fence, I'm guessing it was well deserved.