Keselowski Signs Contract Extension with Penske
Penske Racing has signed Brad Keselowski and Miller Lite to contract extensions through the 2017 season.
“I feel like together, Roger and I have done some great things. I have a lot of confidence in him, I like the way he treats me and hopefully he would say the same about me," said Keselowski. “It makes me feel very comfortable to go the extra mile and sign a long-term deal."
This good news comes as Keselowski is having the worst season he’s ever had in the No. 2 Miller Lite Blue Deuce. In 2011 he finished fifth in the Chase and in 2012 he won the Sprint Cup Series championship, but this season Keselowski failed to make the Chase.
This is the second contract extension for the defending Sprint Cup Series champion in less than two years. He signed an extension after the 2011 season that ran through next year. That contract was redone to put the driver and sponsor in concurrent deals.
Miller Lite is extending their partnership with Roger Penske that spans more than three decades. The beer brand has been the primary sponsor in NASCAR of Penske’s flagship No. 2 since 1991. The Blue Deuce has also been driven by Cup champions Kurt Busch and Rusty Wallace, but Keselowski was the only driver to win a Cup championship in the No. 2 car and for Penske.
The new contract covers just 24 races of the full 36-race schedule Miller Lite has always sponsored. Penske and MillerCoors chief marketing officer, Andy England, say the 12-race giveback was at Penske’s request to increase revenue stream in another area.
“We looked at going into markets twice, in fact, it was my idea, let us have those markets we got into a second time and give us a chance to bring in another world-class company. We have a number of people very interested going with Brad," said Penske.
This leaves just backmarkers Menards (Paul Menard) and GoDaddy (Danica Patrick) as full-season sponsors for the entire 36-race slate.