January 25, 2019 | By Lee Spencer

Keselowski launches KAM

STATESVILLE, N.C.—Less than three weeks shy of his 35th birthday, Brad Keselowski has already set the wheels in motion for his life’s next chapter. 

 

No, he’s not ready to hang up his helmet. The 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion is determined to win a second title and could easily see himself driving for another decade. Keselowski is simply looking for a new challenge, one that will fuel his passion when he’s no longer racing.

 

On Thursday, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford officially opened the doors of his latest venture—KAM—Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing.

 

“I believe in technology,” Keselowski said. “Technology is just becoming mature enough to be successful and ready for the mass market. And I have a passion for it—from the days growing up watching my dad and uncle and some of the men that worked for him build some of the most cool stuff ever and now I get to do it myself.” 

 

Keselowski had the building. KAM is housed in the former Brad Keselowski Racing shop—a 78,000 sq. ft., facility across from the Statesville Airport in Iredell County. 

 

Initially, BKR was Keselowski’s way of paying it forward. The opportunities afforded him as he climbed the NASCAR ladder have paid dividends beyond his expectations. But after a decade of seven-figure losses in the truck series, Keselowski announced in August 2017 he was shutting down his race team. 

 

A life in racing piqued Keselowski’s curiosity in the technology sector. KAM’s focus will include hybrid metal manufacturing and advanced engineering solutions. Its target clientele will include aerospace and defense, along with the automotive and medical industries.

 

“It’s a very difficult business,” Keselowski said. “A lot of it is being wrote as we go. We’re making the playbook as we go, which is part of what we love about it because we’re going to use the culture and DNA that has been so successful in motorsports to write this playbook.”

 

Keselowski, who self-funded KAM—partially after liquidating assets from BKR, expects to see a return on his investment five to 10 years from now. “Potentially,” about the time he would retire from competition. 

 

“I feel like I’m planting a really nice seed here,” Keselowski said. “We’ll see where it goes.”

 

Keselowski has never shied from the possibility of owning a NASCAR Cup team. A number of team owners—including Roger Penske, whom Keselowski has raced for since 2010, have corporations which not only subsidize racing but use the business-to-business relationships within those companies to lighten the financial load.

 

“I foresee this company as being more than just something that services a race team,” Keselowski said. “It has to be, quite frankly. I do have some dreams to get back in that, but I think the focus first should be on making this successful.

 

“There are some risks, but at the end of the day you have to believe in something and at the end of the day I wasn’t just going to just retire from racing and do nothing. The opportunity was ripe. I feel like I’ve hit the market perfectly.”