"I'm very happy. I'm very proud," Brad Keselowski of Rochester Hills said Sunday evening on ESPN after becoming our state's first NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
He finished 15th in a 400-mine race at Homestead, Fla., to easily capture the title with the largest point total in the 10-race series.
The 28-year-old from Rochester Hills clinched stock car racing's top prize when fellow title contender Jimmie Johnson pulled out of the season finale with 40 laps left because of a parts failure. The championship is the first for longtime NASCAR team owner Roger Penske, a Metro Detroit businessman and prominent regional development booster,
Keselowski is the son, brother and nephew of racers, and now has bragging rights at this week's family's Thanksgiving dinner.
an AOL Sporting News post. Earlier, Penske was quoted as saying:
"If we could bring back to Michigan and to Detroit the NASCAR championship, I think it's a big deal for the state, for the city and obviously for Rochester Hills, for Brad. He's a big Detroit supporter, and if I could do that, it would be a great time for us, and I'm sure that everyone that loves racing will say, hey, it's about time."
