If you only look at the history books, 2013 was the year Brad Keselowski fell off a cliff. He went from winning the Cup Series title in 2012 to missing the Chase entirely the next year. It was a brutal, sobering reality check for the Blue Deuce. But while the Sunday stats looked like a dumpster fire, something wild was happening on Saturdays.
The Brad Keselowski 2013 Nationwide season was, frankly, ridiculous.
He didn't win the championship. He couldn't—he was a Cup regular. But he spent his weekends moonlighting in the No. 22 (and once the No. 48) Penske Ford, and he basically treated the field like a personal playground. While the media was busy dissecting his "sophomore slump" in the premier series, Keselowski was quietly putting together one of the most efficient part-time campaigns in the history of the series.
The Ridiculous "Four-for-Four" Summer
Have you ever seen a guy just decide he’s not going to lose? That was Brad in August.
Most fans remember the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen because of how dominant the Penske cars were. Brad, Joey Logano, and Sam Hornish Jr. combined to lead almost every single lap. But the finish was the real story. Brad took the lead from Logano with 16 laps to go and had to hold off a charging Hornish. He actually admitted afterward he thought Sam was going to beat him.
"I thought he was going to beat me... I’ll tell you what, he’s a hell of a road course racer. I was just trying not to make any huge [mistakes]." — Brad Keselowski, 2013.
👉 See also: Tottenham vs FC Barcelona: Why This Matchup Still Matters in 2026
That win at The Glen was his fourth straight victory in his last four starts. Not four consecutive races on the calendar—he was dipping in and out—but four appearances, four trophies. He’d already bagged wins at Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Iowa.
At Iowa, he won despite an outside tire violation penalty that sent him to the back. Most guys would have settled for a top five. Brad just picked them off one by one and took the lead on lap 216. It was demoralizing for the series regulars. You spend all week preparing, and then the defending Cup champ shows up and steals your lunch money.
Protecting the "22" Owners' Title
Why was he even there? It wasn't just for the kicks. Roger Penske is a man obsessed with winning, and in 2013, the battle for the Nationwide Owners' Championship was a bloodbath between Penske’s No. 22 and Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54.
The No. 54 was basically the Kyle Busch show. To beat Kyle, you needed a heavy hitter.
The Brad Keselowski 2013 Nationwide effort was the backbone of that owners' title. He won seven races total that year. To put that in perspective, he only ran 16 races. He won nearly half the times he suited up. Think about that for a second. That is a 43.7% win rate.
✨ Don't miss: Buddy Hield Sacramento Kings: What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
Most people focus on Austin Dillon winning the driver's championship that year without winning a single race. It was a weird year for NASCAR stats. But while Dillon was grinding out top tens, Keselowski was out there playing spoiler.
The Wins That Mattered
- Kentucky (June): Rain-shortened, sure, but he led when it counted.
- New Hampshire (July): Part of a weekend sweep that gave Penske serious momentum.
- Iowa (August): The "overcoming the penalty" masterclass.
- Watkins Glen (August): Fending off teammate Sam Hornish Jr. in a road course clinic.
- Richmond (September): Career win number 25 in the series.
- Texas (November): A late-race pass on Kyle Busch that essentially iced the owners' title.
- Homestead (November): Winning in the No. 48 car (a one-off start) just to put a final exclamation point on the year.
The Homestead Finale and the No. 48 Mystery
The final race at Homestead was a fever dream. Brad wasn't even in his usual No. 22. Joey Logano was in that car to secure the owners' points. Brad hopped into a No. 48 Discount Tire Ford—a car that barely existed in the Penske shop until that weekend.
With five laps to go, he was sitting in 10th. Tenth!
The restart happened, and it was like he turned on a cheat code. He rocketed past Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, snatched the lead, and checked out. It was his seventh win of the year and his first (and only) in that No. 48. It also helped Ford clinch the Manufacturers' Championship.
Honestly, it was the perfect "screw you" to a 2013 season that had been so frustrating on the Cup side. It was like he was proving to himself—and everyone else—that he hadn't forgotten how to drive.
🔗 Read more: Why the March Madness 2022 Bracket Still Haunts Your Sports Betting Group Chat
Why 2013 Still Matters for Keselowski's Legacy
If you’re a stats nerd, the Brad Keselowski 2013 Nationwide season is a gold mine. It moved him into the top 10 on the all-time wins list (he was 7th at the time with 27 wins).
It also solidified the "Penske Way" of using veteran drivers to build a winning culture in the lower series. You see it today with how RFK Racing handles their business. Brad learned in 2013 that even when your "main" job is going poorly, you can still find ways to be a winner.
He didn't just show up for the trophy; he helped develop the cars that guys like Ryan Blaney would eventually use to become stars. Blaney won his first race for Penske that year at Kentucky, and he’s credited Brad often for being a mentor during that era.
What You Should Take Away
Most people will tell you 2013 was Brad’s "bad year." They’re wrong. It was his most dominant year; it just happened on the wrong day of the week.
If you’re looking back at this era of NASCAR, don’t just look at the Cup standings. Look at the entry lists for those Nationwide races. You’ll see a guy who was under immense pressure, dealing with a struggling Gen-6 Cup car and a suspended crew chief (Paul Wolfe was out for a chunk of the spring), yet he still went out and won 44% of his starts in the secondary series.
Actionable Insights for NASCAR Fans:
- Check the Owners' Standings: Next time you see a "Cup guy" in a lower series, remember they are usually there for the owner's points, which is a massive financial deal for teams like Penske.
- Analyze the "Slump": Before writing off a driver for a bad season, look at their performance across all series. Often, the "talent" hasn't left; the equipment or the chemistry in one specific series has just soured.
- The Logano Factor: 2013 was the first year Brad and Joey were teammates. Their 1-2 finishes in the Nationwide Series that year were the blueprint for the most successful duo in Penske history.
The 2013 season was a bridge. It bridged the gap between the Dodge era and the Ford era, and it proved that Brad Keselowski was a winner regardless of what the Cup standings said.