Brad Keselowski

Keselowski turned in his typical three-win, 20 Top-10 campaign last season, but fell short of advancing into the final round of the Chase. Some inconsistency in the Round of 8 kept the Penske Racing star from advancing into the championship round. This level of performance has become a bit of a predictable trend for the 10-year veteran. Last year it kept him nipping at the heels of the Big 3, and just outside of serious contention for the Monster Energy Cup Series championship. He and crew chief Paul Wolfe will once again team up and look to up their game. The duo won the championship back in 2012, but that is sadly falling way back into the rear view mirror at this point. Keselowski is an amazing driver of considerable skill, but this team is lacking a nudge or bump that would move them higher in these rankings. The jury is still out if they can improve this season, or continue to post their typical stat line of 3-14-21.

Keselowski posted his typical campaign last year with three wins and 21 Top-10 finishes. He did have a couple rough patches during the season, but this has been typical of the Penske Racing star the last few years. Unlike the four prior seasons, Keselowski actually made it into the championship round at Homestead in 2017, although he was the long-odds shot at winning the title. He still finished a very impressive fourth in the final driver standings for his best mark since winning the championship in 2012. Keselowski has set a pretty distinct pattern for his level of performance since winning that championship. Fantasy racing players know what to expect from this veteran driver and team on draft day. He's currently the most dominant driver in the series on superspeedways and larger ovals, and we don't see that changing in 2018.

The Penske Racing star finished a distant 12th in the driver standings last season, but that was a function of two variables. Going cold at the wrong time, and the Chase playoff format led to his early exit from the Chase. He really had a much better season than his final standings position shows. Keselowski racked up four victories and 22 Top-10 finishes. Those numbers are on par with what he's averaged the last three seasons. He had crew chief Paul Wolfe will continue forward with the success they've built in the No. 2 Ford team in 2017. Keselowski has one championship in the bank and he's looking for more, so that makes him both a talented and hungry driver.

It might seem that Joey Logano has supplanted Keselowski as the number one driver at Penske Racing, that's no reason to discount the driver of the No. 2 Ford. Keselowski made a deep run in last season's Chase for the Cup and compiled two pole positions and seven top-10 finishes during NASCAR's playoff. The veteran driver had a down season in the victory department with only one, but he still collected a career-best 25 top-10 finishes. Paul Wolfe returns in 2016 to lead the team again, and in the hopes that he and Keselowski can mount a challenge for that second championship for the Michigan native. There's good reason to expect an uptick in wins and consistency for this driver and team in the upcoming season.

The “Jimmie Johnson” of the next decade has arrived in the form of Keselowski. The 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion dueled with and beat the best in the sport to win last season’s title. The Penske Racing star isn’t finished by a long shot, in fact, we expect a long and very successful career for the driver of the No. 2 Ford. Keselowski will stay with crew chief Paul Wolfe yet again in the upcoming season, but the Penske team makes the jump to Ford from Dodge. That’s the only change in this team’s championship chemistry. It’s taken a very long time for owner Roger Penske to ascend to the top of the sport, and there’s good reason to believe Keselowski will keep him there for a while.