Brad Keselowski Racing had a 10-year run that saw over 300 starts. That era came to an end as Chase Briscoe captured the checkered flag at Homestead, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
The victory was the first in the young career for the 22-year old, who also captured Rookie of the Year honors, according to Motorsports Tribune. But the finale was bittersweet for Brad Keselowski Racing, as its other driver, Austin Cindric, watched Christopher Bell win the championship trophy ahead of his third place finish in the standings.
Moreover, BKR announced this past summer that it would discontinue operations after this season, in part, because of finances. So on one hand, the team is going out on top. On the other, it's sad to see the team disband.
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"To finish out that era on a win is massive, and I'm so excited, excited to get third in the championship after the climb we've had," said Cindric after the race. "We've scratched and clawed and fought our way up and did the same thing tonight...Obviously I'm racing the best in the business, and I've still got a lot to learn. Had a lot of fun tonight. First time I've had to pedal a car in a mile-and-a-half. I've got a few more things to put in the memory bank, and hopefully this performance will help me solidify some stuff for next year."
With the 2017 season in the books, the two BKR drivers will obviously be heading elsewhere. Cindric, the son of the Team Penske president, made his first Xfinity Series start fro Team Penske earlier this year. While Briscoe hinted that his plans for next year could be known very soon.
"I think I'm going to be okay for next year," said Briscoe said after his first vicotry. "I think we're going to have announcements maybe even this weekend, so looking forward to obviously going there next year and seeing what we can do."
After the race, Keselowski took a stroll down memory lane, reminiscing about the drivers and team members that had come and gone. While it wasn't the perfect ending to an era, he opened the door for a possible return in the future.
"I don't think my days of being a team owner are over," said Keselowski. "They're just maybe taking a little break until the right situation finds me. The right situation didn't exist for 2018, but it might come back around the corner sometime soon, and when that day happens, this will be the last race that we ran, and it'll be tough to beat it, I can tell you that... I can tell you if the right scenario unfolds that I would do just that, I would come back."