End of the Road for Ryan Newman as Keselowski Set to Join Roush Fenway Racing

Over the past few days, there has been a lot of movement in the NASCAR driver market. The biggest move has to be Brad Keselowski and his departure from Penske to join Roush Fenway Racing. Of course this also means that Ryan Newman will be forced to make way for the 2012 Cup Series champion.

The driver confessed that it was “hard to walk away” from Penske after racing for them for so long. However, he is excited to make a fresh start in 2022 as a driver and an owner of the Roush Fenway Racing team. After 12 years at Team Penske, Keselowski felt that it was time for a fresh start in a new environment.

Keselowski said, “Certainly everybody has aspirations that where they go to work, things will work out where you could stay forever and continue to grow. Life has other plans. There’s no bitterness about that.

“I just really enjoy the idea of ownership and management and seeing people grow,” he said. “The idea of building teams and seeing people grow and be successful together, I take a lot out of that.”

What does the Roush Fenway Racing deal mean?

As mentioned before, this deal has led to a Penske shakeup that witnesses Austin Cindric in the #2 Ford. Initially, Cindric was expected to head to the #21 Wood Brothers Racing car in place of Matt DiBenedetto. Instead, Harrison Burton earns an unexpected promotion to Wood Brothers.

Admittedly, DiBenedetto is gutted, because he knew that his seat was in danger from Cindric. With Keselowski leaving Penske and Cindric heading there instead, it raised his hopes.

Sadly, his dreams have been crushed with Burton’s appointment, so DiBenedetto has no choice but to look elsewhere. He is a talented driver so it would be a shame to see his talent go to waste.

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