Brad Coleman Is A Natural

Brad Coleman is a natural. Like great quarterbacks and fighter pilots, he has a “Situational Awareness” about him that allows him to visualize and anticipate everything happening around him at high rates of speed without having to think about it. Brad also represents the best of America’s new generation. He is a proven professional race car driver with experience, talent and maturity beyond his years. More importantly, he is a compassionate young man that puts others first unless he is on the race track.

Prompted by Brad’s record breaking credentials, extensive cross-training background on more than 60 race tracks across North America in many different types of race cars, his on-track success against the odds in the 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, and proven off-track media and sponsor relations skills, Wind Tunnel’s Dave Despain called Brad “The prototype NASCAR Young Gun of the future.”

Now positioned as one of the best young talents in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, Coleman has a breadth and depth of experience few in the sport can match at 22 years-old, including 51 Nationwide starts with a best finish of 2nd at Kentucky and one Sprint Cup start at Michigan. Couple this with an extensive testing and training schedule and Brad is primed to be one of the sports next stars. 2010 finds Coleman reunited with his successful rookie season Crew Chief, Jason Ratcliff, who is the reigning Nationwide Championship pit boss. The two work very well together and while the economy has created sponsorship challenges for the young driver, he and his No. 18 team will make the most of every opportunity when Champion Kyle Busch is not in the car.

Discovered By A Legend

Discovered at a Texas indoor karting center by LeMans Champion and driving legend, Price Cobb, then 12 year-old Brad Coleman started his racing career in a most unusual way. Brad was invited to live with the Cobbs for the summer and travel to race venues throughout North America with their professional Toyota Atlantic Race team. During this time, the youngster would train with Cobb in preparation for his first competitive karting season, one that would ultimately lead him to three championships and a career in motorsports.

Over the next seven years, Coleman would train in every type of race car on every type of track. At 14 he left his home in Texas to live with his mentor near race tracks in Southern Virginia. It is here that he would train in the morning on a road course in sports cars and follow it by running stock cars on the famous short track ovals of South Boston and ACE Speedway in the evening.

Brad raced in many different series and even teamed with two fellow teenagers to set a world record as Team16, the youngest team to ever start in and finish the Rolex 24 Hour of Daytona, where they finished seventh. Brad also went on to win the Late Model Rookie Championship in 2005 and set the ARCA series on fire in 2006 with a win and eight Top 5 finishes in just nine races. Then came the opportunity of a lifetime in 2007 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season at JGR

Sprint Cup superstar Kyle Busch will continue to be the primary pilot of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series entry, but races are currently available for sponsorship partners for Brad to continue working with Kyle in defense of the 2010 Team Owners Championship.

2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Team Championship at JGR

Once again the tough economy limited Brad’s seat time to just six races, but Coleman made the most of them by consistently qualifying and racing the No.18 SafeWay Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up front. His consistent production and relentless support of his superstar teammate, Kyle Busch, lifted the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team led by Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff, to the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Team Owners Championship over the rival No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge.

2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season

Eagerly returning home after a year apart, 21 year-old Brad Coleman rejoined his Joe Gibbs Racing family, who together celebrated early success in his 2007 rookie campaign. Forced by the economy to run only eight races in 2009, Coleman was challenged to “Go for the win at all costs.” While he was near the top of the charts in practice, qualifying, and race running position in every event, misfortunes with blown tires, late race incidents and other challenges relegated Coleman to one Top 5 and one Top 10 finish. The 2009 season also had Coleman testing Sprint Cup cars for Joe Gibbs Racing.

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series/Sprint Cup Series Season

With no sponsorship available at JGR for 2008 and Coleman in need of seat time, the 19 year-old was forced to seek experience elsewhere. He was on the driver market less than a week when he was signed to two different NASCAR driver agreements. Reuniting with his successful ARCA Crew Chief, Shawn Parker, he agreed to drive for the newly acquired Baker Curb Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. That same week he was also recruited to test drive and race a second car for then current Joe Gibbs Racing satellite team, Hall of Fame Racing, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Coleman persevered through the many different challenges that come with two newly established independent teams. He would go on to drive the No. 27 Kleenex Racing® Ford to two Top 10’s, four Top 15’s and seven Top 20’s, well below his aspirations for the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide season.

Simultaneously, Coleman was testing Sprint Cup cars with Hall of Fame Racing in preparation for piloting the soon-to-be second car for the team. The second car never materialized and Coleman was tabbed to drive the No. 96 DLP® HDTV Toyota Camry in his Sprint Cup debut at the August Michigan race. He qualified the car, started 43rd and finished 38th. The organization continued to face financial difficulties, forcing Coleman to be sidelined for the last few months of the 2008 season.

2007 NASCAR Nationwide Rookie Season at JGR

In just 17 starts, the youngest driver in the 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series posted an amazing three Top 5’s, five Top 10’s, seven Top 15’s and 10 Top 20’s. His successful rookie run included consecutive Top 5’s at Kentucky and Milwaukee, a Top 5 at Watkins Glen, a Top 10 and Pole at Talladega, a Top 10 at Montreal and two Top 15’s at Nashville and Michigan, most all of which were tracks he had never raced at before and against a host of NEXTEL Cup drivers. Coleman’s consistent performance earned him the highest average finishing position of any Non-Cup driver in the series for that year.

2006 ARCA/NASCAR Busch Series Driver Development Program

Following the 2005 race season, Brad was presented with the opportunity to join Brewco Motorsports in an ARCA/NASCAR Busch Series Driver Development program. In just nine ARCA races he posted eight Top 5’s, three poles and a win at Kentucky Speedway. His ARCA success earned him the highest average finishing position (P3) of any ARCA professional in 2006, and was highlighted by holding off eight-time series champion Frank Kimmel for two green-white-checkered restarts to win at Kentucky. Brad’s creative victory celebration at Kentucky, now called the “The Brad Coleman Bow”, earned the admiration of fans as he honored them for their attendance.

At 18, Coleman ran his first NASCAR Busch Series race in 2006 at Nashville, the week after he graduated high school and posted a 29th place finish out of 43 cars. The combination of his early ARCA and Busch success, Rookie of the Year Short Track honors, world record-setting run at the Rolex 24 of Daytona, and vast open wheel experience prompted SPEED Channel’s Wind Tunnel host Dave Despain to call Coleman “The prototype NASCAR young gun of the future.”

Career Highlights

2010 (21/22 Years-Old)

• Top 10/ 8th place at 5-Hour Energy 250 at Gateway
• Top 15/ 12th place at NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
• Top 10/ 6th place at Bucyrus 200 at Road America
• Top 15/ 13th place at Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway
• Top 10 / 6th place at Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway

2009 (20/21 Years-Old)

• Top 15/ 13th place at U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway
• Top 20/ 16th place at Kroger 200 at ORP Indianapolis
• Top 5 / 5th place at MO / IL Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway
• Top 10 / 10th place at Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville

2008 (19/20 Years-Old)

• Sprint Cup Series debut at 3M Performance 400 at Michigan (Start 43/Finish 38)
• Top 10 / 10th place at Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen
• Top 20 / 17th place at Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway
• Top 15 / 15th place at Meijer 300 at Kentucky
• Top 15 / 12th place at Diamond Hill 200 at Darlington
• Top 20 / 16th place at Corona 200 at Mexico City
• Top 10 / 9th place at Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas
• Top 20 / 19th place at Stater Bros. 300 at California

2007 (18/19 Years-Old)

• Signed NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Contract with Hall of Fame Racing
• Signed NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver Contract with Baker Curb Racing
• Top 20 / 16th place in Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway
• Top 20 / 17th place in Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Outside Pole (Start 2nd) at Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway
• Top 15 / 15th place in Car Fax 250 at Michigan International Speedway
• Top 5 / 5th place in Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International
• Raybestos® Rookie of the Race/Watkins Glen International
• Top 10 / 8th place in NAPA 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
• Top 5 / 4th place in AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile
• Raybestos® Rookie of the Race/The Milwaukee Mile
• Top 5 / 2nd place in Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway
• Raybestos® Rookie of the Race/Kentucky Speedway
• WIX Filters "Lap Leaders" Award at Kentucky Speedway
• Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge/Kentucky Speedway
• Top 10 / 9th place in Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
• WIX Filters "Lap Leaders" Award at Talladega Superspeedway
• Pole Award at Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
• Top 20 / 16th place in O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway
• Top 15 / 15th place in Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway
• Raybestos® Rookie of the Race/Nashville Superspeedway
• First Race for JGR/Running Top 10 at Mexico City (Transmission)
• Unveiled Carino’s Italian Grill Sponsorship of the No. 18 JGR Chevy

2006 (17/18 Years-Old)

• Signed NASCAR Busch Series Driver Contract with Joe Gibbs Racing
• First Nine ARCA Races Yield Eight Top 5’s, Three Poles, One Win
• Highest Average Finish of All 2006 ARCA Drivers
• First Win in Sixth ARCA Start (Kentucky Speedway)
• 2nd in First Career ARCA Race (Nashville Speedway)
• Pole Winner at Salem Speedway in Second ARCA Race
• 29th in First NASCAR Busch Race (Nashville Speedway)
• Pole Winner at Kansas Speedway
• Pole Winner at Nashville Speedway

2005 (16/17 Years-Old)

• Signed NASCAR Driver Development Contract with Brewco Motorsports
• NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Rookie Points Champion in Late Model Stock
• Top 10 Daytona Prototype at Rolex Grand American VIR Race
• Set a World Record for Youngest Team in Rolex 24 Hour History (Team16)
• Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Top 10 (7th in GT Class)
• 3rd in Budweiser Challenge at ACE Speedway
• Rolex Grand Am Series/Porsche 911 GT3
• Rolex Grand Am Series/Daytona Prototype
• Formula Car Testing

2004 (15/16 Years-Old)

• Star Mazda Pro Formula Series Rookie Season
• Named to CDOC Pro Driving Team
• Rolex Grand Am Series Crew Member
• Lived and trained with Price Cobb in Danville, Virginia
• 20,000 Miles of Formula Car/Stock Car Testing
• Extensive Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car Testing

2003 (14/15 Years-Old)

• First 14 Year-Old American to receive Professional Open-Wheel Racing License
• First 14 Year-Old to Podium in a Professional Open-Wheel Race
• Fran-Am 1600 Pro Series Second Rookie of the Year
• 10 Top-Five finishes in 13 races/Fourth Overall
• 20,000 Miles of Formula Car Testing

2002 (13/14 Years-Old)

• Rookie Karting Season/64 Races/Won 42% and Podium in 65%
• Won Three Karting Series Season Championships
• Selected by Pros to Test in a Formula Race Car

2001 (12/13 Years-Old)

• Discovered at Houston Indoor Karting Center by Le Mans Champion Price Cobb
• Traveled as Crew Member with Toyota Atlantic Team
• Began Training in a Go-Kart