Brad Keselowski named Driver of the Year

   Brad Keselowski was voted both the 2012 Driver of the Year and Fourth Quarter winner, respectively, by an elite panel of broadcasters and journalists.

    Keselowski was almost a unanimous choice in the annual award, earning 18 of the 19 votes cast by journalists and broadcasters. Ryan Hunter Reay, the 2012 IndyCar champion, received the remaining vote.

    Keselowski, 28, won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship and the first for Penske Racing.

    "To be honored with the 2012 Driver of the Year is a great way to cap off our championship season,” said Keselowski. “The (drivers’) list is definitely a 'Who's Who' in the history of racing. It gives me great pride to see my name there with the likes of Mark Donohue and Mario Andretti, drivers who have transcended one particular discipline or series, and are considered some of the best to ever sit in a race car."

   In the quarterly voting, Keselowski beat the NHRA’s Antron Brown and five time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

   In its’ 46^th year, the Driver of the Year title is unique because it is the original award of its' type that encompasses all of the racing series and all of the drivers in the United States. A panel of 19 journalists and broadcasters from across the U.S. are eligible to vote.