CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After a successful rookie season in the NASCAR Busch Series, teenage driving sensation Brad Coleman has decided to leave Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot a full-time ride in the No. 27 Ford with the new owners of Brewco Motorsports.

In only 15 races to date for JGR in 2007, Coleman has posted three top-fives, five top-10s, seven top-15s and nine top-20s, winning the pole at Talladega and posting the highest finishing average of any non-Cup experienced driver in the series. Those are extraordinary statistics considering he was the youngest driver in the series for most of the season, seeing many of the racetracks for the very first time, and competing against a host of Nextel Cup drivers.

Brewco Motorsports' new owner and CEO Gary Baker feels fortunate to have Coleman on his roster.

"We believe Brad is one of the hottest young prospects on the circuit and when we found out he was not going to be in a full ride at Gibbs, we made a run for him," Baker said. "He is an impressive young man with a bright future ahead of him and is the kind of guy we want to build our organization around. He is not only talented on the track, but off the track as well and will add significant value to our sponsors. We think he can contend for the Nationwide championship next year and the guys on the team are already excited about 2008."

In the move, Coleman will reunite with his former crew chief, Shawn Parker. Running Brewco's development program in 2006, Parker guided Coleman to a successful ARCA debut, posting eight top-fives in just nine races and garnering a win at Kentucky in a double green-white-checkered restart against nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel. He knows his young driver is destined for a successful career in NASCAR and is enthusiastic about the 2008 outlook for Brewco.

"Brad is one of the most naturally gifted talents I have ever worked with, and I have worked with some good ones," said Parker, who has worked with Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett and served on the original Rainbow Warriors crew with Jeff Gordon. "He proved at Gibbs this year that he knows how to run up front without overdriving the equipment and he has a remarkable sense of track awareness. Brad is a future Sprint Cup star and I am looking forward to winning the Nationwide championship with him for Brewco."

Coleman is equally optimistic in his assessment for 2008.

"I came to Brewco to drive full-time and win the Nationwide championship," Coleman said. "The new owners of Brewco have promised to do whatever it takes to put this team back into championship contention and I can guarantee you I will do my part to lead that effort. Besides, I think it will be fun putting an independent team at the top of the charts." (Continued)