Brothers Brian and Brad Keselowski grew up in the same Michigan town of Rochester Hills, socialized with similar crowds, and on the weekends, worked in the same family race shop.

They nearly led parallel lives up until about the age of 14.

Diverting their paths would be difficult as sons of a proven ARCA Series champion and longtime team owner in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series.

Their father, Bob Keselowski, advanced the boys from one racing series to another with age, talent and money dictating their development and next move. They were on their way to making their own mark in NASCAR like their father did.

Brad took on the engineering role and was apt to delegate duties around the family race shop with his endearing personality, while Brian was happier to build whatever he needed from the ground up with his own hands. You rarely saw his face, because it was often under the hood of a stock car.

Regardless of their differing personalities, both brothers worked equally hard on their racing futures, whether it was Late Model cars or Quarter Midgets to the family Truck Series team, K Automotive, and of course ARCA racing.

However, in 2004, a pivotal moment occurred that would change both their lives forever; it would determine which brother would go on to thrive while the other was left to struggle.

If you've seen the championship point standings in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, you know how the story ends.

You know which brother went on to become JR Motorsports' top driver and which brother can barely afford the entry fee for Saturday's Nationwide event at Michigan International Speedway, the track where both brothers will compete just a couple hours away from the Keselowskis' hometown.

You know that it's Brad, 24, who is chasing Cup driver Clint Bowyer for the Nationwide championship and Brian, 26, who must race his way into Saturday's event on speed alone.

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It was either me or Brad that was going to get the ride -- dad was going to have to pick one. It ended up being Brad.

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BRIAN KESELOWSKI

In 2004, the family's Craftsman Truck Series team (formed in 1999 with Dennis Setzer) needed a driver. Money was tight and the wise decision was to put Brad or Brian behind the wheel; neither required little of a paycheck and both had successful runs in the Late Model divisions in Michigan.

"It was either me or Brad that was going to get the ride -- dad was going to have to pick one," recalled Brian. "It ended up being Brad. He had won some Late Model races, he could go out and get more speed, but I was the one with consistency. It was tough. I'm still not all that happy about it today."

Speaking as a team owner infused with the emotions of a father, Bob said, "I felt like both boys were pretty equal. Brian was a Super Late Model champion but didn't have any wins, and Brad was winning races. They were pretty equal. I think they flipped a coin, but mom and I couldn't make the decision."

Bob and his wife, Kay, a spotter for the family's Truck Series team, only had enough resources and sponsorship for one truck.

"I could put one boy in the truck full time and help the other in ARCA races," Bob said.

From that moment, Brian's battle to make it in NASCAR would begin behind the eight ball as well as behind his younger brother Brad.

Since he was a young boy, Brian has had grease under his fingernails and callused hands evident of hours spent wrenching on cars.

"I have pictures of me staggering race tires for my dad when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I've always liked getting my hands dirty," Brian said.

At 12, he spent his summers working on the family's Truck team, and by his senior year of high school, Brian went to work full time as a jack man in 1998. He finished high school by taking night classes. After his senior prom, Brian flew from the dance to the track to jack the truck for Setzer. That night he enjoyed a Victory Lane celebration with Setzer and his father.

As he approached his 18th birthday, Brian was eager to race his own equipment. Brad was already racing Quarter Midgets, something Brian couldn't do.

"I couldn't fit, because I was too big, but Brad could fit it, so he drove the midget car I was supposed to -- one of our buddy's dad's car," said Brian, who resembles more of a linebacker than a racer.

"Brian has legs the size of telephone poles, but Brad still looks like a 15-year-old kid out there," Brian's father Bob said. "They don't look like they came from the same mold but they did."

Instead, Brian jumped right into a Super Late Model car and raced at the local tracks. He borrowed used motors from his father's Truck team, and by 2000 Brian bought his own Late Model car and won rookie of the year. Brian said he enjoyed running his own program.

Sponsorship became an issue by the end of that year so he returned to his father's Truck team and cut his Late Model racing in half. But by 2003 he was back racing full time with a Power Stroke Diesel sponsorship.

Extra help brings hope

During the 2003 season, Bob, who was working full time on the Truck team, suffered a heart attack and chose to step away to help Brian with his Late Model team.

"The day he left the hospital, he went racing with me and we got top-five finishes every week," Brian said. "By the end of the year, we never won a feature but we were so consistent we won the track championship at the Auto City Speedway in Flint, Mich."

When 2005 arrived and Brad was running a full-time season in the family's truck, Brian had sold his Late Model car in order to go ARCA Series racing. He owned his own equipment and found several top-10 finishes, a pole and three wins from 2005 to 2007, running partial schedules due to a lack of funding.

He combined resources with other struggling racers and tried to keep costs down by working on the car himself, still utilizing used Truck equipment from his father's old team or calling in favors from family friends who knew his father, a past ARCA champion in the 1989.

"Things were going exceedingly well for what we had to work with," Brian said. "We were borrowing motors, barely had any sponsorship but we were killing them at Berlin Raceway and Salem Speedway."

Brian was happy, but Brad was about to loose his ride as the family Truck team would be forced to close its doors. As an independent team owner without a high-paying sponsor, Bob dissolved the operation early in the 2006 Truck Series season.

And then Bob said Brian, due to bad timing and unfortunate racing rules, was hindered a second time from accomplishing his ultimate goal of becoming a NASCAR driver.

Former Nationwide Series team owner Keith Coleman was ready to give Brian a shot by putting him in a few races starting at Fontana, Calif.

"They wanted him to run [Auto Club Speedway] but he never got any speedway experience and NASCAR wouldn't approve him," Bob said. "Brad got involved with the team instead at Brian's expense. They wanted Brian; they saw what he could do in an ARCA car. Had he been approved, he would've gotten that ride. After that happened, we were bound and determined to get him qualified to run in the Nationwide Series."

Brad ran half a season with Coleman before the team shut down midway through the 2007 season, but it was enough to catch the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr. And as they say, the rest is history.

Brian on the other hand is still searching for a future.

"We've got the entire family kicking in to help Brian," Bob said. "I'm crew chief, his mother, Kay, is his spotter and his uncle helps us out with the engines."

Bob and his wife were hoping to spend their golden years as race fans watching their boys, but in NASCAR's fiercely competitive, money- and sponsorship-driven arena, the couple has to keep digging.

Bound and determined

Dusty Whitney, 32, grew up Ann Arbor, Mich., and is a close friend to the Keselowski family. Whitney, who owns body shops, used to paint Bob's race trucks and he also gave a little sponsor money here and there for Brian to run in the ARCA Series.

Today, he's Brian's team owner.

The staff is comprised of Whitney, Bob, Brian and Kay. The pit crew this weekend at Michigan is made up of Brian's friends in town who volunteered to help out.

They don't have a well-painted hauler; they've borrowed a fifth-wheel trailer pulled by a Chevy truck. They don't have a sponsor on the hood of the car but the K Automotive banner is there. And it gives Brian satisfaction knowing he has ownership in the car built in Whitney's backyard garage.

With little resources but a lot of knowledge, the group is making progress.

In 2007, Whitney and Brian qualified the car for four Nationwide races with an average finish of 19.2. He finished 10th at Memphis and 11th in Homestead.

And after another four starts with Whitney this season, Brian managed to finish higher than his brother the last time they raced against one another three weeks ago at O'Reilly Raceway Park. Brian was 15th while Brad finished 19th.

"That was an awesome feeling," Brian said. "After one of the restarts I went riding right up beside him. I was trying to pass him and my mom -- my spotter -- said, 'Don't be too aggressive with him. Be patient. Don't rough him up.' I just drove underneath him like he was standing still. I wasn't going to wreck him. It was just a fun chance to finally pass him."

Whitney said Brian "got the bad end of the deal" but he doesn't carry it around with him or use it as an excuse for why things worked out they way they did, nor does he harbor any ill will toward Brad.

Brian is proud of his brother's accomplishments.

"It's just that I'm paying to race and he's getting paid to race," Brian said. "He's in the best deal out there with JR Motorsports, but people need to remember that he struggled at one point just like I am now."

For Brian, his long-term goal is to work toward team ownership, perhaps like Robby Gordon or a soon-to-be Tony Stewart -- a driver/team owner finding success on the track.

If Brian is able to qualify for Saturday's race at Michigan, Bob said watching the two boys on the track should make for interesting dinner conversation on Sunday.

"We laugh because mom has to work real hard when they are both on the track," Bob said. "She has to look out for Brian but she wants to see how Brad is running too. We cheer for both boys the best way we know how."