Written by Sean McKean, Edited by Tarun Suresh
In the team’s short history, Brad Keselowski Racing produced many drivers who have become staples in the Cup Series field today, such as Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Ross Chastain. It also produced a few names that fell by the wayside in the racing world during the team’s decade-long tenure.
One driver this especially applies to is Austin Theriault, who – after a crash that nearly cost his life in 2015 – never saw the success he should have.
Beginnings
The Maine native started his racing career at 13 years old at his local short tracks in 2007. As he progressed up the ranks, Theriault caught the eye of a few late-model owners. By 2009, he had qualified for multiple Canadian-American regional races.
From 2010 to 2012, Theriault raced in the ACT Late Model Tour. Here, he had a steady progression year by year. From barely cracking the top five in 2010 to finishing no worse than ninth all year in 2012, he subsequently became a Brad Keselowski Racing development driver in 2012.
In 2013, he competed in the IWK 250 against car owner Brad Keselowski. Here, he finished fifth – only two spots behind Keselowski. Through this race, Theriault was granted an opportunity to make his Nationwide and ARCA Series’ debuts in 2014.
His Nationwide debut was unmemorable, finishing fifteenth overall. But, in his maiden ARCA start, he took his first win at Michigan. Following this race, Brad Keselowski announced that Theriault would partake in a partial schedule for the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – piloting the No. 29.
A severe crash
By late September of 2015, Theriault had made seven starts in the Truck Series – finishing top-ten on four occasions. Qualifying went as well as he would hope, slotting in ahead of his highly regarded teammate Tyler Reddick.
Theriault started seventh, but by Lap 10, teammate Reddick had made his way through and into the top five.
However, an issue befell Reddick’s truck whilst running the high-line in Turn 4. Subsequently, he darted to the inside in an attempt to make pit road.
Theriault behind did not know of Reddick’s issue and tried to pass on the inside. With Reddick trying to get to the inside himself, he hooked his teammate’s truck on the right side – sending him head-on into the concrete front-stretch wall.
The crash crunched the entire front section of the car inward – resulting in a piece of transmission penetrating the cockpit and hitting Theriault’s right elbow.
With the impact of a concrete wall, his helmet hit the steering wheel, cracking his helmet nearly open. Furthermore, the HANS device also broke in the crash.
Although he needed help to escape the wreckage, Theriault laid in good spirits as he was flown to a local hospital.
That night, he required stitches on his elbow for the transmission wound. A CT scan of his back also showed a ten-percent compression fracture of his lower back. He was released from the hospital the next day.
In the immediate aftermath, officials at Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced plans to make the concrete wall on the front-stretch a SAFER barrier instead. This also came six months after a crash in the same spot by Erik Jones in an Xfinity race back in March – albeit, a comparatively lighter crash.
Post-injury
Before 2015 ended, Theriault was cleared to race his remaining planned race at Homestead, mustering a 12th-placed result.
He planned to continue with them on a part-time schedule in 2016, but after a DNQ in his second planned entry, he was let go by BKR. Theriault finished out the year racing sporadically across two series: Rick Ware Racing in Xfinity and Young’s Motorsports in Trucks. This saw only one top 20.
As 2017 loomed near, it seemed that the Maine native would remain rideless for 2017; however, a lifeline was thrown when Ken Schrader offered the 23-year-old a ride for his ARCA Menards Series team.
A victory in the season-opener at Daytona proved to be the theme for the rest of the year. With six more wins to follow, Theriault took overall glory and the ARCA championship. He bested drivers such as Dalton Sargeant and Zane Smith.
However, despite taking the title in one of the most competitive lower-tier series, Theriault was left with no ride for 2018. It wouldn’t be until 2019 when he got sporadic starts in the Cup Series with Rick Ware Racing. These, though, did not bode success.
Shortly thereafter, Theriault decided to call it quits on racing on the NASCAR flights.
Nowadays, he owns a driver development business in Maine. He is also now a state representative for his home state as a Republican. He ran for the House seat in 2024 but lost the vote.
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