The story behind Brad Keselowski’s ECU-themed NASCAR in Sunday’s All-Star race

by | May 17, 2025

On Friday, Brad Keselowski secured the pole position for Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He did so driving a Ford with a paint theme inspired by East Carolina University.

Keselowski qualified with a time of 87.363 seconds (77.264 mph). He also qualified for the pole in one of Saturday’s two heat races, which will help determine the rest of the lineup for Sunday’s race. Keselowski will still start first on Sunday, regardless of how he does on Saturday.

Keslowski has struggled this season, currently sitting 33rd in points. However, he’ll look sharp and get center attention from winning the pole in his purple and gold ECU-themed car that’s been dubbed “The Pirate Ship.”

He’s driving the ECU-themed vehicle because Solomon Plumbing, the main sponsor for this car, has employees who are graduates of ECU, along with Danny Allor III. His father, Danny Allor II, was the founder of the company. He died a couple of weeks back, and he desired to have such a paint scheme for the All-Star Race.

Check out Pirate Radio

Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube

Top Headlines

PRL Monday: Fallout from ECU-UTSA, march to Final Four and more

A new sports week is here and there’s a lot to talk about on today’s show. We’ll have Brandon Golden on to discuss ECU baseball and its weekend series with UTSA. We'll also talk about where the team is so far and the week ahead. We'll also discuss the men's basketball...

Pirates fall short in extra innings against UTSA

The ECU baseball team dropped a 9-8 decision to UTSA on Sunday to drop the American Conference series, its first of the season. Check out Pirate Radio Download our mobile app now! Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Podcasts |...

Pirates fall to UTSA to split series, Game 3 on Sunday

UTSA eened the series with ECU with a 6-1 victory on Saturday. The two teams will finish out the series on Sunday. Check out Pirate Radio Download our mobile app now! Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify =====...

ECU’s Norby throws immaculate inning in shutout against UTSA

ECU's Ethan Norby had an immaculate inning, throwing nine pitches that resulted in strikes in Friday's win over UTSA. Ethan Norby with the immaculate inning 🤟🏼🏴‍☠️ https://t.co/oZEAEMhrXA pic.twitter.com/Fx99YwM0qc — ECU Baseball (@ECUBaseball) March 28, 2026 Check...

Photos: Pirate Radio Luncheon with Jay Glazer

We've added photo galleries of photos taken during Jay Glazer's appearance at the Pirate Radio Luncheon on March 23, 2026. Click here to see photos from Glazer's appearance at the ECU-UAB game on March 22, which also included him throwing out the first pitch. Click...

Duke rallies in ninth inning to beat ECU

Duke rallied for five runs in the final three innings, including a ninth-inning walk-off home run to beat ECU, 9-8 on Tuesday. Check out Pirate Radio Download our mobile app now! Website | Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Podcasts |...

PRL Wednesday: Baseball, baseball and more baseball

The start of the Major League Baseball season is here, so there’s even more baseball to discuss on Wednesday's show. We’ll discuss the fallout from Tuesday’s loss by ECU to Duke. We’ll continue the baseball conversation with Mark Brown, who will preview the upcoming...

The Brandon Golden Show: ECU baseball coach Cliff Godwin

The latest edition of "The Brandon Golden Show" features one of his former co-workers. ECU baseball coach Cliff Godwin joins the show to catch up and to talk about the Pirates. They'll cover the season's happenings so far, American Conference play and what lies ahead...