OVER the past 15 years, the Keens Race Team have been regulars on the Western Australian speedway scene with the Keen brothers, Daniel and Michael, achieving success in the Wingless Sprints and more recently in the Sprintcar class.
After stepping into speedway competition in 2011, following stints in Dirt Karts, the Keen brothers burst onto the scene in the Wingless Sprint class, and over the next five years, Daniel, who stepped into Wingless Sprints first at the age of 17, clinched success in Western Australian and Northern Territory Titles (twice) and ran second in the 2012 Australian Title at Sydney Speedway (NSW). Not to be outdone, Daniel’s younger brother, Michael, joined his sibling two years later in Wingless Sprints, and his early success included winning a Northern Territory Title in his first season at the age of just 16, which created history by becoming Australia’s youngest ever speedway open wheel state title winner.
Following their successful period in Wingless Sprints, the Bunbury, Western Australia-based team made the transition into Sprintcar racing. It was where Daniel and Michael have dabbled in it across 410 and 360 Sprintcar categories, as well as their current class in the highly competitive Limited Sprintcars. Aside from their own racing activities, they have had numerous drivers steer their cars, including names such as Ryan Farrell and Ben Atkinson and then American rising talent Sheldon Haudenschild, a various major events, and the highlight during this period was when Farrell drove to an outstanding victory in the 2015 Australian 360 Sprintcar Championship at Darwin’s Northline Speedway in the Northern Territory.
In recent years, the Keen brothers and their family have wound back their Sprintcar racing program in both the 410 and 360 categories, which has seen Michael win the Western Australian 360 Sprintcar Title as well as the 360 Power Series point score during the 2015-16 season, and they are now focused on their Limited Sprintcar racing activities.
“The whole family has been really enjoying our time in the Limited Sprintcars, as it’s a very competitive category and there is a lot of camaraderie amongst everyone,” explained 27-year-old Michael Keen.
“Over the past few years, I’ve managed to pick up a number of big wins in the category, such as winning two Western Australian Titles (2016 and 2021), and the goal for this season is to try and win the WA State Title and WA Series double.”
Michael’s older brother, Daniel, hasn’t been competing too much in recent seasons, as he has jumped between Limited Sprintcar and Wingless Sprint competition, but he is aiming to get back into Limited Sprintcar competition in the not too distance future.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there in the Limited Sprintcars, but I’m just waiting on an engine to arrive, and then I’ll be back out there,” the 30-year-old said.
“Although I’m not as passionate about racing as I once was, I still enjoy going racing, especially up against my younger brother, and I’m planning to do as much racing as possible, but the main focus for the family is Michael’s racing, and I’m totally onboard with that.”
When it comes to the future, the Keen family are committed to competing in Limited Sprintcars, but they make no secret about their desire to get Michael a good shot with a solid 410 Sprintcar team.
“Michael has proven what a talent he is behind the wheel of a Sprintcar, as his results pretty much speak for themselves, and hopefully we can put something together for him in the not too distant future,” added Daniel Keen.
When it comes to the next outing for the Keens Race Team, Michael is going to be contesting the third round of the Western Australian Limited Sprintcar Series, which doubles as the King of Wings / Merv Woolford Memorial, at the Perth Motorplex this Saturday night (November 18), while Daniel is hoping to be back out on the track for the fourth Western Australian Limited Sprintcar Series round at Albany’s Attwell Park Speedway on December 2.
The Keens Race Team would like to thank their 2023-24 season supporters:
• Boyanup Cellars
• Keens Driver Training
• Higgs Built Race Engines
• D&R Machining
• Holly & Wick
• Hi-Tec Oils
• CB Graphix
To find out more about Keens Race Team, LIKE them on Facebook by searching Keens Race Team.
Photo: Peter Roebuck
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