The 2005 Bathurst winner took on a huge challenge in 2009 with his family-owned and run Kelly Racing squad and enters his fourth season straight as a driver with ownership responsibilities.
However, in a bid to try and assist Kelly in his focus on the matter of driving, a re-organisation of the team last season was undertaken.
The elder of the Kelly brothers spent 10 years associated with TWR/Walkinshaw Racing through his involvement in the Young Lions, Kmart and HRT squads before moving in 2008 to Larry Perkins’ Jack Daniel’s team.
The bourbon giant followed he and brother Rick when they established Kelly Racing, which is based in Braeside in the south-east suburbs of Melbourne.
Kelly began his career in Formula Ford against Garth Tander and Marcos Ambrose and was one of the original four Holden Young Lions in 1997. He finished runner-up to now IndyCar star Scott Dixon in the Formula Holden title in 1998.
Kelly made his V8 Supercars Championship debut in 1999 and initially ran a part-time program as a Young Lions before being elevated to the Kmart squad in 2001 full-time alongside Greg Murphy.
Kelly won his first round at a wet Sandown in 2001 before moving onto the Holden Racing Team in 2003 to partner Mark Skaife.
A Sandown 500 winner (2003) and Bathurst 1000 champion (2005), Kelly is still hunting championship success and will team up again with brother Rick in their family-owned team for the fourth straight season.
With three straight years of finishing 18th in the V8 Supercars Championship, there’s no doubt a return to the top 10 is on the agenda for the Mildura-born racer in 2012.
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