#15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE

Date of Birth: 17 January, 1983
Birthplace: Mildura, Vic
Resides: Melbourne, Vic
Nickname: Ricko
Personal: Girlfriend
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 72 kg

From Young Lion to one of the sport's youngest champions and its youngest-ever Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly was always on the fast track for success.

With six full V8 Supercar seasons under his belt, Kelly, at the ripe age of 26, is a seasoned veteran although still regarded by many as one of the "young guns" of the sport. Emulating the meteoric rise of his older brother, Todd, the Mildura-born ace was runner-up in the 2000 Formula Ford championship in his first full season of racing, going one better the following year in the Formula Holden championship with a dominant performance that earned him the coveted CAMS Gold Star Award.

Like his brother before him, Kelly was signed to Holden's Young Lions program and after joining Kmart Racing for the 2001 endurance races, completed his first full season in V8 Supercars in 2002 under the Young Lions banner, in the process winning the series Rookie Of The Year award.

Returning to Kmart Racing in 2003, he joined Greg Murphy for an emphatic victory in the Bathurst 1000, stamping himself, at the age of 20, as the youngest-ever winner of The Great Race.

Better was to come in 2004 as Kelly forged his first solo round victory in driving rain at Eastern Creek, and took pole position at Sandown before he and Murphy again teamed up to seal back-to-back Bathurst victories.

As Kmart Racing became the HSV Dealer Team in 2005, and Garth Tander joined to replace the departing Murphy, the team had a difficult time coming to terms with their VZ Commodores. Kelly's pole position at Clipsal 500 was a highlight in an otherwise forgettable first half of the season before showing glimpses of form in the season's latter stages.

2006 was a watershed year for both team and drivers, as Kelly and Tander swapped the championship lead until Tander hit a horror stretch in the enduro races, while Kelly and brother Todd teamed to finish runners-up in both enduros. The title race came down to Kelly and Ford rival Craig Lowndes in the season's final outing, a contentious touch between the two ensuring that Kelly's title will be talked about for years to come.

In 2007 Kelly was again a strong contender, with a round win at the Clipsal 500, but faded over the final rounds to finish fourth behind eventual champion, Tander. In 2008 he faced similar dramas with consistent mechanical failures and extensive personnel changes, yet despite the distractions Rick still managed to win the final ever race at Oran Park, coinciding with his final race under the Walkinshaw umbrella.

Debuting the Kelly Racing/Jack Daniel's Racing team with brother Todd in 2009 was a new phase in Rick Kelly's racing career. A challenging, yet highly successful year followed, with Rick and the team showing great promise from their very first event at the Clipsal 500. It wasn't long before Rick was battling for a podium which finally came at the second Phillip Island event in November.

2010 also saw Rick step onto the podium at the Sydney Telstra 500 in an action packed race which ultimately became the Championship decider at the final round of the Championship. In a year which saw Rick and brother Todd race in separate cars at the endurance events there was plenty of consistency from Rick who managed a top 8 finish in the Championship standings.

Rick will hit the 2011 Championship season in his brand new number 15 Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore with his eyes firmly set on the top of the leader board.

V8 Supercar Championship Series Statistics
Debut 2001 Queensland 500, Kmart Commodore VX
Teams 2001 Kmart Racing
2002 Holden Young Lions
2003-2008 Kmart Racing/Toll HSV Dealer Team
2009 - Present Jack Daniel's Racing/Kelly Racing

Starts 110
Event Wins 5
Race Wins 10
Podiums 27
Poles 5
Top 10s 78

Championship Results
2001 Kmart Racing/Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore VX 47th
2002 Holden Young Lions Holden Commodore VX 16th
2003 Kmart Racing Holden Commodore VX/VY 8th
2004 Kmart Racing Holden Commodore VY 6th
2005 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VZ 8th
2006 Toll HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VZ 1st
2007 Toll HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE 4th
2008 HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE 7th
2009 HSV Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE 8th
2010 HSV Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE 8th

Bathurst Results
2001 #51 Kmart Commodore VX Nathan Pretty 19th (Pretty) 14th
2002 #02 Young Lions Commodore VX Nathan Pretty 6th 4th
2003 #51 Kmart Commodore VY Greg Murphy 1st (Murphy) 1st
2004 #15 Kmart Commodore VY Greg Murphy 4th (Murphy) 1st
2005 #16 HSV DT Commodore VZ Garth Tander 5th (Tander) 16th
2006 #15 Toll HSV DT Commodore VZ Todd Kelly 3rd 2nd
2007 #1 Toll HSV DT Commodore VE Garth Tander 3rd DNF
2008 #15 HSV DT Commodore VE Paul Radisich 4th 20th
2009 #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore VE Todd Kelly 8th
2010 #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE Owen Kelly 16th

Other career highlights
Winner, Bathurst 1000 - 2003 and 2004
Winner, Australian Drivers' Championship - 2006
Winner, Formula Holden Rookie of the Year - 2001
2nd, Australian Formula Ford Championship - 2000
2nd, Formula Ford Rookie of the Year - 2000
3rd, Betta Electrical Sandown 500 - 2003
Winner, V8 Supercar Rookie of the Year Award - 2002