For Brad Keselowski, Boys and Girls Club event has special meaning

RICHMOND, Va. — Aside from wearing brown dress shoes, Brad Keselowski fit right in with a crowd of green-shirted volunteers Saturday morning at a community outreach event for Xfinity Series sponsor Comcast.

Keselowski, scheduled to race Saturday night in the Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway, helped plant pink and white flowers at the Fairfield Court Boys and Girls Club alongside drivers Ty Dillon and Cale Conley.

As raindrops fell, the drivers dug holes with shovels, placed flowers into the dirt and helped spread mulch around their new landscaping.

The event, one of roughly 700 taking place nationwide as part of "Comcast Cares Day," had special meaning for Keselowski.

Why? Because 20 years ago, Keselowski was a member of a Boys and Girls Club in Troy, Mich.

"When my parents were away traveling, there wasn't really any place for me to stay for awhile," Keselowski said. "I lived with my grandma. And when you're 10, 11, 12 years old, that's a little too much even for your grandma. So during the day, I would go to the Boys and Girls Club."

Keselowski said he has vivid memories of those days, including the opportunity to use a computer for the first time – this was in the early 1990s – and playing games such as flag football and Capture the Flag.

Saturday morning's event, in which children joined the volunteers in several projects around the Boys and Girls Club, gave the 2012 NASCAR champion a moment to reflect.

"The thing about Boys and Girls Club is … you see kids you never saw before, so it was a chance to learn how to communicate and get outside your comfort zone," he said. "That's not a bad thing."

As for his gardening skills, Keselowski joked he should probably head back to RIR in time for Saturday night's race.

"I think I'll stick to race car driving," he said.