They say the best way to judge a young driver's talent is to put him in competitive equipment and drop the green flag.

Brad Keselowski had one top-10 finish in 41 starts prior to the June 30 O'Reilly 200. That obviously was not indicative of the 23-year-old Michigan driver's abilities.

Keselowski, a late-week replacement in the No. 9 Team ASE Toyota for the suspended Ted Musgrave, won his first Bud Pole with a near-record lap of 119.771 mph around the .75-mile speedway.

He proceeded to lead the race four times for a combined 62 laps and came within nine laps of joining his father, Bob Keselowski, as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck winner.

Brad Keselowski, No. 9 Team ASE Toyota Tundra and Travis Kvapil in the No. 6 K&N Filters Ford work their way around lapped vehicles at Memphis. (VPS Motorimages Photo)

Unfortunately for Keselowski, the Cinderella story ended short of Victory Lane. A Turn 4 tangle with O'Reilly 200 winner Travis Kvapil (No. 6 K&N Engineering Ford) dropped Keselowski to 16th - a finish hardly indicative of the race he ran.

Where does Keselowski go from here?

He obviously hopes what amounted to a high-profile audition will lead to a permanent seat in equally competitive equipment.

"Hopefully, I'll get more opportunities in trucks of this caliber," said Keselowski during his post-race interview. "We had a strong truck all night but it just didn't end how we wanted it.

"As disappointed as I am about the finish, this is certainly the best run I've had. There comes a point when that's all I care about. I just want to run well, lead some laps and that's what we did tonight."

He added: "We earned every bit of it and that was really cool."