Ben Keating: Texas Dealer, Viper Champion and Three-Time Le Mans Class Winner

Ben Keating combines a career in endurance racing with a large Texas car dealership business. He began racing in 2007 and has since won Viper titles, IMSA and WEC championships and three Le Mans class victories, while also contributing to the Force 1 V10 supercar.

Who is Ben Keating and how did his racing begin?

Benjamin Edward Keating was born on 18 August 1971. He grew up around cars, washing and parking vehicles at his father's Ford dealership, which gave him an inside look at how dealerships worked. He later took an engineering degree at Texas A&M University.

Racing came later, in 2007, when his wife gifted him a weekend on a track driving course at Christmas. He first raced a 2000 Dodge Viper GTS in the Viper Racing League, which had started as track days for Viper enthusiasts.

His first race in the league ended in a DNF at Sebring International Raceway. Rather than stop there, he ran the full 2007 season and kept building on it.

A Christmas track day turned into Viper titles, two IMSA crowns and a World Endurance Championship, with three Le Mans class wins along the way.

How did Keating build his dealership group?

After graduating in 1995 Keating worked the sales floor at Covert Ford in Austin, Texas. That early sales experience shaped the rest of his business. He then became Used Car Sales Manager at Tomball Ford, which his father owned, and later became a minority owner there himself.

He bought Port Lavaca Ford in 2002, followed by Port Lavaca Dodge that year and Port Lavaca Chevrolet in 2004. At every location the store's general manager also holds a minority stake.

As of 2024 Keating owned 30 dealerships with about $3 billion in annual revenue, selling over 50,000 cars a year. In 2023 the Keating Auto Group placed first among privately held Texas auto groups and ninth among US privately held dealership groups.

Automotive News ranked the group 15th largest in the nation, and in 2024 it earned a nomination for a dealer award from Time magazine.

How did Keating's Viper career develop from 2007 to 2012?

Keating began racing in 2007 in the Viper Racing League and won the VRL National Championship in 2008. He then took the NARRA US GT title in 2009 and repeated it in 2010, before winning the Dodge Viper Cup national championship in 2011 and again in 2012.

He ran the full 2007 VRL season, and after the 2008 season the league reorganised into the North American Road Racing Association. The 2009 title came in a Viper Competition Coupe, and he repeated that feat in 2010.

In 2010 he also joined the Dodge SRT-backed Viper Cup, finishing second in the first series with victories at Virginia International Raceway and Pocono. He finished on 501 points, 106 behind the leader.

The 2011 Viper Cup brought four wins, and he went into the final race with a 58-point lead before a late collision dropped him to 15th. He still claimed the national championship by 20 points.

In 2012 he dominated the series, winning six races, including both races at Road Atlanta and both at Road America, and he retained the national title.

What did Keating achieve in the Rolex 24 and American Le Mans Series from 2011 to 2013?

Keating made his Rolex 24 debut at Daytona in 2011, finishing 13th in class and 27th overall. In 2013 he entered the American Le Mans Series in its final season, finishing eighth in the GTC class standings. Those early results set up his full ALMS campaign.

In 2011 he raced for The Racer's Group in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, with Farnbacher, George and Luhr, completing 612 laps.

The 2012 season included the North American Endurance Championship, with three races including the Rolex 24 and the Six Hours of The Glen. At Daytona he also took a stint in the No. 68 Porsche GT3 Cup run by The Racer's Group.

In 2013 he returned to Daytona, placing 20th in class and 31st overall after 622 laps.

In the ALMS he finished fifth in GTC at the 12 Hours of Sebring, sharing a car with Faulkner and Stanton. On 21 September 2013 the pair won at COTA in Austin, Texas. Keating drove the first 70 minutes in front of friends and family from around Texas, and Faulkner brought the car home with 12.94 seconds in hand.

Keating and Faulkner added a second win at Virginia International Raceway. Those late-season results gave Keating 40 of his 84 points and eighth in GTC out of 46 drivers.

How did Keating's Riley and Viper years run from 2014 to 2016?

In 2014 Keating raced a Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship and finished 14th in the driver standings. In 2015 he won at Daytona, and in 2016 he finished third in GTD at the Rolex 24 in the No. 93 Viper.

In 2014 he shared the No. 33 Viper with the Bleekemolen brothers, Jeroen and Sebastiaan, and French driver Emmanuel Collard joined them at the opening Daytona race, where they finished 19th in class.

Top-five finishes followed at the Brickyard Grand Prix, third, and the Road America 500, fourth. A home-state victory at the Circuit of the Americas gave him a second win of the season.

In 2015 the first victory of his season came at Daytona in the No. 93 Viper, with Farnbacher, Wittmer and Al Carter. He then won in a class race at Road America with Bleekemolen, and he came back from behind to win at COTA.

The team entered the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans in a No. 53 Dodge Viper GTS-R, with Marc Miller joining Keating and Bleekemolen. The car retired at 13:45 after 304 laps, when gearbox problems could not be fixed.

Late in the 2016 Rolex 24 the No. 93 climbed three places to finish third in GTD, while the No. 33 team recovered from a Saturday night accident to finish tenth.

Keating won at Detroit that year, and then took another Road America win with Bleekemolen. At the season-ending Petit Le Mans they started from pole and won, the final GTD race for a Viper.

At Le Mans in 2016 he moved up to LMP2, sharing an open-top Nissan Oreca 03 with Bleekemolen and Marc Goossens. He finished 15th in class despite a long run of problems.

How did Keating's Mercedes, Ford and GTD years unfold in 2017 to 2019?

In 2017 Keating raced a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Riley Motorsports in the GTD class, a naturally aspirated 6.3-litre V8 based on the road cars. He competed in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship that season, and the Riley partnership ran through the year.

In 2018 he collected his second straight Michelin Endurance Cup in GTD. He also won a GTD race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and finished third in the GTD championship.

The 2019 season brought a third straight Michelin Endurance Cup and a GTD win at Virginia International Raceway. At Le Mans that year his team placed third, but it was later disqualified over a fuel cell capacity problem. It was the first privately entered Ford GT at Le Mans.

How did Keating win the 2021 IMSA LMP2 championship?

In 2021 Keating, Jensen and Huffaker took the IMSA crown and the Michelin North American Endurance Cup in LMP2. The team's car wore the classic WYNN's livery, and Keating's wins included Sebring and Laguna Seca. The team's season was built around pole positions and podiums.

At Daytona he started on pole and finished seventh in the Rolex 24. At Sebring he started second and won, and after a rear-of-grid start at Watkins Glen he recovered to second.

The Glen 240 went to them from pole. Road America brought a third place from pole, and Laguna Seca a win. At Petit Le Mans they crossed the line first, yet penalties dropped them to second.

Keating also raced for Corvette Racing in the WEC that year, in a C8.R in the GT-Am class. The Corvette finished second in the championship after a second place at Le Mans.

What did Keating's 2022 season bring?

In 2022 Keating was named WEC Gentleman Driver of the Year, and he won his class at Le Mans alongside Marco Sorensen and Henrique Chaves. He also took the LMGTE Am drivers' title, the first American class title since WEC returned in 2012.

He drove for TF Motorsports in an Aston Martin, and his season opened with pole and second at the Sebring 1000 miles, won Watkins Glen from pole, and took the Michelin North American Endurance Cup.

He also won the 6 Hours of Fuji, and after the 8 Hours of Bahrain he had the championship.

What did the 2023 WEC title mean for Keating?

In 2023 Keating raced a Corvette C8.R for Corvette Racing with Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone. He won at the Sebring 1000 miles, the 6 Hours of Portimao and Le Mans, and clinched the 2023 World Championship after the 6 Hours of Monza.

In IMSA that season he started on pole for the Rolex 24 and finished seventh, and he won at Road America after podiums at Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen.

The Corvette's class win at Le Mans in 2023 was one of three class victories he has taken there.

How many Le Mans class wins has Keating taken?

Keating has three class wins at Le Mans: a 2022 LMGTE Am result in an Aston Martin for TF Sport, a 2023 LMGTE Am result for Corvette Racing in the C8.R, and a 2026 LMGT3 victory with TF Sport in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Those results span two manufacturers and two different class formats.

What role did Keating play in VLF Automotive's Force 1?

Keating helped design the active suspension for the Force 1 V10, drawing on a decade of racing Vipers. His input shaped the car's on-track and on-road handling. The first run of 50 cars was sold entirely through his Viper Exchange dealership.

VLF Automotive is a joint venture linking designer Henrik Fisker, ex-GM executive Bob Lutz and manufacturer Gilbert Villarreal. It began as VL Automotive in 2012 and unveiled the VL Destino in 2013, a luxury car based on Fisker's Karma.

Keating and Fisker met in 2015 and quickly formed a partnership, combining Fisker's designs with Keating's knowledge of performance cars, especially the Dodge Viper.

Career highlights at a glance