Brad Keselowski ends winless streak with late pass at Darlington Raceway

The streak is over for Brad Keselowski.

The RFK Racing driver ended his 110-race winless streak to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. It was his first win since Talladega on April 25, 2021.

It’s also given Ford its first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

“We were all just racing our guts out,” Keselowski said. “I mean, there was nothing left on the table for any of us.”

Keselowski, who started on the front row, led a season-high 37 laps, but it looked like his day may have been over when he was racing side-by-side with Tyler Reddick. The two bumped, and Chris Buescher, Keselowski’s teammate, passed them with 29 laps left.

But Reddick and Buescher raced side-by-side and collided with Reddick running Buescher into the wall. That gave Keselowski the opportunity to take the lead with nine laps left.

After the race, Reddick and Buescher exchanged words on pit road. Reddick took the blame for the incident.

“We got wrecked,” Buescher said afterward. “That one’s clear as day.”

It was the second straight week of heartbreak for Buescher, who finished second last week to Kyle Larson by 0.001 seconds in the closest finish in NASCAR history. Buescher finished 30th and Reddick 32nd.

Ty Gibbs was second, Josh Berry third, Denny Hamlin fourth and Chase Briscoe fifth.

Here’s a look at the race’s biggest moments as they unfolded:

Lap 293: Brad Keselowski does it! Keselowski wins the Goodyear 400 to snap a 110-race winless streak.

Lap 284: Brad Keselowski takes advantage when top-two cars Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick get into each other racing for the lead. Keselowski takes the lead as Buescher and Reddick have tires that go down.

Lap 265: Kyle Larson has been evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Lap 264: Chris Buescher passes both of them! Buescher gets to the bottom and takes the race lead over Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski!

Lap 261: And here comes Chris Buescher from third! The No. 17 RFK Racing Ford surges ahead and is trying to push his teammate.

Lap 260: Green again! Tyler Reddick jumps out in front of Brad Keselowski.

Lap 255: This is a big caution coming with under 40 laps left from Kyle Larson, who won Stage 1 and has had one of the fastest cars today. Felt like we could have been headed for a green-flag run the rest of the way, especially after what seemed like the final pit cycle, and cars were running more single-file with some space in between.

Larson is done for the day.

Lap 253: Kyle Larson brings out the caution when left rear tire of his car goes down. He was running sixth. It is the sixth caution of the race.

Lap 243: Brad Keselowski resumes the lead after all cars cycle through pit stops.

Lap 238: William Byron takes over the lead after Brad Keselowski pits.

Lap 236: Kyle Larson hits the wall and has damage on the right side and is going to pit now after the incident. Ty Gibbs and Joey Logano also hit the wall as tire wear becoming an issue during the run.

Lap 232: Green flag stops in the final stage have begun. Some drivers will are opting for two-planned stops in the final stage while those near the top of the field are going with one.

Lap 226: Brad Keselowski takes the lead for the second time, passing Tyler Reddick. Kyle Larson up to third, William Byron fourth and Joey Logano. Keselowski has led more laps today they has all season and has a 110-race winless streak.

Lap 186: That marks Reddick’s second stage win of the season.

Drivers earning playoff points for finishing Stage 2 in the Top 10: Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain.

Stage 2

Lap 185: Tyler Reddick takes the green-and-white checkered flag for the second time this season!

Lap 178: Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski, who started on the front row, have worked their way back to the front of the pack. Ty Gibbs runs third, and Joey Logano is up to fourth. Seven laps to go in the stage.

Lap 174: Zane Smith has been evaluated and released from the infield care center. Ryan Blaney is also out of the race.

Lap 170: Green again!

Lap 166: Tyler Reddick narrowly won the race off pit road under caution.

Lap 164: Another caution! Zane Smith spins from 33rd.

Lap 163: Ryan Blaney has been evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Lap 129: And some trouble on the restart! Ryan Blaney got the worst of it. The 12 went three-wide with the cars of Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron, and Byron got loose. Truex got into Blaney, they both hit the outside wall, and Blaney is out of the race.

Lap 129: Green for the restart! Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski lead.

Lap 124: After pit stops under the caution caused by Nemechek, Tyler Reddick maintains the race lead.

Lap 121: Caution! John Hunter Nemechek spins from 17th after exiting Turn 4.

Lap 104: Kyle Busch, from 24th, gets into the wall on Turn 2. We stay green.

Lap 98: Green for Stage 2! Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski lead us back to green.

Lap 95: Tyler Reddick wins the race off pit road following the stage to regain the lead. Kyle Larson drops back to fourth. Brad Keselowski is second and Ty Gibbs is fourth.

Lap 93: That’s already the seventh stage win for Kyle Larson this season. No other driver has won more than three.

Your points-getters as Larson held off Ty Gibbs in Stage 1: Larson, Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Todd Gilliland, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Bubba Wallace.

Stage 1

Lap 90: Kyle Larson wins first stage of the race, his seventh stage win of the year. The top five behind Larson were Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 79: Kyle Larson takes over the lead for the first time today, passing Ty Gibbs.

Lap 45: After all drivers go through green-flag pit stops, Ty Gibbs takes over the lead. It’s the first time he has led at Darlington. Last year’s winner William Byron is second and Kyle Larson is third.

Lap 38: First pit stops of the day are happening. Leader Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski pit at the same time. Bubba Wallace takes over the lead when the leaders pit. Wallace has yet to visit pit road.

Lap 13: It’s been all Tyler Reddick so far leading the first 13 laps. Brad Keselowski is second.

3:14 p.m.: We are under way at Darlington as Tyler Reddick leads the field to green flag.

3:04 p.m.: Ray Evernham gives the command and engines are fired.

2:32 p.m.: There several former NASCAR greats and hall of famers in attendance at Darlington today. South Carolina starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers also is at the track. Sellers is from nearby Florence and played at South Florence High School.

2:20 p.m.: Driver introductions are coming up at 2:25 p.m. Dana Byron, the mother of William, will give today’s invocation at 2:54 p.m. The national anthem will be performed at 2:55 p.m. NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham, the crew chief of Jeff Gordon, will give command to start the engines at 3:02 p.m., before Jeff Burton waves the green flag to commence the race at 3:12 p.m.

2 p.m.: Happy Race Day! The NASCAR Cup Series is celebrating Throwback Weekend at Darlington for the 10th straight year.

Who’s the favorite in the Goodyear 400?

Kyle Larson has the best odds to win Sunday’s race — at +400 on both DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook — followed by Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron.

The Observer’s Shane Connuck is picking Brad Keselowski to finally bring a Ford Mustang Dark Horse to victory lane. It’s a matter of time before one of them wins. And after Chris Buescher came within 0.001 seconds of the checkered flag, it’s going to have to be a veteran. Defending series champion Ryan Blaney has had strong runs — famously coming that close as well, at Atlanta — but here on throwback weekend, it’s going to be Brad’s day. Keselowski qualified on the front row, and it’s time the 2018 Southern 500 winner gets his first checkered flag in two years.

The State’s Lou Bezjak is going with Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is off to one of the best starts of his career and always runs well at the Lady in Black with 16 top-10 finishes, including four wins, in 23 starts. If Hamlin doesn’t get it done, give me Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, the defending race champion.

How to watch and stream the NASCAR race at Darlington

Race: Goodyear 400

Place: Darlington Raceway

Track Length: 1.366-mile asphalt oval

Date: Sunday, May 12

Time: 3 p.m. ET

Purse: $8,090,969

TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET

Streaming: FOX Sports

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 400.2 miles (293 laps)

Stages: Stage 1 ends on Lap 90; Stage 2 ends on Lap 185; and the Final Stage ends on Lap 293.

Starting lineup for the Goodyear 400