Patience paying off for Brad Keselowski as NASCAR driver, team owner
Brad Keselowski heard plenty of doubters when he decided to leave Penske Racing at the end of the 2021 season.
Keselowski was leaving a stable organization with which he had won 35 races and the 2012 Cup Series championship to join forces with Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group to form Keselowski Racing — better known as RFK. He has part ownership stake in the team, which had fallen on hard times over the years.
After his departure, Penske won back-to-back Series titles with Joey Logano in 2022 and Ryan Blaney in 2023. Austin Cindric, Keselowski’s replacement at Penske, won the 2022 Daytona 500 in his first race for the team.
Meanwhile, RFK has had its share of struggles during that time. Sure there was some success with teammate Chris Buescher, who made the playoffs last year with three victories.
Keselowski also made the playoffs last season but hadn’t won in over three years until his thrilling victory in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. The win clinches his spot in the postseason.
“I was OK if it failed. I had a lot of people that poked at me when Cindric won the 500. I had a lot of people poking at me, oh, that could have been you in that car. Same thing when Joey and Blaney won the championship last year and the year before, and they’re right. But I’m not upset about that,” Keselowski said. “I’m happy for those guys. Like I said, I still have meaningful relationships with Joey and with Blaney, and I’m happy to see them be successful.
“But I’m in a different place. I’ve learned so much over the last three years about people and culture and organizations and the technical aspects of what it takes to build a race team that can win, and that’s the action I crave, always craved, is being a part of that journey. I have that. That makes winning so much more special and more impactful to me personally.”
It was obvious how special it was for Keselowski, who was joined in the post-race press conference by his two daughters. His on-track celebration included his usual grabbing of the American flag and doing his Polish Victory lap, made famous by Alan Kulwicki who celebrated by driving counterclockwise in celebration.
Keselowski became the first car owner/driver to win a race since Tony Stewart in 2016. It was his first victory since he won at Talladega in April of 2021.
Keselowski’s crew chief Matt McCall said the winless streak didn’t come up in conversation over during the past three years.
“We just talk about winning. It does us no good to talk about the losing streak,” McCall said. “You just got to talk about how you’re going to win. That’s what you talk about. Obviously it’s been a long time coming, but we feel like we’ve been getting a little closer and closer, so it feels good now.”
McCall joined Keselowski at RFK after Chip Ganassi Racing closed down after 2021. McCall’s addition was one of the many changes in the organization since Keselowski’s arrival.
Keselowski talked about pouring his heart into RFK and now is starting to reap the benefits. With a win under his belt, Keselowski hopes this could be the start of the turnaround he hoped for when he left Penske three years ago.
“It never comes as quick as you want it to,” Keselowski said. “It’s a tedious, painful process that takes a deep grind at all levels, whether that’s the driver level, the organizational level, the pit crew level. But that grind is worth it when you have moments like this.”
