'We were right where we needed to be': Brad Keselowski still seeking first win with RFK Racing
HAMPTON, Ga. — For a moment, Brad Keselowski was in a position to scoop up that elusive first win at RFK Racing.
Of course, his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series came 14 years ago, when the then-25-year-old found victory at Talladega Superspeedway. Instead, the now-39-year-old looked to find his first triumph as driver-owner of RFK Racing. And that moment almost came to be Sunday evening during the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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However, a dose of pit strategy, fast drivers behind him and a weather-shortened bout at the superspeedway saw the No. 6 RFK Ford driver finish sixth behind the likes of Daniel Suárez, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell, all winless drivers looking to find a win and clinch a playoff spot similarly to Keselowski.
“It was a good day,” Keselowski said. “We were right where we needed to be but didn’t get the breaks we needed. I was really happy with our performance and quality of the cars we had. My teammate, Chris Buescher, did a good job but just didn’t catch the breaks we needed at the end.”
After starting the race in 11th, Keselowski, in conjunction with his teammate Buescher, gradually worked their way up the field, despite finishing outside the top 10 at the end of Stage 1. A Lap 137 pass eventually saw Keselowski overtake another 2023 winless driver in Austin Cindric for the lead, with Buescher following not far behind. The pair eventually began running 1-2 — with Keselowski winning Stage 2 — despite cautions and the threat of weather spicing up pit strategies.
As weather inched closer, the No. 6 team, headed by crew chief Matt McCall, opted for fuel instead of staying out. Keselowski did not envy the circumstances McCall had to choose between. The 260-lap race was eventually called on Lap 185, and while Keselowski led 19 laps, he did not lead the final one en route to the early-race finish.
“No, we had 12-14 laps left of fuel, and that was not enough, and we ended up running 15 laps or so,” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call, we just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
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Instead, William Byron found Victory Lane for the fourth time this year, while Keselowski had to settle with a sixth-place finish, his second top-10 finish at Atlanta this season after finishing runner-up in March and best since finishing fourth at Darlington Raceway in May. The 2012 Cup Series champion remains above the 16-driver playoff cutline, sitting 13th in the latest playoff standings 100 points to the good with seven races remaining in the regular season.
While the finish certainly brings certain aspects of optimism for the team, that first win will have to wait just a bit longer. The Cup Series will next race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Crayon 301 on July 16 (3 p.m. ET, USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
Whether it be from circumstances, weather or other factors in between, Keselowski will have to chalk up the result and instead look onward.
“It’s just part of the deal,” Keselowski said. “You win races you shouldn’t, and you lose ones you probably should win, and you have to take the punches as they come.”
