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Can Brad Keselowski Fend Off His RFK Racing Pupil for the Daytona 500 Title?

Published 02/11/2024, 12:36 AM EST

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Brad Keselowski traded his driver’s cap for a dual role as a driver-owner with the RFK Racing squad two years ago. He figured it was high time to steer into the team owner’s lane, and he’s been acing it. Last season, we caught a good look at Keselowski in his owner’s hat, often stepping aside to let his racer, Chris Buescher, take the spotlight, leading Buescher to notch up three wins in the final five showdowns of the regular season, including a big finish at Daytona.

Now the question on everyone’s mind is: Will Brad Keselowski stick to this playbook for the upcoming season? With Daytona’s victory lane still unchecked on his list, will 2024 be the year Keselowski guns for the glory at Daytona himself, or will he once again play winger to Daytona’s defending victor, Chris Buescher?

Could 2024 be the year Brad Keselowski breaks his Daytona duck?

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So, Team Chevy has been racking up wins with their Next-Gen cars. But that does not mean one can count out the Ford Mustang just yet, especially on the wide-open runs of Daytona. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Fords, with Chris Buescher scoring a major win last season, have been flexing some serious muscle. And well, that makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Could this be Keselowski’s year to shine at Daytona?

Not to mention, despite having a trophy room with 35 Cup Series wins, Brad Keselowski’s still chasing that elusive Daytona victory. Surely, leading his team to the championship is a big deal for him as an owner, but imagine snagging a Daytona 500 win. That’d be the cherry on top.

Watch This Story: Brad Keselowski shares his emotion on being excluded from Netflix’s NASCAR: Full Speed 

Last year, Keselowski and his driver, Chris Buescher, really showed what RFK’s got, taking the top two spots at the Coke Zero Sugar 400. They’ve been tearing up the track at Daytona, leading more laps than anyone else recently. Yet, that Daytona 500 win is still just beyond Keselowski’s reach. If Keselowski decides to go all out for the win at Daytona, who knows? He could be the one taking the checkered flag. But if he sticks to playing the team owner role, he might just set Buescher up for another win.

Keselowski knows all too well how big a deal a Daytona win is. He’s been pretty vocal about what it’d mean to conquer Daytona, highlighting just how iconic that race really is.

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RFK co-owner gives his take on how people won a Daytona race

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Nabbing a Daytona 500 victory is a tall order, a fact underscored by the number of NASCAR aces like Brad Keselowski, who’s clinched a Cup title but never the Daytona crown.

Brad Keselowski recently mused, “The Daytona 500 feels like a race that you don’t win; you get chosen to win. All you can really do is put yourself in a position and hope you’re chosen. You can go back and watch the end of races and people win this race, and you kind of scratch your head and go, ‘How did they win this race?’ There wasn’t a move that won it for them. It just fell in their lap, and that part gets super frustrating.”

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He shared his brush with the Daytona dream, positioning himself time and again at the cusp of the Great American Race’s glory, only to watch it unravel, almost as if destiny hadn’t marked him for victory.

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Written by:

Neha Dwivedi

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Neha Dwivedi is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As a journalist, she religiously believes in the power of research, which allows her readers to dive deep into her stories and experience the detailed nuances of the sport like never before. Being proficient with Core Sport and Live Event Coverage, she has written multiple copies on the top entities of Stock Car Racing, like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Tony Stewart.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta