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Despite Brad Keselowski’s 101 Race Winless Streak, the Veteran Refuses to Push for Wins This Early

Published 03/04/2024, 8:56 PM EST

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Relentless, tenacious, and always fierce—those are the three words that sum up 2012 Cup Series champion, Brad Keselowski. However, his recent performances tell another story altogether, one that will make any ardent fan shed a tear. The Atlanta ‘Big One’ caught the veteran out of nowhere and a DNF extended his winless streak to three digits to 100, while his top-15 Las Vegas finish made it race number 101.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the 40-year-old remains unfazed by the fact that he hasn’t won a single race with his new team, which he partly owns, RFK Racing. In fact, Keselowski seems to look at it from a different perspective; unlike other drivers who’d be depressed by this winless drought, the veteran has his eyes on the bigger picture, refusing to give up.

Brad Keselowski goes 101 races without a W but remains keen on ending it all at once

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The #6 Ford Mustang driver, Keselowski, saw his winless streak reach 100 races a week ago at Atlanta and it increased to 101 after a 13th-place finish Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For someone who has a Cup Series title to his name and has won his fair share of Cup races – 35- hitting the 100-winless mark would seem to feel like another punch in the gut.

In fact, the RFK Racing owner has not won a single race in more than two years since his last victory at Talladega in 2021, back when he was driving for Team Penske. While he and his driver Chris Buescher punched the ticket to the playoff, going on till the round of 8 with spectacular back-to-back performances, Keselowski’s winless drought is one thing that reporters constantly poke him with.

But truth be told, Keselowski has developed that shell around him, making him impervious to them. In fact, the driver is not at all fazed by these numbers or stats; he is only concerned about his car’s speed, which he has plenty of. Before coming to Vegas, he reiterated his point in a recent conversation with Bob Pockrass, saying, “I want to win races, so points don’t really mean anything once you win. It’s not where I would want to be in points, but I’m in position to win races, and that’s going to pay off eventually.”

With the season just starting and plenty of races remaining in the regular season—23 races to be exact, Keselowski said this is not the time to roll the dice and take chances for a victory to make the playoffs. He said, “We’re way too early for that. We just need to do what we can do and go out there and win races and be competitive.”

“Good at every track”—Keselowski rests his hope on the Dark Horse Mustang as he is confident about the Ford

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Through three races, #17 driver Buescher is 23rd in points with 50 and Keselowski sits 28th with 40 points in total. While they aren’t the only NASCAR Playoff drivers from 2023 to have a shaky beginning to the season, the veteran and his driver have enough and more races to get the ball rolling before it’s too late.

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USA Today via Reuters

Unlike most Cup Series regulars, Keselowski has two responsibilities. While he pilots the #6 Ford, he also has a responsibility as a co-owner, ensuring the best for his team. Relaying his confidence in the new Ford Mustangs, he said, “The Ford car is going to be really, really good at every track,” Keselowski said. “The work that has been put in has been exceptional. The Fords were significantly behind last year with aerodynamics of the car and that pushed us to be better in other areas.”

Furthermore, the veteran remained optimistic even after a bad start, resting his hopes on the car, saying. “You fix aerodynamics with all the other strengths we’ve built over the last year, I think this is going to be a big year for us.”

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Written by:

Kishore R

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Kishore is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. He actively covers live events and does detailed race analyses, helping fans understand the very nitty gritties of the sport. Using the right mix of storytelling and game expertise, Kishore can take his readers on a journey to see how a particular race was for some of their most loved drivers, like Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott.
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Edited by:

Tushhita Barua