Five years ago, Brad Keselowski didn’t just walk into Roush Fenway Racing and take a seat. He helped turn it into Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. That is why yesterday’s announcement that RFK Racing and Keselowski will split at the end of the 2026 NASCAR Cup season feels shocking. After helping build the organization in his own image, Keselowski is now walking away. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes he may not be doing it without a safety net.
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“I don’t believe Brad allows this to happen unless he had a plan B,” Dale Jr. said on the Dale Jr. Download. “Brad don’t seem like the kind of guy that doesn’t have a plan B ready. If he had a tiny tiny share, he could have been like, ‘All right, you guys, you know, we’re going to do what you guys want. I’m gonna keep racing and being a part of this team.’ If he had a very small stake…I don’t think Brad just jumps off the, you know, off the ledge without a safety net.”
Keselowski has never approached NASCAR as someone interested only in driving. When he left Team Penske after the 2021 season, he did so to pursue something bigger: becoming an owner while continuing his Cup career. He joined Roush Fenway Racing as a minority owner and driver. The organization was subsequently renamed Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing ahead of the 2022 season.
That move was hardly a leap into the unknown. Keselowski had already spent years thinking like an owner through Brad Keselowski Racing, his Truck Series operation that ran from 2008 through 2017. Even when BKR shut down, he made it clear that he was not finished with ownership and wanted a deeper role in the sport. That history makes Tuesday’s announcement particularly fascinating.
RFK confirmed that Keselowski will leave the No. 6 after 2026 and that the two sides will work through the future of his existing ownership stake. The organization is also beginning a search for a new head of competition, a role Keselowski previously held. Keselowski, meanwhile, made one thing very clear: he is not retiring.
He has also experienced a major organizational change before. When Keselowski left Penske, he was walking away from one of NASCAR’s premier teams after 12 seasons and 34 Cup victories. But he already knew what he wanted to build next.
His move to Roush Fenway gave him an ownership stake, a leadership position, and the opportunity to reshape an organization that had fallen well behind the sport’s leading teams.
This time, however, the destination is far less obvious. And that is what makes Dale Jr.’s “plan B” theory so intriguing. Keselowski’s departure comes only days after his crew chief Jeremy Bullins also left RFK, with Mike Skarbowski taking over the No. 6 for the remainder of 2026. Bullins had reunited with Keselowski after their Penske days, making the timing another significant change around the veteran driver.
The garage, meanwhile, immediately started wondering what comes next. Denny Hamlin summed up the surprise with a short social-media reaction.
“RF not O-K. 😳” his reaction read.
The first potential replacement name has already emerged. The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi reported on SiriusXM that John Hunter Nemechek has been discussed as a possible candidate for the No. 6 in 2027. Nemechek is already leaving Legacy Motor Club after 2026, and his availability makes the connection particularly interesting.
There is also a financial element to the possibility. Bianchi reported that Nemechek’s funding could help offset the cost of RFK operating a third car, although no deal has been announced. RFK has said it remains committed to running three Cup cars in 2027 and is still pursuing a third charter.
But while RFK starts figuring out life without Keselowski, Dale Jr. is looking in the opposite direction. He is wondering what Keselowski has already figured out.
Because the man who once left Penske to build something of his own is now leaving the organization that carries his name. If Dale Jr. is right, Keselowski may not be stepping away from RFK without already having another opportunity waiting on the other side. He may simply be keeping his next move behind the curtain for now.