After the intense battle for the 16 playoff spots, the focus of the teams has now shifted towards the upcoming rounds. In these pivotal Round 16 races, every driver is giving their absolute best, and the level of aggression was palpable right from the start, as seen in the playoff opener at Darlington. Some drivers were making daring attempts to pass their competitors, while others were fiercely determined to block any advances.

Blocking others has always been an integral part of racing, a strategy employed by drivers since the sport’s inception. It does recall the unforgettable and heart-jolting junctures from Dale Earnhardt‘s last race, where he valiantly blocked opponents to protect his own team drivers, Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he made contact with Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader.

One such incident that mirrors this occurred during the Southern 500, putting Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski in the spotlight. Ryan Blaney’s stern warning serves as a stark reminder of the fine line.

Ryan Blaney warns Brad Keselowski about blocking his pass

Earlier in the race, Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez found themselves caught up in a wreck, which unfortunately marked the end of the day for both drivers.

In a similar vein, the playoff scenario added extra intensity to the race, with Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski entering the playoffs with +1 and +3 points, respectively, above the current cutoff. Brad Keselowski was running strongly in fourth place until a caution was triggered by a crash involving Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland’s #38 car. During the caution, Keselowski found himself pushed down towards the 16th position.

Brad began his determined climb back up the leaderboard, and on lap 353, he successfully passed Ryan Blaney, who was also fighting to regain position. Keselowski demonstrated skillful blocking tactics to maintain his lead.

Over the radio, Brad Keselowski’s spotter, TJ Majors, who is also a spotter for Josh Berry in the Xfinity series, advised Brad, saying, “Keep taking care of it, man. His bread and butter have been turning down the hill a little earlier than you off of [turn] two.”

In response to Brad’s blocking, Ryan Blaney voiced his concerns over the radio, saying, “Eh keep blocking he’s going to get wrecked you need to do tell TJ [Majors] that“

In 2020, both Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney were involved in a crash at Michigan when they were teammates at Penske. The following year, Brad Keselowski joined RFK Racing as a co-owner, and, remarkably, he ended the dark days of RFK Racing.

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Keselowski reveals behind-the-scenes moments and dynamics

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The team’s glory days were back in 2003 and 2004, when they clinched back-to-back championships with Matt Kenseth at the helm. However, their performance gradually declined in the following years. It wasn’t until Brad Keselowski joined the team in 2021 that things started to take a turn for the better. But rebuilding the team and getting it this far has obviously not been an easy task for Keselowski.

Referring to Chris Buescher’s last year’s Bristol victory during an interview, Brad said, “I really felt like we started turning a corner at the end of last year… By that time the playoffs started and nobody was focusing on us, which I was fine with.”

He continued, “When you’re trying to fix something like there’s a lot of power and privilege you get from… People not looking at what you’re going through your awkward, you know, teenage years”

Brad Keselowski cleverly compared this phase of rebuilding to a teenager getting braces to align their teeth, highlighting the awkwardness and transformation that occur when working to improve.

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Could this be the year when RFK Racing finally clinches a championship, turning their recent success into a title-winning season?