The 2025 season started with real hope for Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing. People talked about contending for wins, maybe even a championship run. Instead, it turned into one long, painful tease. Race after race, Keselowski put himself right there, up front, leading laps, looking like the old Brad Keselowski who used to bully his way to victory lane. But somehow, every single time, the win slipped away.

There were late cautions that ruined the strategy, and restarts where he got swallowed up. There was that crushing last-lap pass in Phoenix that stole what should have been the season-saver. It already hurt. Then somebody dug up a stat that feels like pouring salt straight into the wound.

According to racing analytics, Brad Keselowski was passed for the lead and the win in seven different races this season. Seven. That’s more times than any winless Cup driver has ever been overtaken while holding the top spot in a single year.

Seven races where he was the guy out front with the trophy in sight, only to watch someone else take it on the last lap or in the final corner. Seven almosts. Zero celebrations. That number turns a frustrating season into something that feels almost cruel.

He had 13 top-tens, six top-fives, plenty of laps led, but just no trips to victory lane. Fans kept saying “next week” all the way to the checkered flag in Homestead.

For a driver with thirty-six career wins and a reputation as one of the toughest closers in the sport, getting passed for the win seven separate times is brutal. It’s not just bad luck anymore. It’s a pattern. And patterns make people ask hard questions, especially fans on X.

Fans watch the season slip away

“They are notorious for running a cycle long… gambling and staying out.”

That one stings because it’s true. Keselowski and the team rolled the dice more than once this year, trying to steal races with fuel mileage or track position.

Pocono was the perfect example. He was leading, the pits closed, made the call to stay out, and it backfired hard. Dropped him way back, fought to a top-five, but the win was long gone. Sometimes the gamble works, and you look brilliant. In 2025, it felt like every gamble came up snake eyes.

“MAKE IT STOP PLEASE.”

This pretty much sums up the whole year. Watching your guy lead late, feeling that rush, then seeing the field swallow him up again and again. After a while, you almost dread the good restarts because you know what usually comes next.

“Yet he says it isn’t time to retire… oh brother!”

Keselowski has been clear he’s not ready to hang up the helmet, and at forty-one, he’s still fast enough to win. But when a stat like seven last-lap passes shows up, some fans start wondering if hanging on is the same as moving forward. It’s not fair, but that’s how heartbreak works. You start questioning everything.

“This stat just broke my racing heart fr.”

Same. Because it’s not just a random number. It’s seven separate moments where the radio went quiet, the crowd groaned, and another driver celebrated instead. Seven times fans thought this was finally the one, only to get let down again. That wears on you.

“Brutal.”

One word, all the feelings in the world. Seven times being passed for the win in a single season is brutal for any driver. For a former champion who’s supposed to know how to close, it’s crushing.

For Keselowski and RFK, the off-season just got a lot louder. Fix the late-race speed. Nail the strategy calls. Figure out why the car can lead for two hundred laps but not two hundred and ten. Because another year of almosts isn’t going to cut it.

And for the fans who stuck with him through every single one of those seven gut punches, the hope is simple. 2026 has to be the year the almosts finally turn into at last.