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Out For Redemption After A Winless Season, Can Brad Keselowski Fight Off Cup Giants For Daytona 500 Sweep?

Published 02/05/2024, 3:40 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

At 39 years of age, perhaps winning the NASCAR Cup Series is not as important a goal for Brad Keselowski as making sure that his team, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing becomes a title contender. If one looks at the recent past, one would believe that the 2012 Cup Series champion is currently a bit more focused on the owner side of things in the team. However, after a winless season in 2023, he would be itching to earn a victory, and what better place to do it than the Daytona International Speedway?

The NASCAR Cup Series season officially gets underway next weekend with The Great American Race and if last year was any indication, RFK Racing would be confident going into the Daytona 500. In the second race at the track in 2023, the team earned a 1-2 finish with Chris Buescher and Keselowski taking P1 and P2, respectively.

The one accolade Brad Keselowski is yet to earn is a Daytona 500 win

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The thing about Brad Keselowski is that he might not have won a race last year, but not many people are considering it to be a bad season for the veteran. That all boils down to the fantastic job he has done as an owner to get RFK Racing back to the front of the pack winning races. The team won 3 races last year with Buescher and they will be hoping for more of the same this year as well.

This time, the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion would also like to see a W beside his name. The #6 team had a decent performance in the Clash at the Coliseum on Saturday as he finished P8. It will give him the confidence to walk into Daytona next weekend and hope for a good run. 

Winning the 500 would mean a lot to Brad Keselowski for 2 reasons – he would break his winless streak and it would be his first ever Daytona 500 triumph. It is a bit surprising that with the amount of caliber Keselowski has; he is yet to win The Great American Race. The RFK team owner will be looking to rectify that error. In the last 3 years, Keselowski has taken part in 6 races at Daytona and has 3 top 10 and 1 top 5 finishes.

With the 2012 Cup Series champion delving deeper and deeper into the team ownership role, there have been rumors of him retiring from driving in the near future. While these rumors are concerning, Brad Keselowski recently made his career intentions quite clear.

Read More – NASCAR Insider Foreshadows 2024 as Denny Hamlin’s Championship Season With Unrefutable Clash Statistics

Will the former Cup Series champion focus more on ownership or driving? 

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The RFK Racing driver is not quitting driving anytime soon. There still is that hunger for race wins in him. After last year’s winless run, the racer in him must be keen on redeeming himself as soon as possible. And, that might just happen at the Daytona 500. Talking about the same, the driver/owner recently delved into his long-term plan.

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“I think I can win races and be competitive for another 10 years and that’s really what I want to do. I want to win races and win more championships. I’m certainly very committed to doing that. I don’t know where (the retirement rumors) came from, but if it’s on the internet, it must be true,” he had said earlier.

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The driver of the #6 car has been crucial for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s growth ever since he joined the team in 2022. His contributions towards making the shop a better place to work are well documented and his efforts bore a lot of fruit last year. Do you think the team will be able to improve this year? 

WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin triumphs in first Clash at the Coliseum, eliciting cheers from fans 

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Written by:

Nilavro Ghosh

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Nilavro Ghosh is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports, where he is known for his creative yet easy-to-read writing style. Before taking up his role as a sports journalist at ES, Nilavro has written for some of the top publishing houses, like The Telegraph. While most journalists stop at covering live events and taking the news to the readers, Nilavro goes the extra mile to give fans a platform for them to express their thoughts through his 'race reaction' pieces.
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Edited by:

Ariva Debnath