Throwback Sunday
BK’s Cup Series win his first since 2021
DARLINGTON, S.C. — There were so many things that were special about Brad Keselowski’s first NASCAR victory in three years, it was difficult for the 40-year-old driver to say what topped the list Sunday evening.
It was the 36th win of his Cup Series career and his second at Darlington Raceway, which he reveres as an ultimate test. It came in front of his family, with daughters Scarlett, who will turn 9 this month, and 4-year-old Autumn joining him on the podium at the track known for being “too tough to tame.” And it was his first victory as a driver since leaving Team Penske to become co-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022.
“There’s a lot of things to be excited about — don’t know which one means the most,” Keselowski said with a smile.
Keselowski, who started second on Sunday, moved to the front when Chris Buescher and pole-sitter Tyler Reddick collided while battling for first place with nine laps left. He then held on to win the Goodyear 400, ending a drought that began after his victory at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway on April 25, 2021.
“Hell of an effort by everyone,” Keselowski said after crossing the finish line.
It appeared one of Keselowski’s employees at RFK Racing, Buescher, would get the win after he passed his boss and Reddick with 29 laps to go. However, when Buescher and Reddick — in a 23XI Racing Toyota — made contact and fell back, it opened the door for Keselowski’s satisfying victory in the No. 6 Ford.
“What a heck of a day,” he said. “That battle out there with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just laid it all on the line.”
It was also the first win for Ford since introducing its Mustange Dark Horse to the Cup Series this season, and it came in the 13th race after Chevrolet had posted seven wins and Toyota five. Ford had just missed a win a week earlier when Buescher lost by 0.0001 of a second to Kyle Larson in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway, the closest finish in NASCAR history.
Buescher confronted Reddick after both drivers got out of their cars.
“That’s two weeks in a row we had a shot to win races,” said Buescher, who started third Sunday. “One, I’m going to relive in my head forever at what I would’ve done different (at Kansas). The other, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”
Reddick took full blame for the incident, saying: “I tried to back out. The last thing I wanted to do was wreck your car. I’m sorry.”
Keselowski understood his driver’s frustration over the past two weeks, but he does not believe Buescher should change his driving style or demeanor.
“Just keep being Chris,” Keselowski said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Keselowski acknowledged the risk he took when he left Team Penske. Fans got on him, he said, when Penske driver Austin Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 that it could have been him or when Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney won the past two Cup Series season championships.
Still, he could not be happier with his choice and the direction RFK Racing is headed.
“I think you guys know, I’m going to do things my own way,” said Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion.
Ty Gibbs was second at Darlington in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, with Josh Berry third in a Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and JGR’s Denny Hamlin fourth. SHR’s Chase Briscoe was fifth, followed by Hendrick’s William Byron in the best finish for a Chevrolet driver. Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10.
A week after his close win, Larson was in the top 10 when he spun out with 40 laps left and could not return. Small consolation: On throwback weekend at Darlington, his No. 5 paint scheme in homage to NASCAR Hall of Famer Terry Labonte’s titlewinning car from 1996 was voted the best by the fans.
Meanwhile, one mistake ended the chances of two former Cup Series champions. Reigning champ Blaney, 2017 champ Martin Truex Jr. and Byron were three wide on lap 128 when Byron tagged Truex, who pushed into Blaney and sent him against the wall in the second turn.
Blaney’s crew could not repair the damage, and his day was done. He rode up alongside Byron to signal his displeasure with the Hendrick driver’s move.
“He used a little bit more race track than I thought, so I have every right to be mad and he gets away scot-free,” said Blaney, who wound up last in 36th place.
Truex dropped out of the top 10 and finished 25th.
The Cup Series takes a week off from points racing for the NASCAR AllStar Race next Sunday at North Carolina’s North Wilkesboro Speedway.