The Bristol Motor Speedway will host the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. Brad Keselowski, the owner and driver of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, gave a preview of the race weekend in light of this. He has previously won three times at this racetrack and is hoping for a fourth. The #6 driver discussed last year’s spring race at Bristol prior to this year’s race. On that day, he could only muster 3rd quickest on the day, while Denny Hamlin triumphed. The RFK Racing star did, however, exhibit some intriguing strategies. After two years of dirt racing at the track, the drivers were racing on concrete for the first time that weekend. That race did, however, have some unanticipated repercussions, even while it did make for some entertaining racing.
In actuality, there was a significant amount of tire wear throughout the race. It essentially caused the race to wear down and experience several failures. There were even some red flags visible since the race was so hectic. Despite a strong battle with Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin ultimately managed to outlast everyone.
Brad Keselowski revealed his approach to taking on Bristol
“Every week is its own science experiment,” Keselowski posted on Instagram. I recall the Bristol spring 2024 race quite clearly. We thought, ‘Oh! The tires have a screw in them. I was leaving Turns 3 and 4 in the bottom lane at the time, as I recall.
I quickly glanced at the display to see how many laps I was running. Everything has changed recently, and I must immediately adjust to the situation at hand. It’s a common joke among seals that you can’t be the slowest swimmer, but you also can’t be the fastest. That’s what I was thinking in Bristol at the time. I don’t want to save too much and be extremely slow. What if I finish second or third and there are at least one or two persons speeding and driving harder, and I get a yellow when they break? This is the attitude you have when you’re driving: “All right, I’ve got to adjust.” Yes, the tires are awful, and that is a very slow lap. What am I going to do?’ You’re navigating through traffic and this lightbulb goes off in your head. I just need to run 2nd to 3rd for the next 400 laps. Then when it gets to the end, when there’s 40-50 laps, just go and see what the happens.”
With everything going on around him, the #6 driver was essentially conducting a highly tactical race. The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series winner was forced to swiftly modify his approach in a suitable way as a result. Keselowski also needed to control his speed so that he wasn’t too fast to waste tire life or too slow to lose ground. At that moment, the driver-owner of RFK Racing had a brainstorm. His new strategy was to finish the race in the top three for the majority of it, then go all out in the last few laps. The veteran was just going for broke because he had nothing to lose, and he had no notion at the time if he would win the race.
In 2025, the driver has had several difficulties
Brad Keselowski hasn’t been too successful in the past few years. In 2020, he won four races and was second in the championship, the last time he had multiple victories in a season. His final victory with Team Penske before switching to RFK as driver-owner came in 2021. The experienced driver had a bit of a dry spell over the next two years as he tried to settle in with his new squad. He finally ended his losing run in 2024 when he triumphed at Darlington. But the #6 driver is still chasing his first victory of the 2025 campaign and hasn’t made it to Victory Lane since.
The fact that his teammates Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher have been fighting near the front on a regular basis may perhaps have slightly damaged his dignity.
