Brad Keselowski has given people something to talk about with his competitive performances thus far in 2023. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. – If Talladega Nights focused heavily on Ricky Bobby and his checkers or wreckers way, Brad Keselowski was a lot like Cal Naughton Jr. in terms of being “The Magic Man.”
For a majority of Sunday’s GEICO 500, Keselowski was nowhere to be found in the top 10 nor the top 15, at the very least.
It was not for a lack of effort by the Rochester Hills, Michigan native. Truth be told, the six-time Talladeaga Superspeedway winner would get caught up toward the back of the field during Stages 1 and 2 of the race.
Namely, the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion was sequestered in the 27th and 30th positions for Stages 1 and 2.
If one looked at Keselowski’s Driver Rating of 57.9, it would seem like he had a miserable day at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
However, the driver of the No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang made some noise in Stage 3. The 35-time Cup race winner’s experience and patience paid off as he worked his way toward the top 10 in the latter stages of the race.
Like an action hero trying to curtail the villain’s devious plans, Keselowski found himself in a race against time to truly break through to Victory Lane for the first time in two years.
Keselowski found the edge toward the tail end of the GEICO 500 at Talladega. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
“We could just never get track position,” Keselowski said. “Felt like we had a car that could win this race if we could get to the front, but we could never get to the front with all the pit cycles and everything. It just kept cycling us back, and it was really frustrating.”
Still, the Michigander never gave up as he kept his RFK Racing machine in contention. Like a skilled seamstress, Keselowski threaded the needle when he drove between and past Noah Gragson, whose No. 42 car hit the Turn 1 wall, and Kyle Larson, who spun between Turns 1 and 2.
Elevating from the 12th to the seventh position, Keselowski was in position to win the GEICO 500. Suddenly, Bubba Wallace, the race leader, attempted to block Ryan Blaney, the second place runner, on multiple occasions in Turns 1 and 2.
It was a few too many blocks for Wallace as he broke loose, spun into the right front fender of Keselowski’s car and into the path of the lead pack and Turn 2 wall.
Wallace’s bid for a second Talladega victory was effectively over along with Keselowski. In spite of the damage to the No. 6 car, Keselowski drove his car to the stripe appearing to nab a top 10 result.
Upon further review by NASCAR, it was determined that Keselowski tallied a fifth place result.
Compared to the past year, the third generation racer is off to a much better start than last year by leaps and bounds. By and large, he has doubled his top five total and sits two more top 10 results away from tying his total in 2022.
It is progress when a fifth place result leaves more to be desired for a driver like Keselowski. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
Regardless, the competitive racer wanted more from his race day efforts. A last lap caution curtailed his bid, which makes what would seem like a satisfying top five result into a bittersweet result.
“Towards the end when we got to the front, I feel like if the No. 23 (Wallace) didn’t spin, we were in a spot to win the race, pushing the No. 8 (Kyle Busch, race winner) down the backstretch. It’s just not the way the cookies crumbled,” he said.
Heading into Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Keselowski hopes to crush and crumble the competition. Practice is set to begin at 10:35 a.m. ET on FS2 with the remainder of the session and qualifying round moving over to FS1 at 11 a.m. ET.
