Yahoo Finance Brad Keselowski Finally Breaks Through for First Win as Co-Owner of RFK Racing
It feels fitting that after a 110-race losing streak, Brad Keselowski's first win as co-owner of RFK would come at Darlington Raceway. One of the sport's veterans has never been shy about loving the history of the sport, and there's no better place to celebrate it than at Darlington.
"It's one heck of a day," Keselowski told NASCAR on Fox's Regan Smith. "It's Darlington, so whether it's your first win or your last win, this is a really special track. It's the history of NASCAR; it's as tough as it gets."
Keselowski left Penske after the 2021 season to join Jack Rouch and have the chance to co-own a team that he drives for. RFK has seen immense success under Keselowski's influence, but he was still lacking the win. Mike Joy shared over the broadcast that the last time a driver won for a team they co-owned was Tony Stewart at Sonoma in 2016. Keselowski had celebrated four races as a team owner, each one feeling more and more bittersweet, inching to make his way back to victory lane.
As the laps clicked down Sunday night, Keselowski had his eyes set on Tyler Reddick, the 23XI driver who started on the pole and dominated most of the race.
10/10 🤯 https://t.co/NgrpKDbVdM pic.twitter.com/OkvAMECUxB
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 12, 2024
Sadly, a bad break for his teammate Chris Buescher propelled Keselowski back to victory lane for the first time since his win at Talladega in 2021.
"That battle at the end, with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just laid it all out on the line," Keselowski continued to NASCAR on Fox. "It was freakin' awesome, man. I thought it couldn't get any better than Kansas. It did today."
Reddick beat Keselowski off pit row by a hair for the final sprint. The 23XI pit crew was 0.01 second better than RFK, and as pole-sitter, Reddick had the front pit box for easy exit. Once on the track, Buescher pushed his teammate and team owner in line with Reddick, but after trying through six corners, Keselowski could not make a pass stick on the bottom.
As the two battled, Buescher, who finished second by the closest margin in history the week before, saw an opportunity, dove low, and passed them both.
Reddick was not content with finishing second after dominating the majority of the race and attempted an overly aggressive slide job on Buescher and failed to clear the No. 17. Reddick collided with Buescher door to door, and both cars suffered right rear flats with nine laps remaining.
Buescher confronted Reddick after the race, fed up after the on-track racing and feeling desperate for a race win.
At this moment, Keselowski inherited the lead, and luckily for the No. 6 driver, both Reddick and Buescher made it back to pit lane without bringing out a late caution.
Ty Gibbs closed in late but settled for a career-best finish of second, and Josh Berry finished third for his best finish of 2023.
The Michigan-born-driver's victory was the first for Ford this year; four more Ford drivers joined Keselowski for the manufacturer's strongest performance of the 2024 season to date.
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