NASCAR stars are up to various activities on the holidays. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin were celebrating with their families in brightly decked-up homes. Chase Briscoe dropped a hilarious dad joke hours before the new year kicked off. But Brad Keselowski chose to be in a pensive mood. The highs and lows of his Cup Series team were lingering at the back of his mind, and fans could not help but chip in.
The RFK Racing team was on a high rise during mid-2024. But while Brad Keselowski snapped a 110-race winless streak, Chris Buescher painfully missed out on a few victories. The playoffs went wrong for both drivers – throwing Keselowski into speculation about what to do for 2025.
Brad Keselowski broods over a sip
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Well, the end of the year always makes people reflect on past glories or mistakes. Brad Keselowski also could not help but ponder over the path he has covered. In 2022, he made the crucial decision to leave Team Penske, a team under which he secured 35 Cup Series wins. He was on a quest – to revamp the RFK Racing team garage. And Keselowski came a long way – Chris Buescher snagged three race wins in 2023, and the team owner himself won in Darlington in May 2024. However, the failures and near-misses made too deep gashes, which Keselowski hopes to cure by 2025 – over a drink, perhaps?
As people all over the world were engrossed in their New Year celebrations, Brad Keselowski was in a philosophical mood. He posted a slightly hazy picture of a beer mug and a shot on Snapchat, with a caption loaded with existential crisis. The spelling mistakes made it even funnier: “Goina jus disappear n do my own thing this year.” Keselowski’s pensive mood threw a spotlight on all the times he could not take full advantage of 2024. He came agonizingly close to snagging the Coca-Cola 600 victory. Then a second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway did not help.
USA Today via Reuters
May 29, 2022; Concord, North Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (6) limps into the pits after a wreck during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Buescher similarly lost the Kansas glory to Kyle Larson by a small margin of 0.001 seconds. He could not crack the playoffs, despite being higher in points than the eventual champion Joey Logano. Keselowski’s playoff journey snapped off abruptly after the Round of 16. Reflecting on their struggles, the 2012 Cup Series champion candidly said earlier on ‘The Business of Being Brad’ show. “This year didn’t always go as planned, but it was a season of learning and growth. I wanted to take a look back at my 2024 NASCAR season—what went right, what didn’t, and how we’re using those lessons to come back stronger in 2025.” The changes are already afoot – Ryan Preece is joining the team as the third driver, and there were crucial crew shuffles.
Despite the will to move forward, Keselowski’s New Year post got fans thinking.
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NASCAR community draws conclusions
Well, anybody claiming to take a drastic decision would leave people around them pondering. Brad Keselowski‘s New Year resolution, or rather contemplation, left his fans dissecting it. $43 Billion partner King’s Hawaiian will probably leave RFK Racing for 2025, reportedly due to conflict with RFK’s newest sponsor, Kroger. One fan said Keselowski is not taking that well: “He isn’t taking the King’s Hawaiian breakup well.” Existential crises do tend to isolate people. So somebody else suggested that Keselowski is done with RFK, and might closet himself and form another team. “He’s taking that third charter and starting “K Racing”.” Another fan simply squinted their eyebrows in deep speculation about what Keselowski’s cryptic message could mean: “much 2 think about.”
Brad Keselowski’s past glory was also a subject of discussion. Back in 2012, many of his peers, including Denny Hamlin, doubted him, but Keselowski went on to win the championship. Yet just because he is strong in racing does not mean he is strong at downing a drink. So a fan wrote, “Twelve years after getting drunk on a couple of miller lites in victory lane, he’s still a lightweight.” Somebody else concluded that 2025 will finally be the chance to bring back another 2012 title bid. “*Brad proceeds to win twelve races and the championship.” Yet the existential nature of Brad’s comment reminds us of Carl Edwards – the 28-time Cup race winner abruptly left NASCAR after the 2016 season. “Calling it right now, he almost wins the 500, gets wrecked by Joey again, and then just fades into the ether ala carl Edwards.”
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Clearly, Brad Keselowski sent off ripples of speculation in the community. We will only get to know what his plan of action is once the season starts.