Going winless for a long period can drain the positivity in a racer’s mind. The loss of confidence that stems from becoming a stranger to the victory lane only further catapults success rates downward. In this sense, Brad Keselowski overcame a 110-race winless streak at Darlington last Sunday. Let’s take a look at where he stands in the list of drivers with the longest winless streaks in the Cup Series.
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Surprisingly, the yesteryear legend Bill Elliott tops the table having gone 226 races without a win. The streak began after his 1994 victory in Darlington and ended 7 years later in 2001 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Second to him is RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher. Notably, Buescher has been on the front pages over the past couple of weeks for missing out on potential wins by narrow margins.
His streak spanned 222 races between 2016 and 2022. The misfortune began in Pocono when he was still a Front Row Motorsports driver and ended in Bristol in his maiden season with RFK Racing. Between 2022 and now, he has secured three wins and left another potential drought of such severity out of the question. Following closely on his heels is Martin Truex Jr.
Truex’s maiden victory in the premiere tier came in 2007 at Dover when he drove for Dale Earnhardt Inc. From there, it took him 218 races to see the victory lane again. When he eventually won at the Sonoma Raceway in 2013, he was driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. Fourth on the list is the 2023 Daytona 500 winner and two-time Xfinity Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stenhouse began his streak in 2017 at Daytona and ended it in some fashion at the same track in 2023. His winless run spanned 199 races. With these four drivers forming the top four longest streaks without a victory, Keselowski falls at a distant 21st place. Between Stenhouse Jr. and the RFK Racing co-owner are several iconic names such as Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, and Terry Labonte.
Keselowksi’s drought began in 2021 at the Talladega Superspeedway in his final season with Team Penske. 110 races and a major career change later, he has seen green again by winning at Darlington. Piloting one of the fastest Fords this year, he could go on to collect more wins before the season comes to a close in Phoenix this November.
