In 2023, NASCAR fans saw what Brad Keselowski can do for his team and drivers. Throughout the year, he played a key role in helping his RFK Racing driver, Chris Buescher, secure three wins during the regular season. While it may seem that Keselowski prioritizes his team and teammates, he has also shown a willingness to sacrifice almost anything in pursuit of winning NASCAR races.
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In a 2018 interview with Jeff Gluck for his 12 Questions segment, Keselowski was presented with a hypothetical scenario: if, in a bid to promote NASCAR as a health-conscious sport, he would go vegan for a month in exchange for the coveted No. 1 pit stall at an upcoming race? Keselowski responded,
“Yeah. I don’t think that one’s too hard. It’s achievable.”However, he had a condition: “It’d have to be a good race though, not one of those races where the first pit stall doesn’t mean much — like Pocono. The first pit stall at Pocono is like pbbbt. It’s not worth that much. So I would think it would be like a Martinsville or a Homestead.”
Pressed further by Gluck on whether he could handle giving up cheese, meat, milk, and other animal products, Keselowski firmly stated,
“I try really hard not to drink milk now. I do a little bit of cheese; I try to avoid that, to be quite honest. If I eat cheese, it’s because it’s on something like pizza. But I could get around it. It would be harder to me to give up bread, which I try do to that as well. I don’t have a vegan diet right now, but I’m not far off it — other than I like steak, which is really far off it.”
Throughout his 17-year NASCAR Cup career, Keselowski has won a NASCAR Cup championship in 2012, alongside 36 wins and 263 top-10 finishes in 557 starts, and an Xfinity Series championship in 2010. However, his transition to RFK Racing as a co-owner in 2022 has been a journey of steady progress, culminating in a peak finish of P8 in 2023.
His tenure with the team saw a milestone in 2024 when Keselowski captured his first victory under the RFK banner after three years at Darlington Raceway.
Keselowski was willing to sacrifice his hobby for another NASCAR Cup championship
Although Keselowski’s trophy case is already brimming with accolades, the allure of winning a second Cup title is particularly compelling for him.
Reflecting on a 2015 conversation with Jeff Gluck, Keselowski admitted he would have foregone his passion for video games if it meant securing another championship.
“I would take it and Paige [White, his girlfriend] would definitely take it because my favorite hobby is Madden football [the video game] and she hates it. I wouldn’t hesitate a second… I’d burn every copy I had if it was a guarantee I’d win another title. Not even a question,” declared the RFK Racing co-owner.
He further emphasized his commitment to racing supremacy by stating he would relinquish not just one, but his entire collection of video games, underscoring, “I’d give them up. The championship is the No. 1 priority I have in my life.”
With the addition of new driver Ryan Preece and various other changes in personnel and sponsorships slated for 2025, the racing community eagerly anticipates seeing whether Keselowski and his team can translate these sacrifices and strategies into a crowning season.
