After winning the Cup Series race in Darlington on Sunday, Brad Keselowski almost broke down in tears. The emotional moment was the result of nearly two decades of hard work fuelled by the dream of being a team owner who won races from behind the wheel. There are few with better authority than Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was a crucial part of this journey, to reflect on what the win meant to Keselowski.
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He said on the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download, “Congratulations to Brad. He has realized a dream of his to own and race and win in a car that he has major influence over. There was a moment in that post-race interview when he saw his little girl hugging his leg. He went down and picked her up when he just about broke. I know that emotion is in there and he won’t show it if he can help it.”
How could you not be emotional after watching Brad win?
“If you’re writing the movie, that’s the last moment before the credits roll.” pic.twitter.com/V8Qc00lqqK
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) May 14, 2024
Back in 2007, a young Keselowski was left without a ride after the Busch Series team that he drove for shut down. It’d been Dale Jr.,’s JR Motorsports that had taken him in with a three-race trial that eventually extended to two complete seasons. Between 2008 and 2017, he operated a Truck Series team that was shut down for various reasons including unprofitability.
Even after this harsh experience of being a team owner, he wasn’t willing to give up on his dream yet. He reasoned with his never-ending desire, “I want to be positioned to have the best opportunities possible when I get done being a race car driver, and one of those opportunities is to be a team owner.” Nearly four years later, that opportunity came for him in the form of RFK Racing.
Keselowski’s fulfills lifelong dream at the helm of RFK Racing
When he was presented with the chance to join Roush Fenway Racing – a dying team – as a co-owner, Keselowski grabbed it even though it meant quitting a winning organization like Team Penske. The racing world questioned and ridiculed the logic behind his decision and did so more when Team Penske won the 2022 and 2023 Cup Series championships. However, Keselowski got himself far too busy with his new job’s responsibility of reviving RFK Racing’s heartbeat.
In three years with the big office, he has implemented groundbreaking changes within the entire outfit and put it on a successful path. His victory in Darlington resonates with every brick that he moved since joining the team. As Dale Jr. puts it, “If you’re writing a movie that’s the last moment before the credits roll. Everything from here on out for Brad Keselowski is icing on your bo–berry biscuit.”
