So Near and Yet So Far: Brad Keselowski Denied Crown Jewel Win After Unlucky Last-Lap Caution

No one expected Brad Keselowski to be challenging for the win after qualifying on Saturday. The RFK Racing driver did not live up to expectations as he started from P26. A pit exit violation penalty on lap 41 saw him finish the first stage in P36. From there, it was a charge to the front of the pack. At the end of stage 2, he was P21 and during the final stage, he was up to P1. However, that’s when bad luck struck.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch had a moment that sent the latter spinning on lap 159 and brought out the caution. Keselowski was leading at the time and there was only one lap remaining after that. However, the RFK Racing star was low and fuel and did not have enough to last the overtime restart and finish the race. Hence, he had to relinquish the P1 spot and pit. Ultimately, the 40-year-old was only able to finish in P21.

Good news: We won the Brickyard 400
Bad news: Race went into double overtime.

Bummer, but still really proud of our team. We just need a little more speed and yellows to not go against us. pic.twitter.com/IU34OwvvdX

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) July 21, 2024

“We didn’t get yellows when we needed yellows to win today. That stuff comes and goes, it will come back to us at some point. People will say we were really lucky and they’ll forget days like today. That’s how the sport goes by,” he said to a reporter after the race.

The driver of the #6 Ford Dark Horse Mustang drove an impressive race. He ran up to P1 despite having other problems during the event. It might have been easier for him to pit earlier for fuel if he had better track position in stage 2. Perhaps he would have had it not been for the sanctioning body.

Keselowski not happy with NASCAR’s officiating on Sunday

The RFK driver looked strong throughout the event but the pass-through penalty in the first stage put a dent in his team’s plans. As per NASCAR’s rules, a driver is not allowed to come onto the racing surface as they leave pit road. However, there seemed to be some confusion about what constituted the racing surface. Chase Elliott was another driver penalized for the same reason on Sunday.

The RFK star was fuming when he was informed of the penalty. “I don’t understand, what’s the penalty for…I was not in the racing line,” he said on the team radio. After the rule was read to him again, the 2012 champion was having none of it. “Either I don’t know how to read or they don’t know how to officiate. One of the two,” he quipped.

This would have been Keselowski’s second career win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway if he had enough fuel to hold on to the end. The veteran has always run well at the track and was just a victim of misfortune on the day. However, he was happy with the pace his car exhibited through the race.