Although Brad Keselowski has faced his fair share of challenges—securing just one win over the past three seasons since his move to RFK Racing — the overall trajectory of the team has been on the upswing. Beyond reshaping the operation behind the scenes, Keselowski has played a hands-on role in mentoring Chris Buescher both on and off the track. He has extended that same level of support to RFK Racing’s latest addition, Ryan Preece, continuing to act as both a leader and a resource.
Advertisement
So, when asked recently how he measures himself against other drivers, Keselowski didn’t beat around the bush. He acknowledged that while he doesn’t spend much time obsessing over his competition, he does keep a close eye on their decisions during races — especially the strategic ones, regardless of whether they unfold at the front or the back of the field.
Recalling one such moment in a recent RFK Racing episode on YouTube, Keselowski mentioned a clip he watched a few years ago featuring a driver making a subtle yet effective move deep in the pack. It wasn’t a race-winning pass, but it caught his attention. “Oh, I’m going to use that,” he thought.
“I look at things like that and when you see a move like that from someone, you’re like, I’m gonna thumb through a couple of other races with this driver and see if I can find anything similar that I like or don’t like…
“And so I look at things like that and then vice versa. Like you’ll see a move and you like that was a terrible move. So, I should be aware that when I’m around him, he might make that move and I either need to take advantage of it or not get caught up in it,” Keselowski added,
Keselowski admitted that when his thoughts drift to other drivers, they rarely extend beyond their decision-making on the racetrack. What they do off the track holds little weight in his book. For the #6 Ford driver, it’s the on-track execution that counts.
That’s precisely why he doesn’t claim to have a clear picture of his competitors beyond their racing craft. According to Keselowski, he simply doesn’t gather enough insight into their off-track endeavors to form an opinion or draw comparisons about their capabilities outside the driver’s seat.
Keselowski explains the real challenge for the NASCAR drivers
On this week’s episode of RFK Racing’s Backstretch Banter, Brad Keselowski offered an in-depth look into how he prepares for the changing terrain of Cup racing, where even the smallest tweak can throw a carefully crafted game plan completely off balance.
Looking ahead to Bristol this weekend, Keselowski reflected on last year’s race at the same track to illustrate just how unpredictable motorsports can be. That event turned into a tire management battle due to severe tire wear, highlighting the unique complexity of racing.
He explained that, unlike traditional sports, motorsports — particularly NASCAR — is built on a foundation of science that’s in constant flux. Each race becomes a fresh experiment, and when combined with the unpredictability of ‘chaos theory,’ the final outcome can swing wildly.
He cited the Bristol race example stating that a minor change in the tire compound shifted the race. Tires that were expected to last longer began to wear out after just 40 to 50 laps. That one adjustment caused lap times to drop from 16 seconds to 18 — a margin that, in NASCAR terms, makes all the difference. Drivers are trained and conditioned to operate within a specific window, and deviations like that force an entirely new approach on the fly.
Keselowski wrapped up by comparing the sport to traditional athletics. In most mainstream sports, environmental conditions remain tightly controlled and variables are minimal. In contrast, motorsports lives in a world of constant change, where nothing stays fixed. That, he said, is what makes racing so challenging — and what makes it all more difficult when it comes to preparation and strategy.
