Brad Keselowski is still thinking about what happened at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After a long and difficult start to 2025, his first top-5 finish brought a small sense of relief. But one race is not enough. With the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on deck — a track that delivered five overtimes and pure chaos just one year ago — the stakes are even higher. The pressure is on, and the question looms: can the unpredictability of Nashville give Keselowski what he needs to finally break through?
Brad Keselowski Reflects on Coca-Cola 600
As the NASCAR Cup Series heads into the heart of summer with the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, one veteran is still reflecting on what might’ve been. After a grueling Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski emerged with his first top-10 finish of the 2025 season — a small victory in a season that’s been anything but kind to the 2012 Cup Series champion.
Keselowski finished fifth at Charlotte after clawing his way back through the field. But in his mind, the job wasn’t done.
“I FEEL LIKE IF WE COULD HAVE GOT TO THE LEAD, WE COULD HAVE WON THE RACE. I WISH IT WAS A 700-MILE RACE.” – BRAD KESELOWSKI
The comments reflect a deeper truth about his year so far: the longer and more chaotic the race, the stronger the No. 6 Ford seems to get. Unfortunately, time and circumstances haven’t always worked in his favor in 2025.
That could change at Nashville — the site of last year’s five-overtime thriller that flipped the playoff picture upside down and left fans breathless.
A Slow Start and Long Climb for Keselowski and RFK Racing
For a driver with 35 career Cup wins and a championship pedigree, sitting 32nd in the standings is far from the standard Keselowski has set over the years. The numbers are stark. After Kansas earlier in May, Keselowski was buried in 33rd place, ahead of only three full-time drivers: Shane van Gisbergen, Riley Herbst, and Cole Custer.
It’s been a tough first third of the season for RFK Racing’s co-owner and driver. While teammate Chris Buescher has shown speed — albeit recently penalized — Keselowski has lacked the performance to consistently compete inside the top 15, let alone for wins.
He has led just five laps all season, all coming at Charlotte. While he made the most of a late-race push, the early and mid-race struggles were telling.
“WE GOT MIXED UP IN SOME OF THE DIFFERENT STUFF IN THE MIDPOINT OF THE RACE AND JUST CLAWED OUR WAY OUT.” – BRAD KESELOWSKI
Statistically, this continues a worrying trend. Since winning four races during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Keselowski has visited Victory Lane just twice in 157 starts: once at Talladega in 2021 and again at Darlington last May.
And Nashville? It hasn’t been kind. His best finish at the 1.33-mile concrete oval is 11th, two years ago. Last year — in that unforgettable five-overtime battle — he wound up 25th.
Still, if Keselowski’s car performs better as the laps wind down, Nashville’s potential for late-race chaos might play to his advantage.
Penalty Relief for RFK; Playoff Battle Tightens at the Top
RFK Racing’s other entry, the No. 17 Ford piloted by Chris Buescher, received a small boost this week when the National Motorsports Appeals Panel decided to reduce the severity of the team’s recent penalty.
The 60-point deduction Buescher received after Kansas was sliced in half. That moved him up seven spots in the standings, jumping from 23rd to 16th — the current cutoff for the playoffs. While crew chief Scott Graves already served his suspension, the points matter greatly as the summer grind — and playoff scramble — heats up.
Meanwhile, Ross Chastain became the ninth different winner in the last nine races by stealing victory in the Coca-Cola 600. Driving a backup car, starting 40th, and leading only eight laps, Chastain surged past William Byron with just six laps to go to win the longest race of the season by 0.673 seconds.
Byron, who led late and held off Denny Hamlin earlier in the race, now leads the Cup Series standings with one win and six top-5 finishes. Behind him sits Kyle Larson, who owns three wins and eight top 5s, and leads the field in playoff points with 23.
With the field as unpredictable as ever, the potential for another shakeup in Music City is real — especially if history repeats itself with another wild finish.
Time to Deliver — or Will Nashville Deliver the Mayhem?
As the series turns to Nashville, all eyes will be on Brad Keselowski — not as a title favorite, but as a veteran desperately trying to regain form. A strong showing at Charlotte hinted that his No. 6 Ford might finally be turning a corner, but he knows moral victories won’t be enough to climb out of the bottom third of the standings.
“THE NIGHT GOT BETTER FOR US AS IT WENT LONGER.” – BRAD KESELOWSKI
That might be exactly what Nashville offers — another drawn-out, chaotic ending that rewards survival over dominance. Last year’s Cracker Barrel 400 featured five overtimes, last-lap chaos, and a fuel gamble by Joey Logano that sealed a shocking win.
If this weekend unfolds the same way, Keselowski and RFK Racing might just find the opening they’ve been waiting for. But time is running out. The summer stretch is unforgiving, and there’s no guarantee another miracle finish is coming.
News in Brief: Brad Keselowski 2025 season
Brad Keselowski heads to Nashville clinging to momentum after a rare top-5 at Charlotte. With just two wins since 2020 and a deep hole in the standings, he needs more than luck — he needs the kind of chaos Nashville is known for. RFK Racing has taken a small step forward with Buescher’s points return, but the pressure is building fast. With playoff spots tightening and the unpredictable Cracker Barrel 400 looming, it’s now or never for the No. 6 team.
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