Finally, A Cup Series Top Five For Keselowski In 2025

Brad Keselowski (6) battles Derek Kraus (44) and Shane van Gisbergen in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. (Declan Wayman photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Brad Keselowski finally broke through and netted the first top five of the season for his No. 6 team, finishing fifth in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After qualifying a frustrating 35th for the 66th running of the Memorial Day Weekend tradition, the 2020 winner of the longest race in NASCAR took advantage of the extended distance to patiently and methodically advance his RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse 30 positions up the grid.

He finally got to the front and led five laps in the final stage during green-flag pit stops, landing his best NASCAR Cup Series finish of the year by far despite only spending 30 percent of the race laps inside the top 15.

“We had a really good car. We got mixed up in some of the different stuff near the mid-point of the race but just clawed our way out,” said Keselowski. “Just getting to the lead dictated so many things and we weren’t able to get there, but I think we had the effort to do it.

“I feel like if we could have gotten to the lead, we could have won the race. I wish it was a 700-mile race,” he added. “You feel like you earned [a strong finish]. Some of these races it’s like, ‘I don’t know if I earned it.’ Today, we earned what we ended up with.”

The 2012 Cup Series champion has not had a season to remember to this point, having an average finish of 27.2 through the first 12 races and his 11th-place run at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in March ranking as his best prior to Charlotte.

Leading into the Coca-Cola 600, Keselowski had failed to finish from an accident in the three prior points races, crashing out of events at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Kansas Speedway.

Keselowski had a stroke of momentum during the All-Star break, however, scoring the pole for the million-dollar exhibition race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.

He led 62 laps before crashing out of his fourth straight contest, but the positives were taken from the weekend and parlayed into his strong effort during NASCAR’s longest night.

“We’ve been really competitive the last few weeks and I feel like it just hasn’t all come together … and it still hasn’t all come together,” Keselowski said. “But this car has got the speed to win races. I just need to go get it.

“This car was good enough to win. We just weren’t able to put all the dots together … and some of that falls on me, for sure.”

The finish is a step in the right direction, but it’s going to take many more of those and possibly a win if Keselowski wants to find himself safely in this year’s playoff field.

Despite the great Sunday night result, Keselowski only gained one spot in the point standings, jumping ahead of Shane van Gisbergen and slotting into 32nd position, 100 back of Ryan Preece for the final berth in the playoffs at the halfway point of the regular season.

Keselowski and company hope to keep their positive mojo rolling heading to the Music City for the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. He’s yet to earn a top-10 finish at the 1.333-mile concrete oval, with a best of 11th two years ago after leading two laps.

Broadcast coverage from Nashville begins Sunday night, June 1 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.