How Deep Could Keselowski Go In Cup Series Playoff Push?

Brad Keselowski (Matthew Thacker/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – When looking at the diverse complexion of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff field, it’s not far-fetched to believe Brad Keselowski could be primed for his deepest postseason run since becoming a driver and co-owner of RFK Racing.

First joining forces with the once prominent but struggling Ford stable back in 2022 – the inaugural season of the seventh-generation car – Keselowski, understandably, put up the worst numbers since his first full-time Cup Series season. He lost an 11-year streak of winning and qualifying for the playoffs in trying to acclimate to a brand-new situation.

Last year, the Rochester Hills, Mich., native was still held winless, but saw immense organizational growth in the form of a playoff berth, while his teammate Chris Buescher had a career-best season with three victories and a finish of seventh in the standings (right ahead of Keselowski).

This season, Keselowski appears to have finally regained his championship-level composure, looking much more like the perennial frontrunner he was in his 12 years with Team Penske at the age of 40 – the third oldest full-time driver in Cup.

Entering the postseason, Keselowski has already established himself as one of the most consistent drivers at NASCAR’s highest level, with the fifth-best average-finishing position (14.1).

Sitting eighth both in the driver and playoff standings, the former champion secured back-to-back postseason appearances by snapping a 110-race winless drought at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May. That win led a resume of 12 top-10 finishes that also included three runner-ups.

Positioned three points above the cutoff, with only four total separating eighth and 16th, Keselowski finds himself in a tight battle going into an unpredictable Round of 16, but there’s reason to believe he could be one of the best bets to advance into the next three-race set.

Brad Keselowski is a seven-time winner on superspeedway-style tracks, including six at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. (David Rosenblum/NKP photo)

For the first time in the current playoff format, the opening race in the Round of 16 will not begin at an intermediate track. Instead, this year’s postseason begins at a drafting track in Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway – a style of racing in which Keselowski has established himself as one of the best in NASCAR’s history.

Whereas kicking off the postseason at Darlington the last four years presented some sense of predictability, despite a notoriously challenging track, Atlanta is a complete wild card that can literally make or break a driver’s title hopes in the first of 10 races.

“Darlington was kind of like this known entity, right? Everybody knew going into that race what to expect,” Keselowski said during Playoff Media Day on Wednesday. “Atlanta, not so much. A lot more unknowns. I think that changes the perception of that first week of the playoffs, and that first week of the playoffs is really important. It really sets the tone, in my eyes, for how it's gonna go.

“[If] you have a bad week, week one, it's hard to dig out of it. Atlanta … It's easy to have a bad weekend.”

Keselowski may not have finished the race at Atlanta in February, but he finished second and sixth in last year’s two Cup Series appearances, with 66 combined laps led.

That’s also leaving out the fact the seven-time superspeedway winner has two wins there – one as recently as 2019 – albeit before the track’s reconfiguration back in 2022.

Adding to the playoff equation, the real reason Keselowski could be poised for a deep run is the fact the equally unpredictable Round of 12 features another drafting track in Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where he is tied for second-most wins all-time with Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Keep in mind: he finished runner-up at the 2.66-mile track earlier this year and placed eighth in the most recent drafting race at Daytona Int’l Speedway with a shot at the win, had he not jumped a late restart.

Although drafting tracks are the epitome of mayhem and uncertainty, Keselowski has just about mastered the art of navigating speedway-style racing, giving him a potential advantage going into his 13th postseason appearance.

Prior to this year, Keselowski had qualified for the playoffs nine out of 10 years under the current points format – and eight of those times he advanced into the Round of 8, including last season.

He’s made the Championship 4 on two occasions, with his best shot at a second title coming in runner-up fashion back in 2020.

Could this year be the next?

“It's a great opportunity,” Keselowski said of the impending postseason. “I mean, these are moments in your life that you don't get back, right? It'll never be 2024 again, (you’ll) never be in the spot again of having this particular opportunity to win the championship.

“I just want to make the most of it.”

Keselowski and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field hit the track Sunday, Sept. 8 for the playoff-opening Quaker State 400 available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Broadcast coverage is slated for 3 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.