BRAD KESELOWSKI’S HEARTBREAK: A BRISTOL NIGHT RACE FOR THE AGES GOES UP IN SMOKE
In a gripping display of racing drama, Brad Keselowski found himself on the brink of victory at the iconic Bristol Night Race. As the adrenaline surged and the tension reached a boiling point, fans were left on the edge of their seats when the final caution flag came out, turning the tides in a way that left Keselowski seething with frustration.
The chaos erupted when Cole Custer, merging onto the track, unwittingly triggered a catastrophic chain of events that took out Bubba Wallace. For Keselowski, this caution came as a blessing in disguise. He seized the opportunity to pit for fresh tires and opted for the outside lane on the restart—a decision that would soon haunt him. What followed was a jaw-dropping turn of events as Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar surged ahead, opening the door for Christopher Bell to snatch the lead right from under Keselowski’s nose.
“I’m just pissed,” Keselowski vented during a post-race media scrum, summing up the agony of a race that should have been his. “We did all the right moves, and just kind of got screwed on the last restart.” The bitterness was palpable as he reflected on losing his hard-earned advantage.
But the saga didn’t end there. Just when it seemed Keselowski’s chances had slipped away, he clawed his way back into contention, chasing down Bell with the clock ticking down. Positioned perfectly for a classic bump-and-run maneuver that could have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, Keselowski delivered a hit that, shockingly, propelled Bell forward instead of bumping him aside. “Still were going to be fine after the caution, and then on the restart, the 77 [Hocevar] spun his tires and the 38 [Smith] cleaned him out. Basically, all Chris had to do was turn left. I had a shot at him down here on the last lap. I hit him, and it didn’t do anything,” he lamented, the weight of the moment weighing heavily on his shoulders.
With this latest setback, RFK Racing finds itself still winless this season, and heartbreakingly, all three of their cars missed out on the playoffs. Keselowski’s season has been riddled with near-misses and demoralizing defeats, including a gut-wrenching loss at Atlanta, where he lost the lead in the final lap.
“Just the story of our season, just a 50/50 shot on the restart and I got the lane that couldn’t launch,” he revealed in a post-race interview with USA Network. “Just frustrating. We had a great car, great strategy, put ourselves in position to, if not to win, at least have a really, really solid day, and on that last restart, just rolled the dice and didn’t get anything good.”
As Keselowski battles through this tumultuous season, he now faces an agonizing winless streak that stretches beyond 50 races, with his last taste of victory dating back to May 2024 at Darlington. The Bristol Night Race may have closed the door on another chance for glory, but for Keselowski, the fight continues. Will he rise from the ashes or remain shackled by the weight of lost opportunities? Only time will tell as the season unfolds.
