After Brandishing Ford’s Prowess on Superspeedways, Can Brad Keselowski Get His First Daytona 500 Win This Season?

For the last two seasons, there has been a slow resurgence in NASCAR. While it was the HMS Chevys that reigned supreme with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson taking the throne in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the Team Penske Fords have countered that brilliantly, seizing the top title both in 2022 and 2023.

Except for the downtrodden Stewart-Haas Racing camp, which will look to retake the mantle as Ford’s best team this season, two teams in particular have done most of the work for the manufacturer. One is the championship-winning, Team Penske and the other is the rising RFK Racing with veteran Brad Keselowski spearheading the re-emergence.

Despite the disparity in numbers with Team Chevy winning 20 more races than Ford in the Next-Gen era, the Dark Horse Mustang could be a force to be reckoned with on high-flowing speedways such as the Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Given the RFK Fords’ potency, and the #17’s stellar win last year, will this be Keselowski‘s chance to shine and take home his first Daytona 500 title?

The one that got away: Can Brad Keselowski bounce back from his winless season with a win at Daytona?

Even the veteran himself has written it down as one of his three objectives for the season. Despite his 35 wins in the Cup Series, the 39-year-old still lacks that coveted Daytona trophy. While he is at a stage where his team becoming title contenders would be a much bigger objective for him as an owner, we are sure winning the Daytona 500 would have its own significance for Keselowski..

But can he do it? Well, the RFK equipment certainly has what it takes to deliver the goods, something Keselowski and his driver, Chris Buescher, proved last year with a perfect 1-2 finish to Coke Zero Sugar 400.

For the last two years, the RFK Fords have led the most laps at the venue and they’ve been fighting for the wins as well. However, as fate would have it, Keselowski never got to the end zone as a Daytona 500 win remains elusive.

WATCH THIS STORY: Brad Keselowski shares his emotion on being excluded from Netflix’s NASCAR: Full Speed

Now to answer the million-dollar question, will the veteran be able to get a Daytona W this year? Probably, as the RFK Ford is as competitive as ever with Keselowski making major amends in the camp. Moreover, with the veteran focused on his three tasks for 2024, anything is possible. To be fair, he has already brought the team a long way from where it was before he came in as an owner.

“You don’t win, you get chosen to win” – Keselowski shares his thoughts on the Daytona 500

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In a career spanning 16 years, Keselowski has had it all, including a Coca-Cola 600, triumph, a Southern 500 win in his list of all his Cup Series wins, but the Daytona 500 win. Entering the 2024 season, the 39-year-old has made it clear that it is one of his major goals to set alongside three others that seem easy peasy compared to the first one.

Speaking to Fox’s Bob Pockrass, Keselowski shared the harsh reality of conquering the “Great American race.” He said, “The Daytona 500 feels like a race that you don’t win, you get chosen to win. All you can really do is put yourself in a position and hope you’re chosen.”

Reflecting on the high-speed action that unfolds on the track, Keselowski added, “You can go back and watch the end of races and people win this race and you kind of scratch your head and go, ‘How did they win this race?’ There wasn’t a move that won it for them. It just fell in their lap, and that part gets super frustrating.”

The veteran even went on to retrospect that there’s nothing much to do differently than what he did previously at the track while saying, “I feel like there’s a divine power in it.” Would you agree?

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