Brad Keselowski Goes Back on His Word by Backing Dale Jr’s Plea to Bring the Clash Back to Daytona

A bunch of racers, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson among them, thought it was a stroke of genius to shake things up with the Clash at the Coliseum exhibition race before Daytona rolled around. But given the conundrum the weather threw this year at the stadium, quite a few folks, Dale Earnhardt Jr included, reckon that if NASCAR decides to give Los Angeles a miss next year, it might be best to circle back to Daytona’s familiar turf.

Interestingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s take got a thumbs-up from Brad Keselowski. What’s even more eyebrow-raising is that Keselowski’s nod came despite him previously championing NASCAR’s bold leap to the L.A. Coliseum, which wasn’t exactly music to all fans’ ears.

Brad Keselowski is also rallying behind the ‘Back to Daytona’ battle cry

On his podcast, Dale Jr chewed over the pickle the season’s opener found itself in due to the weather, leading to a change in schedule. He threw in his two cents that NASCAR might give the Coliseum a miss next year. Amid whispers and hints from NASCAR bigwigs like Steve O’Donnell, who’ve been dropping breadcrumbs about potential pit stops in places as far-flung as Mexico City or as familiar as California Speedway, Dale Jr couldn’t help but get his feathers ruffled.

O’Donnell’s musings, “There’s a lot of tracks in the U.S. that also would love to have the Clash, and even more so a lot outside the U.S., so more to come on that. We remain bullish on what’s going to take place this weekend and we’ll evaluate the future afterward,” and “If we had our druthers, we would have a race in Southern California every year,” seemed to stir the pot.

Dale Jr laid it out plain and simple: if the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is off the table next year, why not kick things off at Daytona like in the good old days? In his own words, “I am of the opinion that it doesn’t need to be going around to all these other racetracks it doesn’t need to go to Mexico, doesn’t need to go to Canada, it doesn’t need to go back to Coliseum, it doesn’t need to go to your local short track or South Boston or anywhere. It needs to go back to Daytona.” 

And now, Brad Keselowski, tipping his hat to Dale Jr’s stance, echoed the sentiment on Twitter, “I can get behind this. Back to Daytona, pole winners and Clash winners only. 90 minute race, invert at halfway with extra money if you can win both halves.”

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What’s eye-opening is that just about a month ago, Brad Keselowski was all about drumming up excitement for the L.A. showdown, even rubbing some fans the wrong way with his post inviting fans to the Coliseum. His tweet read, “I’m proud that our sport gets to race in a venue as legendary as the L.A. Coliseum. This is a place filled with iconic moments where champions have been crowned. I’m counting down the days until we are back and seeing the stands filled with fans will make it even more special. Use my exclusive link for 10% off tickets to the race and come help us kick off the season strong.” 

But for now, Keselowski’s likely not sweating the past or fretting over what’s next. He’s got a different fish to fry—stepping into the commentator’s booth for the Daytona Xfinity race.

RFK Racing owner’s commentator’s booth appearance

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Ever since 2017, Fox Sports has been playing a bit of musical chairs by getting racers still in the game to call the shots on live TV. This year, Brad Keselowski is taking his turn at bat, ready to share his insights on the Xfinity race at Daytona, as motorsport.com spills the beans. But he won’t be going it alone.

Austin Dillon will be joining him in the booth, making it a duo to watch. On top of that, Regan Smith and Josh Sims will be roaming the grounds, digging up the dirt for those juicy behind-the-scenes stories. And if that’s not enough Keselowski for you, he’s also thrown his hat in the ring for the NASCAR Mexico Series race on FS1.

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Seeing Brad Keselowski swap the steering wheel for the mic should be quite the show. It’s a great chance for the broadcasting folks to scout out which of the speedsters has what it takes to trade in their racing gloves for a spot behind the desk once they decide to park their cars for good.