So close yet so far. That’s exactly what Brad Keselowski will be feeling after narrowly missing out on victory at his home track. No Michigan-born driver has ever won a Cup Series race at MIS, but the RFK Racing co-owner has been on the verge of breaking that record all too often. In his 27 starts at Michigan International Speedway, Keselowski has finished second three times and ended up in the top five nine times. Is it a case of bad luck, or simply not being fast enough?

In a race that took place over two different days due to rain, Keselowski will take solace in the fact that his 5th-place finish was the best result he has had in the last eight races, even though he couldn’t overcome eventual winner Tyler Reddick.

Brad Keselowski rues missed opportunity

Having already won a race at Darlington Raceway earlier this season, Brad Keselowski was hoping to double his tally on his home track. The 40-year-old started the race in 15th place and finished seventh by the end of Stage 1 before rain disrupted proceedings and postponed the FireKeepers Casino 400. By the end of the second stage, the RFK Racing co-owner had climbed up a spot to sixth, hoping he could go on a late run to snatch a victory. While he did gain a spot by finishing 5th, the result could have been so much better had the circumstances played out differently.

Speaking after the race, Brad Keselowski told Frontstretch, “Yeah, we were having some issues, and unfortunate that we’ll have to go back and work on whatever that was and try to get better.” When asked about how he felt about RFK Racing’s performance at Michigan, the No. 6 Ford Mustang driver replied, “Yeah, you know, we start off the race, kind of like a 10th to 15th place car. The team made some adjustments, we got to where we were about a 5th-place car and just kind of hung around there and was in a position to steal one.”

The turning point in the race was during the first overtime when Brad Keselowski managed to snatch third place on the restart. While both race leaders were competing wheel-to-wheel for the lead, Keselowski was making a run from behind them, hoping to capitalize on any mistakes that might occur. However, Ross Chastain’s spin forced a caution, which ultimately resulted in another overtime.

Brad Keselowski started in the second row during the double-overtime restart. However, the Rochester Hills native lost momentum because of technical issues at the green flag, which forced him to drop to fifth place. The incident also had repercussions for William Byron, who was the race leader at that time, and directly in front of Keselowski with two laps remaining. Without his drafting help, the Hendrick Motorsports driver lost the lead to Tyler Reddick, who won his second race of the season. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch took to social media to criticize Keselowski’s move at Michigan International Speedway.

Kyle Busch calls out Keselowski’s overtime move

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Not one to hold back his punches, Kyle Busch took to social media to question Brad Keselowski’s dangerous move while approaching Turn 1 on the overtime restart at Michigan International Speedway. The RFK Racing driver was seen slowing down while entering the turn when he was running behind William Byron. His sudden change of pace meant that Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford Mustang backed into Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Chevy, which caused a ripple effect throughout the grid.

A video uploaded by NASCAR showcased the incident, to which Rowdy replied, “What the f*** was the 6 doing?!” After the race, Keselowski explained that his car was suffering from engine troubles all day, which may have been the reason behind the incident. The former Team Penske driver said, “We just had a couple of issues today with the engine shutting off. It was frustrating, but it was just part of our day. We were probably that fourth or fifth-place car, and the way the race played out, [Reddick] got by us, and he was really fast. He deserved to win the race.”

As for Kyle Busch, a fourth-place finish at Michigan was his first top-five finish since the 2024 Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. While Rowdy may have felt he overachieved to an extent, only two races remain before a playoff spot slips from his grasp. If there was ever a time for Rowdy to punch above his weight, it’s now, even though a spot in the postseason looks like a distant possibility.

What are your thoughts about Brad Keselowski’s top-five finish at Michigan International Speedway? Let us know in the comments!