Failure to align on future plans led to RFK/Keselowski split

RFK Racing and Brad Keselowski were not aligned about the future of the company, and it ultimately led to the parties announcing a separation at the end of the year.

It was not a decision that was made lightly, RFK's president, Chip Bowers, acknowledged Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Bowers and Keselowski's representatives worked for months to figure out what the next chapter would look like, and it was clear from the outset that Keselowski still wants to be a race car driver for the foreseeable future. On the one hand, Bowers applauds that and will be rooting for him.

On the other hand, when the partnership between the two started five years ago, “we had had an idea of Brad taking on a very ambitious role. He is going to be a race car driver, head of competition, monitory owner; he’s a businessman and has interests outside of our organization; he’s a father. That is an incredible number of things to balance, and we have a lot of empathy for how hard all of that his to achieve and achieve at a high level.

“So, when we looked at it, we wanted to make sure not only organizationally that we set ourselves up for near-term success but long-term sustainable success. When we started looking at what the next three years look like for us and beyond, it was clear that we wanted Brad to start focusing more on his role in competition.”

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The comparison Bowers made was to other figures in the sport like Chris Gabehart and Chad Knaus, who live and breathe what is a 24/7 job. If RFK Racing wants to be in the same conversation as Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing, it needs that level of commitment. It is what the company is focused on.

The hope was that would be a natural transition over the next two or three years for Keselowski. But the former Cup Series champion, who will turn 43 at the start of the 2027 season, wants to drive much longer than that.

“That is what makes it so hard,” Bowers said. “This is a business, and we just weren’t aligned with that, and that happens sometimes. We just wanted to make the competition side more of a focus, and he wanted to focus on the driving side. We get that, and that’s why it took us so long to get there because we worked so hard and diligently to find a solution and just couldn’t get there. And that happens sometimes in business.”

Bowers shot down reports and online rumors that things had gone sour between Keselowski and the Fenway Sports Group. Keselowski is not the controlling owner of RFK Racing, which has always been operated by Roush Enterprises and the Fenway Group. Bowers said nothing could be further from the truth about arguments between the two sides; there is no adversarial relationship, and everyone is still friends.

It has been a tough week, though, because they didn’t think they’d find themselves here. RFK Racing continues to seek a third charter and now has a seat to fill, which it is committed to doing with help from CAA Sports, but they also need a head of competition, since Keselowski was involved on that side of the business.

All the company's partners are associated with the cars, not Keselowski, so they don’t need to be replaced. Additionally, Bowers said Kroger never told the company that it had to be a chartered car. Ryan Preece, however, will be in a charter car next season with Keselowski’s departure and the two charters the company has.

“There was no smoking gun here,” Bowers said. “There’s no other outlying issue that people want to point to for why, unfortunately, we weren’t able to figure it out. It was simply those issues that I’ve addressed.”

Bowers repeatedly praised Keselowski, saying, “He has been a tremendous partner to me personally, to our ownership group of Jack Roush and Roush Enterprises and Fenway Sports Group. He is not just the consummate professional and future Hall of Fame race car driver, but he’s also an incredible person. He’s been a great friend and someone who has really helped modernize our business on the track over the last five years.

“I think it’s fair to say he will be an important chapter in our organization’s history, and you will not find bigger fans in the garage or in life than the people associated with our organization, so I felt it was important to start by thanking him for all that he’s done for us, and I’m excited to continue to root for him over the course of the next six weeks and the rest of his career.”