Keselowski confident the right opportunity for him is out there

Brad Keselowski still believes he can win the NASCAR Cup Series, so he wants to stay behind the wheel for the foreseeable future.

The former Cup Series champion has won only once in the last five seasons, but says, “I know I’m capable of winning more. You’re right, I’ve only won once in the last five years, but I think I’ve got eight or nine second-place finishes and a lot of coulda, woulda, shoulda that were outside of our control. I feel like in Tier 1 equipment, I can win a lot more races.”

However, Keselowski’s future appears to be in a car other than the No. 6 for RFK Racing, as the two sides have announced they are parting ways at season’s end. It marks the end of Keselowski's five-year contract with the company, in which he also holds an ownership stake.

Keselowski has driven for two teams in his full-time Cup Series career: Team Penske and RFK Racing.

“I was thinking about it the other day with some different comments, and I feel like it's really similar in my career to where, like, Mark Martin was in circa 2004 or 2005, when people were looking at his recent success and saying he couldn’t do it,” Keselowski said. “He got in the right opportunity, whether it was the DEI [Dale Earnhardt, Inc.] car or the Hendrick [Motorsports] car, and he was super competitive and could win races. When you’re not in the right opportunity, it doesn’t matter who you are as a driver.

“There is an old Kevin Harvick saying that you can’t make a slow race car go fast. … That’s just how it is. And I don’t think our cars are awful, but clearly, we’re not Tier 1. I’m proud of the work we’ve put in, and I’m proud of where I’m at as a driver, and I feel comfortable in Tier 1 that I can win races.”

As for the future, Keselowski has repeatedly shut down questions about RFK Racing, including questions about comments Chip Bowers, the company's president, made last week. Bowers explained that the two sides weren't aligned on a new deal because Keselowski wants to remain a driver for three to five more years, while the company wants him to shift to competition matters.

“I have no comments on RFK at this time,” Keselowski said. “All of that will work itself out and be clear over the next month or two, as well.”

But does he want to drive for three to five years, or how long?

“I would too, yeah,” Keselowski said. “Is that mandatory to getting a deal done? Absolutely not. But it’s where my aspirations are, for sure. There are plenty of opportunities that don’t entail that which interest me.”

Keselowski reiterated that he believes it will be another month or two before his 2027 becomes clear. In the meantime, he is taking every opportunity that comes his way and evaluating what it would do for him, whether he could make the team better, and whether the two sides would be successful together.

“There are more opportunities than I think you guys are aware of right now, and that’s OK,” Keselowski said. “All of that stuff – there is a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter and things that happen that don’t always make it’s way to you guys. So, I’d say there are some really good opportunities.”