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Brad Keselowski's P26 finish in the first elimination race of the NASCAR playoffs season, was not nearly enough to advance him to the playoffs this year. Keselowski pointed to his car's lacking pace as a main reason for the disappointing outcome.
Earlier this season, the 40-year-old secured his playoff position by winning the Goodyear 400 race at Darlington Raceway. However, his playoff performances were underwhelming, with finishes of P19 at Atlanta and P26 at Watkins Glen.
After starting from P23 in the race in Bristol, the #6 Ford Mustang driver only managed to finish Stage 1 in P27, making a slight improvement by the end of Stage 2 to finish P26.
Reflecting on the race’s challenges, Keselowski shared his insights with Bob Pockrass from Fox Sports, detailing the factors that hampered his performance.
"I mean just didn’t have the pace. Probably set up for the other tire that... wish we had it. [...] We want to run better. We want to win races and we want to go make deep runs in the playoffs and be in the final four and all those things. Obviously, anything short of that is disappointing. We'll come back and charge up more for next year."
While addressing similar questions posed by Brett McMillan from PRN Live, Keselowski conveyed his frustration:
"Just a long night. Just didn't have any pace. No attrition for the race, tires didn't fall off and we didn't have the pace."
Entering the Bristol Motor Speedway race 12 points below the cutoff, despite historically strong performances in the Next Gen era with finishes such as P3, P8, and P13, Brad Keselowski found himself mired in the pack, finishing three laps behind race victor Kyle Larson.
Alongside Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs, and Harrison Burton were eliminated from playoff contention after the Round of 16. Chase Briscoe took the final transfer spot, with Ty Gibbs trailing Briscoe by 11 points. Martin Truex Jr. found himself 21 points adrift, and Keselowski ended the round 37 points below the threshold for advancement.
Brad Keselowski's 2024 NASCAR Cup Season review so far
Last year saw Brad Keselowski finishing at P8 in the final standings despite not securing a single victory thanks to his consistent performances throughout the season. However, 2024 began on a sour note for the 40-year-old, with less-than-stellar finishes of P33 at both Daytona and Atlanta in the first two races of the regular season.
He made a recovery, achieving a series of two back-to-back top-5 finishes at Phoenix and Bristol, followed by strong performances at Texas, Talladega, Charlotte, Gateway, and Michigan. Keselowski also claimed top-10 finishes in four races at Richmond, Iowa, Pocono, and the second race at Daytona.
While Keselowski's fellow RFK Racing driver Chris Buescher, did not make the playoffs, he notched a win at Watkins Glen, marking the team's first road course victory since 2014.
