Brad Keselowski sits 32nd in the championship standings after a difficult start to the 2025 season. A fifth-place finish last weekend in the Coca-Cola 600 was both his first top five and top ten of the year.
But Keselowski’s priorities aren’t limited to driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang as the co-owner at RFK Racing. Both of his teammates — Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher — are right on the playoff cut-line in a close points battle.
Recent inspection issues for RFK
Ryan Preece, RFK Racing Ford; Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Photo by: David J. Griffin – Icon Sportswire – Getty Images
But both of those drivers have also faced setbacks this year in the form of points penalties. Preece earned a career-best finish of second at Talladega, narrowly missing out on the win in a photo finish. However, he was later disqualified after the No. 60 car failed post-race inspection (rear spoiler).
Buescher and his No. 17 team lost 60 points after an issue was found with the way the front bumper was reinforced when it was taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center following the Kansas race. They were able to get half of those points back on appeal, but are still without 30 valuable points.
Walking the line of a complicated rule book
Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images
At Nashville this weekend, Keselowski pushed back on the notion that RFK was “pushing too much” despite the recent issues, chalking it up to “understanding the rule book and all of its complexities. Ultimately, that burden falls on us and we have had those conversations internally. I think everyone knows what is expected of them moving forward.”
Keselowski went on to say that “the rules are extremely complex,” comparing them to an “IRS tax code.”
NASCAR has seen an unusually high number of inspection issues this year, especially in post-race with nine cars across three national divisions facing disqualifications this year — including two race winners.
“You have to read this paper and you have to reference this paper, to reference this paper to reference this paper,” said Keselowski. “When you’re head down and digging, running 38 weeks a year, oversights are going to happen. From our perspective, that’s not an excuse, I can’t really speak to other teams and how they handle it. I can speak to ours and we made a small restructuring this week to be better prepared and more mindful of what it takes to be in compliance.”
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