Brad Keselowski to attempt 11th Clash start at Bowman Gray

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to mark Brad Keselowski’s 16th as a full-time competitor in the series and fourth in a row in recent seasons as a co-owner/driver of Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing. Before his quest to win both a first Daytona 500 and a second Cup title commences in the middle of February, he enters this upcoming weekend’s Cook Out Clash festivities at Bowman Gray Stadium with a goal to make his 11th career appearance in the pre-season exhibition event.

A native of Rochester Hills, Michigan, Keselowski’s first appearance in the Clash was in 2012 when the event occurred at Daytona International Speedway. By then, he was driving the No. 2 Dodge Charger for Team Penske and had earned a starting spot for the exhibition event by virtue of winning the pole position for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2011. Starting at the rear of the field in a back-up car, Keselowski survived a crash-filled Clash to finish in fourth place. Despite proceeding to win the 2012 Cup Series championship, he would not be eligible to compete in the event for the 2013 season due to not recording a single pole throughout the 2012 campaign.

In 2014, Keselowski returned to the starting grid for the Clash after coming off a 2013 campaign where he recorded a pole award at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. During his second start in the event, he led eight of 75 scheduled laps and settled in the runner-up spot after overtaking Denny Hamlin with two laps remaining.

Over his next three Clash starts, Keselowski finished 25th, ninth, and sixth, respectively. During his latter two starts, he led a combined 44 laps and was in striking position of winning both events until late-race incidents prevented him from emerging out in front on the final lap. In 2016, the Michigan native was involved in two late-race multi-car wrecks, including one on the final lap where he got squeezed against the Turn 1 outside wall and limped home in ninth place. The following season, he was running in second place behind Denny Hamlin on the final lap and attempted to make a move beneath Hamlin for the lead in Turn 1. With Hamlin steering his car left to try and block Keselowski, they made contact, which resulted in Hamlin spinning and plummeting below the leaderboard. At the same time, Keselowski drifted back to sixth place.

Then, in 2018, Keselowski reigned to supreme for the first time in the Clash after he led a race-high 43 of 75-scheduled laps, including the final 37, and muscled away from a final-lap multi-car wreck to beat his two Team Penske teammates, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney along with ex-teammate Kurt Busch across the finish line in fifth place. As a result, Keselowski became the 23rd competitor to win the Clash as he piloted Team Penske’s No. 2 entry to a victory in the event since NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace made the previous accomplishment in 1998. Keselowski also recorded Team Penske’s fifth exhibition event victory and the ninth for the Ford nameplate.

Since his first Clash victory in 2018, Keselowski has finished no higher than eighth over his next four Clash starts. After competing in the event at Daytona from 2019 to 2021, he did not qualify for the event that had relocated to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to not securing an on-track transfer spot through the Clash’s Heat and Last Chance Qualifier events. By then, he had departed Team Penske to assume both a co-ownership and driving role in the No. 6 Ford entry for the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team. This past season, he managed to claim a transfer spot to make his 10th career Clash start at the Coliseum, where he finished eighth during the main event.

Through 10 previous starts in the Clash, Keselowski has achieved one victory, three top-five results, six top-10 results, 132 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.7. Due to finishing in 13th place in the 2024 driver’s standings, he will have to earn a starting spot for the 2025 Clash either through one of four Heat qualifying races scheduled for February 1 or through the 75-lap Last Chance Qualifier Race that will occur on February 2 prior to the main event.

Currently, Keselowski has the fourth-most exhibition starts among active competitors at 10. Should he both qualify and win the 2025 Clash, he would record the second victory of the event for RFK Racing, previously competed as Roush Racing, and the first since NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin made the first accomplishment in 1999. Keselowski would also become the 13th competitor overall to win the Clash multiple times.

The 2025 Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 2, with a starting broadcast time at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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