Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Xfinity 500 Media Availability — Martinsville Speedway
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Earlier today, Brad Keselewski held a press conference to announce his future plans after RFK Racing said he is free to continue his driving career with another organization.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 TravelCenters of America Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “Thank you for your time. I appreciate you hearing me out here for a few minutes. About several weeks ago, as many of you are aware, RFK announced that I would not be with the team next year, and since then I’ve been asked by a number of media members for an update on my situation. Today felt like the right time to give just that and what has been going on behind the scenes specifically, which way I’m leaning or when I might be able to make any announcements on what I’ll be doing in 2027 and beyond. To date, I’ve been saying basically that when I was ready to give insights, I would and I’d provide that update at a later time. Well, this is that time.
Before I get into that, I just want to say thank you for being patient. Thank you for your interest. Thank you for all of those who have reached out to me, whether it be media, fans, or industry with support. It’s really flattering and I want to extend a sincere thank you for all those that have cared enough for that.
So, the reason for the media conference today, for me, is not to make an announcement. I know that might be disappointing to a few people, but more so just kind of an update, and I thought this was the appropriate time, specifically because a few things have changed – some very recently – and I did not want to do an announcement the weekend of the championship race out of respect to what that means for the industry and the sport, so this felt like the right weekend and thanks for your patience waiting for that. I hope I’m gonna answer a lot of your questions. I know I’m not gonna get everybody’s question, so bear with me. There will be more time to do that, but now is the time that I can get a lot more definitive on a number of things.
To back up. When I joined RFK Racing, which would have been about five years ago now, I joined with the idea that it would be my forever home. That would be where I finished my career, transcend into management and ownership for the rest of my professional career in life. That was really where my heart was and it didn’t play out the way that we hoped it would, but there were a lot of good things that did happen. I would say objectively I was able to be a part of taking this team up a level in every measurable way, and I’m proud of the people that I got to work with and that we did that together with. No matter where this goes from here, that doesn’t change.
As you guys may or may not know, my contract did go through the end of this season and we began the negotiations on extending it about 11 months ago after the season was over following 2025. The team and I got in some really deep discussions, and I think I’ve shared some of this with some people here in this room. I wanted to keep driving and to continue my role in the competition group for many years to come. I felt really strongly that my body of work was good and that I had what it takes to be a part of it, and there was more that I want to achieve and there still is more that I want to achieve behind the wheel, and I feel like even as recently as last week at Talladega proves that’s just the case and for not just one race, but for many years to come.
Unfortunately, what became very clear in the negotiation is my partners saw that differently, and we were not able to come to agreement. I will say that the interaction I had with my partners wasn’t adversarial. We just had a difference of opinion on how we best viewed the future of the company and the path forward for the team and myself. As a result, we reached a pretty strong impasse and in doing so the team repeatedly assured me that as we concluded our relationship and negotiations and decided to go our separate ways, they would not hold me up or restrict me from continuing my career in NASCAR with another Cup team, and promised that they would work cooperatively together with me, specifically around a buyout or sale of the 20 percent equity that I own in the team.
Very recently we came to a verbal agreement, hopefully soon a written agreement, to a release of my restrictions that would keep me from racing in the 2027 season in the Cup Series as a driver or as an owner and driver in the NASCAR Truck Series. I’m thankful that Roush and Fenway, the RFK management team, that we were all able to work through a number of hurdles to achieve that. That was not an easy lift. It’s been in the works for at least a month now, and I’m thankful for the time that we had together. This is kind of the road to the end of that time. I will say that in the time that we had together, I learned a tremendous amount and although I didn’t achieve all the goals that I wanted to achieve, I learned enough that I feel like I’m ready to be elite for the next opportunity that comes in front of me on all levels, whether that’s as a driver, owner or manager.
So, a little bit about those opportunities. That’s probably the thought that everybody has and I have those thoughts too. There are a number of opportunities in front of me in the Cup Series for 2027 and beyond. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve had a number of outreaches. I’m not going to get into the details of what those are at this time, but I’m eager and willing to execute one of them and to be part of the 2027 season as a manager in NASCAR and a driver.
As I said before, I truly believe I have what it takes to do that at the highest level with winning races and contending for championships, both as a driver and a team leader. So, I’m certainly not ready to retire or walk away in any means from this sport.
So what are the next steps for me? There are really three pivotal next steps for me that we’re working through very hard. The first one for me is, now that I’ve been granted the release, I can meaningful engage in the opportunities that exist. I was more or less taking phone calls and unable to do much with them until granted that release here just recently. Now I can engage them in a meaningful way. I can also go about the process of finding the right media and marketing partners to take on that challenge. As you guys know, this sport relies on a marketing partner and sponsorship relationship. It’s hard to achieve that when you don’t have any clarity on what your rights are, so now that those are certain I can go do that. And last but not least, I will begin the process of selling my 20 percent of RFK equity so I will have a full release for the rest of my career to do what I want.
That’s what’s in front of me right now. For my fans, the media and the industry that have supported me there are a couple of things I want you guys to know. All of the support you’ve given me over my entire career, I’m incredibly grateful for. Racing in the 2027 season is still not a guarantee for me, although it became a lot clearer and the path to get there is probably a little more visible recently. To not be able to race, though, would be devastating to me. This is my life. This is what I love to do. I’ve worked my whole career and done all the things that you would want to do, but I’m not ready to be done. I know that I have a lot of work to do to get a deal done for 2027 given that it’s so late in the year to land a ride, but we’re gonna go to work and now we can go hopefully achieve just that. The road is clear and it’s paved in front of us, so those are my goals. That’s the update that I have to give and with that I’ll stop and pause and open for questions.”
QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION:
HOW RECENTLY DID YOU GAIN THIS RELEASE AND WHAT DID THIS LOOK LIKE IF WEREN’T ABLE TO DO SO? “About an hour ago, so very recently I would say. Without a release, it certainly would be a different day.”
YOU MADE AN OFFER TO PURCHASE RFK. I ASSUME THAT INCLUDED INVESTORS. ARE THEY INTERESTED IN OTHER TEAMS OR WHAT THAT SPECIFIC TO RFK? “I would say that I made a very serious offer to purchase RFK. I can’t go into the specifics of what it was. There’s a lot of interest in this sport right now, tremendous interest in this sport on the ownership front and it’s never been hotter. We didn’t necessarily get there as an industry the way I think we’d liked to have gotten there with the different lawsuits and all those things, but the closing of the lawsuit here in the last 12 months has dramatically affected the perception of the sport, in particular in New York City and where a lot of these big investment firms are. This sport is now viewed as an ownership asset that has certainty and it has a level of stability and the valuations have dramatically increased along with the interest. So, that’s not unique to my situation. I think there’s a couple announcements that are gonna come out here in the next few months in a similar vein, and the sport is going to feel the effect of that, I think, in a very positive way shortly. So, I’m not sure I’m fully answering your question, but there’s a lot of ownership interest right now, for sure.”
CAN YOU DRIVE FOR ANY CUP TEAM OF ANY OEM CURRENT OR INCOMING? “Yes.”
ARE ANY OF THE CURRENT RFK SPONSORS AVAILABLE TO YOU FOR YOUR NEXT MOVE? “I have a very specific agreement with RFK that although I was instrumental in bringing partners to the team, once they were with the team they are now a team asset and will be so.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF THIS NEXT OPPORTUNITY WHATEVER THAT MAY BE? “I want to contend for wins. I want to be a part of contending for wins as a driver, an owner, an operator, a manager, all of the above. I want to be a part of seeing people be successful. I want to be a part of writing the script that is the future of this sport, so that it can endure hopefully for decades and generations to come. That’s probably what I value the most. I’ve given a big part of my life to this sport, and I have a love for it and its fans and everything that makes it go, and I want to be a part of that lifestyle and that privilege for many years to come.”
IS THE TRUCK SERIES AN OPTION B IF YOU CAN’T GET A CUP RIDE FOR 2027? “I would not say option B. I would not say option A. I don’t know that I have enough clarity on that. I’m obviously very interested in remaining a part of the Cup Series in a really meaningful way. I have a lot of interest in the triple crown. I think we’ll see how it plays out and what the opportunities cement themselves to be and go from there.”
IS THERE A CHANCE THAT EVEN IF YOU DON’T RACE TRUCKS NEXT YEAR THAT WE COULD SEE BRAD KESELOWSKI RACING RETURN TO THAT SERIES IN SOME CAPACITY? “I would say there’s a strong chance with no certainty. I have all the assets to do a truck team right now and it is certainly something that interests me, but I’m not ready to commit to anything of that level. Again, I’m gonna wait and see what all the opportunities present themselves to be fully. Right now, they’re kind of on the peripheral and I can now engage in meaningful discussions that I couldn’t before. I think I’ll weigh all of those options here very shortly.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT NEXT YEAR? “I am confident that something is going to work out. I don’t know what it is right now, so there is a level of uncertainty, for sure. I know that nothing comes easy in this sport, nor should it, and we’re gonna have to grind really hard to get a deal done for next year. I know that, and I’m committed to doing that. I don’t have a deal done right now, but there are some really good opportunities, but nothing is ever done until it’s done.”
IS THERE A DEADLINE TO ANY OF THIS? “I think now is kind of let’s call this what it is, this is me signaling to the industry the three action steps that I have and seeing what the industry says back to me. I don’t know 100 percent how the industry is gonna respond. Hopefully positively, but it’s a very fluid sport and things can change very quickly and today’s truths are yesterday’s fiction, so that’s what always makes it so hard when we talk to a lot of media members. Somebody will ask us a question, ‘Are you gonna do x?’ And you’re like, ‘No.’ But maybe a day from now a circumstance will change where x will be the truth or the best opportunity that we do, and it’s not that we’re trying to mislead you or any of that nature, but circumstances change so rapidly. That said, one of the things that is really appealing to me, and I think to the market, is given the limited eligibility for next year’s Clash and All-Star Race, clearly I’m one of the drivers that is eligible for those two events, so that’s exciting. There are some different circumstances in the Cup Series garage that some people do or don’t know about that if you have to work out, and I could see a scenario that doesn’t develop until literally February of ‘27. Hopefully, we’ll have answers before then, but I don’t want to make any promises I can’t live up to.”
DOES OWNERSHIP OR MANAGEMENT NEED TO BE PART OF YOUR IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP? “I would say it does not have to be, no. That’s not like a prerequisite, and I certainly don’t want to limit the opportunities to if I don’t own the team or control the different aspects I wouldn’t do it, but I would say that it is something I do value, for sure.”
DO YOU FEEL THAT RFK TREATED YOU FAIRLY AND PROFESSIONALLY THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS AND PARTICULARLY THE LAST FEW MONTHS? “I’m glad that we got the deal done that we got done here very recently. I think that was not, I’m gonna use my golf pun, that was not a short putt. That was a long putt. We certainly had our differences along the way on a number of topics. Reasonable people can disagree on things. I don’t really want to get into the different dynamics of fair or unfair. It was a journey. I learned a lot along the way. I’m better for it, without a doubt. I didn’t achieve all of the things I wanted to achieve and I’m willing to admit that, but I think that the journey, I understand that there’s a lot of people, and I hear it in a lot of fan sentiment when I have different events with fans or even though social media of, ‘Brad, you left Penske to go with RFK and then Penske went on and won three championships and clearly is a great team. You could have stayed there and done that.’ And people are right. I could have stayed there and done that and not done this thing here with RFK over the last five years. Ultimately, even though it’s coming to an end and it didn’t play out exactly the way I wanted it to, I’m not really looking back at that with a regret and, specifically, I got to try and be a part of something where I got to see other people be successful, where I grew myself. Did it probably cost me some wins? Yeah, it probably did. Did it maybe cost me a shot at another championship? We could probably argue that one either way, but I grew as a person. I got to be a part of seeing other people grow and I’m gonna take that with me for the rest of my life and for the opportunities that come in the future and I’m really thankful for that.”
YOU MENTIONED THE CLASH AND YOU HAVEN’T WON THE DAYTONA 500. IS THE DOOR COMPLETELY CLOSED ON YOU DOING EITHER OF THOSE RACES FOR RFK? “I’m really careful not to speak for other people, including RFK. From my perspective, no door is closed, but I can’t speak from other perspectives.”
YOU MENTIONED YOU GOT YOUR RELEASE AN HOUR AGO. THIS PRESS CONFERENCE WAS SCHEDULED A WHILE AGO. DID THIS BEING SCHEDULED TODAY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS DEAL COMING TO FRUITION FOR YOU? “I don’t want to speak for other people. Clearly, I was gonna have this press conference regardless. Would the topic have been different without the release? Probably. Yes, it would have, but I’m thankful that this is the topic and that we’re forging a path forward.”
HOW DID THINGS GET TO THIS POINT? “I can’t necessarily answer for other people. I can only answer for myself and my partners made the decision that they made and they have the right to make that decision. Their own rationale or reasoning is best left to them.”
DO YOU SEE AS MUCH INTEREST IN SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AS OWNERSHIP? “I would say that NASCAR as a property went through, just to be transparent, went through a downturn here the last 8-10 years and it’s having a good moment right now. There’s always a metric you can point to that is unfavorable, whether that’s in attendance or TV viewership metric, but there are a lot of very favorable metrics inside the garage area and one of those is clearly the team ownership model has a level of sustainability that it didn’t have before. It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily profitable, but it’s sustainable and that’s a win. On the partnership level, very specifically a number of things have happened that I think are positive to NASCAR as a space for sports. As a whole, the space you continue to see the fragmentation of the media model outside of live sports. Live sports have kind of turned into this last bastion of advertising outside of buying an ad on Facebook or Google, and I think a lot of Fortune 500 companies or a lot of companies that are marketing and have the wherewithal to be involved in NASCAR are starting to have fatigue over the Googles and the Facebooks and so forth, so that brings them live sports and a way to tell their story that is unique. Those two things as a whole are driving a success story in NASCAR and a narrative that I think is different than what it was 10 years ago.”
DO YOU HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE THAT THE VERBAL AGREEMENT WILL BE WHAT MAKES IT ON PAPER? “Yeah, I think both sides have enough integrity to make sure that’s the case, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. So, yes.”
DO YOU COME HERE FEELING MORE SETTLED, MORE OPTIMISTIC OR IS YOUR WORLD SPINNING? “I feel like I control my own destiny and there’s a lot of power in that – for good or bad. Being able to control your own destiny, you hear it in other sports – give me the ball, coach. That’s where I am at a professional level right now. I now have the ball and if I fumble it, it’s on me and if I score with it, it’s on me but I have the ball. I think there’s a great sense of relief from that, but, to your point, there’s a pressure with that too. You’ve got to go deliver and we have to go deliver on several fronts and that burden is on us right now.”
DO YOU HAVE INTEREST IN HELPING DODGE HELP BUILD THEIR CUP PROGRAM? “I would say that everything is on the table. I have not had a meaningful discussion with Dodge or RAM. I’m certainly very open-minded to it, alongside all of the OEMs. I haven’t given up on a relationship with Ford in the future as well, along with the other two OEMs of Chevrolet and Toyota. Everything is on the table right now for me.”
IF A NEW OEM CAME IN AND CHARTERS WERE AWARDED TO THEM, THAT WOULD BE A BUILT-IN BONUS FOR YOU. “There is some, whether that’s true or not, speculation around some of those charters becoming available. I have not had that conversation with anyone. If it did come to fruition, I would be very interested in participating, but I don’t know how real that is.”
HOW DO THE PARTNERS THAT ARE AT RFK BECAUSE OF YOU FEEL NOW THAT YOU’RE LEAVING? “I haven’t had any discussions with the partners just to be transparent. I have in my agreement that I won’t take any of the partners with me, so I don’t want to speculate how they feel about something – good, bad or indifferent – but I’m proud that they’re there. One of the things I’m most proud of in my entire RFK experience is in the five years I was there the team doubled in value and doubled in sponsorship. I don’t think that was a coincidence. I don’t think that just happened. I’d like to think that I was a big part of that, and I’d like to think that I’ll bring that same opportunity to the next team I go to.”
THE WORD STUBBORNNESS CAN GO DIFFERENT WAYS. DO YOU FEEL THAT HAS PUT YOU IN THIS POSITION AND HOW DO YOU CONVINCE THE NEXT PERSON THAT IT WON’T BE AN ISSUE GOING FORWARD? “Stubborness is a word full of ambiguity. The ambiguity behind it is what stubbornness is good, what stubbornness is bad. I would argue that stubbornness is one of the most important things you can have in a person. When you have somebody who has morals and integrity, you want them to be stubborn about them. You look even at our country and see the United States Constitution. It’s a stubborn thing. I think it’s a good stubborn thing. That said, not every part of stubbornness is good and there are other things like new ways of learning and doing things that you need to adapt over time that stubbornness generally does not favor, so I think stubbornness, you have to pick your battles of when to be stubborn and when not to be. I’m certain there are times in my life where I haven’t chose those well. I think the body of work as a whole, I have or I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I don’t feel like the story of RFK and my participation really comes down to an argument over stubbornness, but that’s my opinion and my opinion only.”
RFK SAID YOU WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PASSIVE INVESTOR IN THE TEAM. WILL YOU CONTINUE TO BE AN INVESTOR IN THE TEAM IN SOME FORM? “A passive investor, I think, is the best way to articulate that. I think that’s written appropriately and I have no other plans beyond that at this time.”
HAS ANYTHING SURPRISED YOU THROUGH THIS PROCESS? “Yeah, the biggest surprise to me was how much interest there is in the team ownership model right now, significant interest and it’s really blown up over the last few months in particular.”
WILL YOU CONTINUE TO BE AN ASSET TO CHRIS AND RYAN AS THEIR CAREERS CONTINUE? “First of all, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ryan and Chris. Both of those guys are stand-up guys and phenomenal race car drivers. I feel incredibly fortunate to have those guys as teammates and as a part of RFK’s racing story. They’re going to do well for years to come. Their attitude and work ethic is underappreciated in my opinion by a lot of people, and their success is not a surprise to me. I feel grateful and thankful that I got to work with them and help them realize their potential, but, to be clear, they’ve done the work and they deserve the credit. As far as my future with those two go, as a passive investor by the very definition, there really isn’t one, but I clearly will always be rooting and cheering for their success.”
WHAT APPEALS TO YOU IN THE OWNERSHIP AND COMPETITION ROLES AND HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE STRESS OF BALANCING THOSE ROLES? “I love it. I don’t view it, I guess, as more stress. I like having my hands in it. I love being a part of it. I love being part of a success story. In particular, what I really love as an owner and the role of the management that I’ve had over the last few years is knowing that we had three chances to win every weekend. When you’re just driving, you only have one chance to win. I loved the idea that I had three chances to win at the Cup level every weekend. That was pretty darn cool. I find that incredibly rewarding. I find other people’s success sometimes more rewarding than my own, and maybe that’s something to be studied one day by somebody smarter than me, but I do enjoy that. Being a driver is a lot of fun. There are some great aspects of it. There are points in time, particularly at this level, where it’s incredibly frustrating as well. I kind of would draw some kind of akin to it like having children. It’s the same feeling when you’re an owner and a manager. The good days you’re so proud of them and you get to see them grow and do things. It’s like, ‘Wow. That’s my kid.’ The bad days you want to pull your hair out and scream. What have I done with my life. But there are more good days than bad days and there’s a pride that comes from it that’s hard to describe. That’s how I’ve felt about it.”
STAGE ONE AT TALLADEGA LAST WEEKEND THE BALL WAS IN YOUR HAND. HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS A FINAL BLAZE OF GLORY? “We’re still giving our all. There are two races left in this season. I would like to think my effort level for the remainder of this season is the same as if I was coming back next year or not. Living in my own skin sometimes I can’t see that the same way as someone from the outside can, but I don’t think our move at Talladega had anything to do with whether I’m returning or not next year. I will say it had a lot to do with a team of people that was willing to make a move that was different and the culture that comes within that to not be afraid of the consequences if it didn’t succeed. I appreciate the gutsiness to do that. It didn’t happen just as a complete accident. There were a lot of really smart people studying a lot of data and analyzing the situation in real time and then having the guts to make a call. I saw some of the social media commentary about it which was like, ‘All you guys did was decide to go fast.’ Well, yes, but there was a lot more that went into it than that. I know that and I think the people involved with that decision know it, too.”
