Brad Keselowski ended up one position shy of snapping a winless drought that spans nearly two seasons despite having a dominant run in the 2026 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, March 22.
The 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Rochester Hills, Michigan, made his presence at the front known in the early portions of Sunday’s 400-mile event in Darlington, South Carolina. After rolling off the starting grid in fifth place, Keselowski capitalized on a slow pit service from pole-sitter Tyler Reddick during a green-flag pit stop sequence, which started on Lap 38, to lead for the first time on Lap 45. He then proceeded to capture the first stage victory on Lap 90 and go from third to first during the second stage period’s first two restarts to reassume the lead, starting on Lap 117.
Like the first stage period, Keselowski dominated the second stage period as he led a total of 63 laps compared to 44 throughout the first stage period. The only challenge he experienced was when his RFK Racing teammate, Chris Buescher, reeled in for the lead in the closing laps of the second stage period. Amid lapped traffic, Keselowski managed to fend off Buescher to sweep the event’s first two stage periods. By then, it marked the first time Keselowski swept the first two stages during a Cup event since Iowa Speedway in August 2025.
Keselowski did not dominate the third and final stage period as he led the third-most laps compared to teammate Buescher (38) and Tyler Reddick (28), but he placed himself in a race-winning position as he cycled to the lead for the sixth and final time with 45 laps remaining. This latest move occurred following a late cycle of green-flag pit stops. Ultimately, Keselowski was overtaken by Reddick, the latter of whom had a faster car, with 28 laps remaining. Afterwards, the former could not narrow the deficit for the event’s remainder as he settled in the runner-up spot while trailing race winner Reddick at the finish line by 5.847 seconds.
Keselowski’s runner-up result at Darlington marks his second top-five result and third top-10 result through the first six events of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Having led a race-high 142 of 293 scheduled laps, this marks his first time leading the most laps in a Cup event since he led 170 laps at Martinsville Speedway in November 2024. Keselowski’s result also capped off a stellar run for RFK Racing as Buescher, who led 41 laps, navigated his way to ninth place while Ryan Preece, who ran as high as third place towards the event’s halfway mark, settled in 13th place.
With a total of 55 points accumulated, Keselowski jumps from 12th to ninth in the 2026 driver’s standings and is scored 43 points above the top-16 cutline to make the Chase. This marks a stark contrast to a year ago, when he was mired in 30th place in the standings after the first six scheduled events.
Amid the strong result and points he achieved, Keselowski was left disappointed as he had an opportunity to snap a 65-race winless drought at a track that marks his latest Cup victory to date. Nevertheless, he remained optimistic as he continues to strive both towards snapping his winless drought and marching his way back into Chase contention.
“We didn’t have the best car of the day compared to Tyler [Reddick],” Keselowski said on FS1. “Tyler drove a hell of a race and he’s driving a rocket and he’s making it count right now. I think we got the most out of the day we’re going to get honest. We scored a lot of stage points. Second place, first place loser, but that’s okay. We’re doing the thing we need to do and making the most of the days we have.”
Next weekend, Keselowski returns to action at Martinsville Speedway, a track to which he has previously won (2017 & 2019). He is also scheduled to make his 600th career Cup Series start during next weekend’s event. For next weekend’s event at Martinsville, Keselowski will attempt to join Richard Petty as the only competitors to win during the milestone start.
The 2026 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled for next Sunday, March 29, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.
