According to a study conducted by the Maryland Department of Transportation, the 10 most dangerous intersections in Baltimore are a specific, named set. West Franklin Street and North Payson Street. Orleans Street and Ensor Street. West North Avenue and North Fulton Street. South Monroe Street and Washington Boulevard. West North Avenue and North Howard Street. Clifton Avenue and Denison Street. Lombard Street and Light Street. Reisertown Road and Gwynns Falls Parkway. West Pratt Street and South Paca Street. Erdman Avenue and Belair Road. Ten corners, ten chances for a bad day.
The study found certain commonalities that may make these intersections particularly dangerous. Seven of the 10 involve intersecting roads of at least four lanes each. Six of the 10 had a left turn lane on at least one approach, but only four had a light with a protected left phase. While nearly all have speed limits of just 30 mph, they also tend to involve heavy traffic volumes. All 10 had an annual average daily traffic figure above 10,000, and all but one had a figure of more than 20,000. Slow speed limits, huge traffic, unprotected left turns. That combination is the story of this list.
The Three Corners the Firm Names First
Before the study, there are the corners the firm names when it talks about this work. Whether it happened at Pratt and Light downtown, Gay and North in Clifton, or Franklin and Warwick in Evergreen Lawn, Greenberg Law Offices can help. Those three names are not random. They are the places where Baltimore drivers keep getting hurt, and the firm knows them the way a local knows a shortcut.
The firm knows how painful and expensive these collisions can be, and it is prepared to do what it takes to help you recover the compensation you deserve. A Baltimore intersection car accident lawyer will tell you the same thing the firm tells every caller: you should be spending your time getting better, not dealing with pushy insurance adjusters trying to get you to take pennies on the dollar. That line is not decoration. It is the whole reason people hire a lawyer after an intersection crash.
Four Ways an Intersection Crash Happens
Left-Turn Collisions
A turning vehicle crosses the path of an oncoming vehicle that has the right of way, resulting in a frontal or side impact. That is the textbook left-turn collision, and it is the one the MDOT list predicts. Six of the 10 most dangerous intersections had a left turn lane on at least one approach, but only four had a light with a protected left phase. The other two left drivers to judge gaps in heavy traffic themselves.
Judging a gap across four lanes of traffic moving at 30 mph, with more than 20,000 vehicles a day passing through, is not a small ask. It is a guess made in two seconds, and when the guess is wrong, the oncoming car has the right of way and the turning car takes the hit. Fault here usually starts with who had the right of way, and the answer is rarely the turning driver.
Right-Turn and Rear-End Collisions
A driver turning right enters the lane of a vehicle, cyclist, or motorcyclist already traveling through the intersection. It sounds minor. It is not, because the person already traveling through has no reason to expect someone to pull into their lane, and cyclists and motorcyclists have almost nothing protecting them when it happens. Right-turn crashes are about looking one way and forgetting the other.
A rear-end collision at an intersection happens when a driver fails to stop in time as traffic slows or stops at a signal, stop sign, or crosswalk, colliding with the back of the vehicle in front of them. Signals, stop signs, and crosswalks all ask drivers to stop suddenly, and the driver behind is the one who has to be ready. When they are not, the car in front absorbs it, and the people inside absorb it too.
Signal-Running Collisions
A driver causes an accident after ignoring a traffic control device telling them not to enter an intersection, such as a red light, stop sign, or yield sign. This is the crash everyone pictures when they hear intersection accident, and it is the hardest to excuse. A red light is not a suggestion. A stop sign is not decoration. A yield sign means someone else goes first.
Signal-running crashes are also the ones where evidence matters most, because the whole case can turn on one question: what color was the light. Cameras, witnesses, and signal timing records decide that question, and they disappear fast. That is why the firm investigates the crash and recovers critical evidence before it can be lost or damaged.
What the Firm Does While You Recover
While you rest and recover, the firm’s attorneys investigate the crash and recover critical evidence before it can be lost or damaged. They identify everyone who is at fault for the accident, which may include parties beyond the driver who hit you. They calculate the fair compensation you deserve for your medical care, lost income, property damage, pain and suffering, and other losses. That is the quiet work that happens while you are in appointments and trying to sleep.
They also communicate with insurance companies and defense lawyers so that you are not exposed to their efforts to minimize your claim, and they pursue fair compensation however they can, whether through an out-of-court settlement or at trial. The firm’s commitment to results has helped it recover meaningful compensation for deserving clients, including a $1.2 million verdict at trial in an auto accident case. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they do speak to skill and diligence.
Maryland’s Fault Rule, and the Trap Inside It
Working with a Baltimore intersection car accident lawyer means facing Maryland’s fault rule head-on. Maryland follows a fault-based model for auto insurance, which means the driver who causes an accident is financially responsible for its consequences, and generally this financial responsibility is assumed by their liability insurance. That sounds fair. Then comes the trap: the Maryland contributory negligence rule means that any fault at all on your part could prevent you from recovering compensation at trial. Any fault. Not most of the fault. Any.
An experienced lawyer can handle this limitation effectively. For example, they can show that the person who hit you had the last clear chance to avoid a collision and failed to take it, which provides an exception to the harsh contributory negligence law. Another important law is the statute of limitations in Maryland for personal injury, which gives you three years from the date of the accident to file your lawsuit under most circumstances. While circumstances can shorten or extend this deadline, the consequence for missing it is severe: possible dismissal of your case and loss of your rights to compensation.
What Your Compensation Can Cover
Depending on the circumstances, your car accident compensation could include money for the following, and a Baltimore intersection car accident lawyer will count every one of them before naming a number:
Past and future medical expenses
Lost income and reduced earning potential
Pain and suffering, including emotional distress
Diminished quality of life
Property damage, including repairing or replacing your vehicle
The Minimum Insurance Is Not Enough
Maryland law requires every driver to have a liability policy that covers at least $30,000 of bodily injury to one person, $60,000 of bodily injury to all people, and $15,000 for property damage. Drivers can purchase additional coverage, increasing the amount of compensation that may be available after an accident. Those minimums are the floor, not the ceiling, and the floor is low.
A serious intersection crash burns through $30,000 fast. One hospital stay can pass it. Surgery and follow-up care can double it. That is why the amount you could be entitled to depends on the unique circumstances of your case, and why the firm calculates fair compensation instead of accepting the first number an adjuster offers. The first number is almost never the fair one.
Conclusion
Greenberg Law Offices brings 60+ years of experience and millions recovered to intersection cases in Baltimore. That experience matters most in the two places this article kept returning to: proving who had the right of way, and surviving the contributory negligence trap. Both are evidence fights, and evidence fights are won by the side that starts first.
Contact the firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an intersection car accident lawyer in Baltimore, and find out what it can do for you. The specific amount you could be entitled to depends on your case, but the call costs nothing, and the three-year clock does not pause while you decide.
Carson Kvapil remains in the hunt of this year’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship battle after he rallied to notch a dominant victory in the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 31.
The 2021 CARS Super Late Model Tour champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 121 of 250 scheduled laps in an event where he qualified on pole position, led the first 53 laps and settled in fourth place at the conclusion of the first stage period. Despite getting shuffled amid various pit strategies ensuing within the field throughout the event, Kvapil steered clear of the event’s 12 caution periods and ensuing restarts to motor his way back to the front.
During a late-race restart with 68 laps remaining, Kvapil outdueled Corey Day to reassume the top spot. Despite having his late advantage stalled by two late-race incidents, Kvapil capitalized on the two ensuing restarts, including the final one with 22 laps remaining, to fend off teammate Justin Allgaier and notch a victory that keeps him in the championship battle approaching next weekend’s finale.
With on-track qualifying determining the starting lineup on Friday, October 30, Carson Kvapil claimed his third O’Reilly career pole position with a pole-winning lap of 95.371 mph in 19.855 seconds. Teammate Rajah Caruth qualified in second place with a lap of 95.141 mph in 19.903 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Carson Kvapil, who started on the inside lane, launched his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of teammate Rajah Caruth and the field through the frontstretch and prior to entering the first turn. Behind, teammate Justin Allgaier, who started behind Kvapil, quickly went underneath, battled and overtook Caruth for the runner-up spot. As Kvapil led the first lap, Allgaier retained the runner-up spot over Caruth while William Sawalich battled Parker Retzlaff for fourth place.
With Sawalich prevailing over Retzlaff in a battle for fourth place, the latter tried to transition from the outside to the inside lane to maintain fifth place on the track, but he was bumped and moved up the track by Sheldon Creed entering the first turn on the second lap. Creed then battled Retzlaff for fifth place as Jesse Love, Taylor Gray and Sammy Smith all joined the battle. Amid the battles within the pack, Retzlaff got pinned in the middle lane, stuck through the outside lane, and lost a bevy of spots out of the top-10 mark. At the front, Kvapil led by four-tenths of a second on the fifth lap mark.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Kvapil led by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Caruth and Sawailch trailed by more than a second in third and fourth, respectively. Behind, Gray, Creed, Love, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones were in the top 10 ahead of Corey Day, Brent Crews, Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo and Dean Thompson, while Austin Hill was the lowest-running Chase contender in 22nd place.
As the early laps proceeded, Hill locked up his front tires and dropped outside of the top-30 mark while Kvapil led by half a second over Allgaier just past the Lap 15 mark. Hill slid to 36th place on Lap 20 as Kvapil had his advantage shrunk to three-tenths of a second over Allgaier. At the Lap 25 mark, Kvapil retained a two-tenths of a second lead over Allgaier while Hill, who was stalled in his pit stall as his pit crew diagnosed a shredded right-front tire, was mired at the tail end of the field in 38th place and losing laps to the leaders.
Four laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Patrick Emerling lost his front brakes entering the third turn and spun up the track towards the outside wall, with Patrick Staropoli colliding into Emerling. During the event’s first caution period, some including Crews, and Chase contenders Mayer, Day, Sawalich and Sammy Smith pitted their respective entries while the rest led by Kvapil remained on the track.
The next restart on Lap 36 lasted only a single turn when the caution returned due to a multi-car accident in the firs turn. The incident started when Sammy Smith, who restarted in 24th place after he pitted during the first caution period, ran into the rear of Lavar Scott as both were launching past the start/finish line. Smith’s collision into Scott sent the latter sideways and colliding into Corey Day and Ryan Ellis while Brent Crews was also collected in the carnage.
For the next restart on Lap 44, Kvapil, who maintained the lead during the short, previous restart, utilized a strong launch from the inside lane to motor ahead of Allgaier through the first two turns. Kvapil maintained the lead over the next three laps before the caution returned due to debris in the third turn. During this caution period, some led by Caruth and including Gray, Ryan Sieg, Kyle Sieg, Alex Labbe and Joey Gase pitted while the rest led by Kvpail remained on the track.
As the event restarted on Lap 53, Kvapil and Allgaier dueled for the lead in front of a stacked field before Kvapil briefly slipped up the track through the first two turns. This allowed Creed to challenge Kvapil from the inside lane as Allgaier used the outside lane to shoot ahead of the latter two and motor ahead with the lead through Turns 3 and 4. Allgaier led the next lap while Kvapil and Creed battled for the runner-up spot in front of Love and Brandon Jones. Creed and Jones would overtake Kvapil from Laps 55 to 56 while Allgaier checked out by nearly a second.
Then on Lap 56, the caution returned as Jeremy Clements and Harrison Burton both spun through the first two turns when Sam Mayer clipped the first turn’s curb while trying to get beneath Clements and ended up spinning both the latter and Burton. The incident concluded the first stage period as Allgaier was awarded his 13th O’Reilly stage victory of the 2026 season. Creed, Jones, Kvapil, Love, Jeb Burton, Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo, Mayer and Sawalich were scored in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, the remaining Chase contenders that include Day, Sammy Smith, Gray, Caruth and Austin Hill were mired in 18th, 19th, 23rd, 24th and 38th, respectively.
Under the event’s first stage break period, a majority of the field led by Allgaier and including Creed, Jones, Kvapil, Love and Retzlaff pitted while the rest led by Mayer remained on the track. At the conclusion of the pit stops, Love exited pit road first over Jones, Allgaier, Creed and Kvapil.
The second stage period started on Lap 69 as Mayer and Sawalich occupied the front row. At the start, Mayer fended off Sawalich through the first two turns and the backstretch to maintain the lead for a full cycle. With the leaderboard shuffled amid pit strategies throughout the first stage period, Crews and Dean Thompson trailed in the top-four mark ahead of Day while Lee Pulliam, Sammy Smith, Daniel Dye, Gray and Caruth trailed in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Love, Allgaier, Kvapil, Jones, Retzlaff and Creed were mired within the top-18 mark as Mayer continued to lead by half a second on Lap 75.
By Lap 80, Mayer’s advantage over Sawalich stood at seven-tenths of a second while Allgaier carved his way up to ninth place. Allgaier, who nearly spun off the front nose of Lee Pulliam through the backstretch when the former tried to slide in front of the latter through the backstretch, gained another spot to eighth place over the next five laps before he trailed Sammy Smith in seventh place at the Lap 90 mark. By then, Mayer continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Sawalich.
On Lap 96, the caution flew when teammates Jeb Burton and Daniel Dye along with Harrison Burton wrecked in the second turn. During this caution period, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Mayer pitted while a handful led by Day remained on the track, during which Mayer also exited pit road first. During the pit stops, Sawalich made contact with Clements while trying to exit his pit stall while Love had to reverse his entry out of his pit box when he got boxed in behind Dye.
During the next restart on Lap 103, Day motored ahead of Alfredo with the lead entering the first turn as Crews, who threw a bold move beneath Carson Ware while launching in the top-10 mark, made contact with Ware that carried forth into Mayer while Allgaier went wide through the first two turns. Amid the tight contact as the field fanned out and bumped and jostled for spots, Day motored away to lead the next lap.
Day maintained the lead until Alfredo dueled with the latter on Lap 106. Alfredo and Day would then spend the next three laps swapping each other for the top spot until Alfredo prevailed on Lap 109. With Alfredo leading, Day settled in second over Crews and Brennan Poole while Allgaier motored his way up to fifth place. With Sammy Smith, Gray, Sawalich, Patrick Emerling and Creed mired in the top 10, Allgaier navigated his way up to third place and Day dropped to fourth place while Alfredo led by six-tenths of a second over Crews on Lap 115.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Alfredo fended off a hard-charging Allgaier to capture his third O’Reilly stage victory of this season. Allgaier settled in second while Crews, Day, Smith, Sawalich, Gray, Creed, Poole and Caruth followed suit, respectively. By then, the remaining Chasers, including Kvapil, Mayer, Jones, Retzlaff, Love and Hill, were scored 12th, 13th, 17th, 18th, 22nd and 37th. During the event’s second stage break period, some led by Alfredo and including Day, Poole, Emerling and Love pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.
With 118 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Allgaier and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier motored ahead of Smith from the inside lane through the first two turns. With Crews navigating his way into the runner-up spot over Smith, Allgaier led the next lap. Not long after, the caution returned when Garrett Smithley spun in the fourth turn after he received a tap from Kyle Sieg.
The next restart with 111 laps remaining featured Allgaier fending off Smith from the inside lane for a second consecutive time through the first two turns while Mayer threw a three-wide move and made contact with Gray to move into the top-five mark. Mayer proceeded to battle Sawalich for fourth place behind Smith as Allgaier led the next lap over Crews. Allgaier’s steady lead at the front under green flag conditions did not last long as the caution returned with nearly 105 laps remaining when Patrick Emerling spun for a second time, this latest time in the second turn after he got punted by Joey Gase. This caution period featured Mayer, Kvapil, Jones and Love pitting their respective entries.
With 99 laps remaining, the event restarted as teammates Allgaier and Smith dueled for the lead for a full circuit, though Allgaier managed to lead the next lap. Allgaier then managed to motor ahead of Smith through the first two turns and the backstretch while Smith, Crews, Sawalich, Pulliam, Gray and Creed followed suit. With a series of late-race battles ensuing and Allgaier maintaining the lead, the caution returned with 88 laps remaining when Mason Maggio, who was locked in a side-by-side battle with Garrett Smithley entering the backstretch, slid up and pinched Smithley against the outside wall. The contact caused Smithley to hit the wall hard and clip Maggio, with Maggio also hitting the wall and spinning down the track after he got hit again by Smithley. With Maggio’s rear cover detaching and flying before hitting the racing surface, his wrecked entry was hit by Patrick Emerling while sliding down towards the inside wall.
The latest incident placed the event in a red flag period for 11 minutes and 50 seconds. Once the red flag lifted, Love pitted to have a pinched water line addressed. Most of the field led by Allgaier and including Crews, Creed, Caruth, Mayer, Sammy Smith, Gray and Retzlaff pitted while the rest led by Day and including Kvapil and Jones remained on the track.
Day quickly launched ahead of Harrison Burton, Ryan Sieg and the field during the next restart with 79 laps remaining. Day’s steady advantage under green lasted only four laps before the caution returned, this time due to Crews bumping Creed into Retzlaff as the contact resulted with Dye receiving the worst outcome when he got hit on the left side by Retzlaff and went dead straight towards the outside wall in the third turn.
With 68 laps remaining, the event restarted as Kvapil challenged Day for the lead from the outside lane. Amid brief contact with Day through the backstretch, Kvapil dueled with the latter for a full lap before he cleared Day through the frontstretch during the next lap. Kvapil proceeded to lead by four-tenths of a second over Day with 65 laps remaining while Ryan Sieg, Mayer, Harrison Burton, Jones, Kyle Sieg, Creed, Sawalich, Smith and Allgaier pursued, respectively.
Following another caution that flew with 62 laps remaining due to Clements getting punted by Patrick Staropoli and wrecking against the outside wall when Staropoli bounced off the first curb through the first two turns, the next restart with 53 laps remaining featured Kvapil motoring away from Day and the field. Kvapil built his lead up by six-tenths of a second over Day with 50 laps remaining while Allgaier was up into fifth place behind Mayer and Ryan Sieg.
Down to the final 45 laps, Kvapil increased his late lead by a second over Day while Mayer also trailed by a second in third place. Meanwhile, Allgaier trailed by two seconds in fourth place while Ryan Sieg, Jones, Harrison Burton, Creed, Kyle Sieg and Smith were in the top 10, respectively. Further behind, Love was mired in 17th place in between Caruth and Gray as Kvapil continued to extend his lead by nearly two seconds with 40 laps remaining. Three laps later, Allgaier motored his way into the runner-up spot, but he trailed teammate Kvapil by three seconds with 35 laps remaining.
Then with 32 laps remaining, the caution flew when Love, who was in 16th place, lost his brakes entering the first turn, spun backwards and hit the outside wall through the first two turns hard. Amid his incident, Love managed to continue, but he dropped out of the lead lap category to have his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entry repaired.
Down to the final 22 laps, the event restarted as Kvapil managed to fend off Allgaier from the inside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As Dean Thompson spun through the first two turns, the event remained under green flag conditions as Thompson quickly looped his entry to proceed without generating additional carnage. Kvapil led by three-tenths of a second over Allgaier with 20 laps remaining as the latter tried to reel back the former.
As the event reached its final 15-lap mark, Kvapil led by four-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Day, Jones, Mayer and Creed followed suit in the top-six mark, respectively. By then, Smith was in eighth place while Caruth, Retzlaff and Gray were mired within the top-16 mark. Meanwhile, Love was mired six laps down within the top-30 mark as Kvapil continued to lead Allgaier by seven-tenths of a second with 10 laps remaining and for the final five-lap mark.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Kvapil remained in the lead by half a second over Allgaier. Amid Allgaier’s late-race charge, he ran out of time as Kvapil smoothly navigated around Martinsville for a final time and cycled back to the frontstretch to score the victory by four-tenths of a second over Allgaier.
With the victory, Kvapil notched the third NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win of his career and of the 2026 season, with the driver also achieving his first series’ victory at Martinsville Speedway. Kvapil’s Martinsville victory was the 16th of the 2026 season for JR Motorsports and the 29th for Chevrolet, with the OEM being eight-for-eight on Chase events this season.
Entering Martinsville, Kvapil was ranked in fifth place in the Chase standings and he trailed points leader Jesse Love by 59 points. With his victory at Martinsville, Kvapil, who gained a spot to fourth place, reduced his deficit to be only 31 points behind the points lead, thus giving Kvapil a fighting chance for his first series’ championship for next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“It’s awesome,” Kvapil said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “I knew when we unloaded for practice, we had a really fast Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. [Crew chief] Rodney [Childers] and everyone on this No. 1 team really worked hard from our spring [Martinsville] race to come back with a better race car and something that had some forward drive off the corner. [I] Was able to qualify on pole and that was cool, but [I] just had a rough race in between the beginning of Stage 1 to the end there. [I] Just kept getting shuffled back and couldn’t really do nothing right. We made the call to come in [and pit] early, which in turn made us stay out on older tires later. It just really worked out…Winning is always great, but finally getting one at a track where I feel like I’m really good at is really cool.”
Amid Jesse Love’s late-race incident, Justin Allgaier’s runner-up result combined with the stage points he achieved throughout the first two stage periods enabled the latter to go from a 19-point deficit to lead the Chase standings by 22 points, with Allgaier in control of his destiny to achieve his second championship. Love, who finished in 30th place, now trails the points lead by 22 points as he will have next weekend’s finale at Homestead to rally from his deficit and contend for his second consecutive title.
“It’s a great points day,” Allgaier said. “[I’m] Just disappointed to come up short, but hats off to the No. 1 team. Carson did a great job…[Next weekend]’s gonna make for a great battle. I feel like our team does a really good job. We won [at Homestead] last year. We know how to get around the race track. We know we’ll have speed. We just need to go execute. If we do all the things we’ve been doing over and over again and execute the way we know we can, we can keep that points lead and come out of there a champion.”
“I’m not really going to study too much about today,” Love said. “At the end, it really doesn’t matter. We have one goal and there’s probably only for the most part one avenue and one way to achieve that goal. That brings me a lot of clarity and obviously that means that unless [Allgaier] has a DNF at Homestead that we have to go win the race. Obviously, that’s where we do our best work in moments like that…Just a shame how [tonight] ended up going down, but again, at the end of the day, there’s one thing sitting between me and another trophy, another championship, and that’s winning next week. I’m prepared and I’m looking forward to that moment in time.”
Corey Day, who rallied from his early incident, finished in third place, and he also remains in the championship battle, trailing the points lead by 23 points while situated in third place in the standings.
“That’s a gritty third place there, for sure, and that just shows those [No. 17] guys [the] never give up attitude, and I’m just super grateful for them,” Day said. “I’m definitely a lot more confident going [to Homestead] than I am here [at Martinsville], that’s for sure. I think it should be right up my alley. We’re in the fight, so we’ll do our best to be competitive next week.”
Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer finished in the top five behind Kvapil, Allgaier and Day, while Sheldon Creed, Sammy Smith, William Sawalich, Brent Crews and Taylor Gray completed the top-10 finishing order, respectively. The remaining Chasers, including Parker Retzlaff, Rajah Caruth and Austin Hill, ended up in 15th, 16th and 31st, respectively.
The penultimate O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Chase event of the 2026 season at Martinsville generated nine lead changes for five different leaders, and 12 cautions for 90 laps. In addition, 28 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results:
Carson Kvapil, 121 laps led
Justin Allgaier, 52 laps led, Stage 1 winner
Corey Day, 24 laps led
Brandon Jones
Sam Mayer, 36 laps led
Sheldon Creed
Sammy Smith
William Sawalich
Brent Crews
Taylor Gray
Ryan Sieg
Harrison Burton
Jeb Burton
Lee Pulliam
Parker Retzlaff
Rajah Caruth
Anthony Alfredo, 17 laps led, Stage 2 winner
Lavar Scott
Patrick Staropoli
Brennan Poole
Kyle Sieg
Alex Labbe
Carson Ware
Josh Bilicki
Joey Gase
Justin Carroll
Baltazar Leguizamon
Dawson Cram
Jeremy Clements, six laps down
Jesse Love, nine laps down
Austin Hill, nine laps down
Dean Thompson, 15 laps down
Blaine Perkins – OUT, Oil Leak
Daniel Dye – OUT, Accident
Garrett Smithley – OUT, Accident
Mason Maggio – OUT, Accident
Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident
Ryan Ellis – OUT, Water Pump
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
After the eighth Chase event of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the standings by 22 points over Jesse Love, 23 over Corey Day, 31 over Carson Kvapil and 42 over Sheldon Creed, the latter four of whom all remain in contention for this year’s championship battle. The rest of the 12-car Chase field is displayed below.
Chase Standings:
Justin Allgaier
Jesse Love -22
Corey Day -23
Carson Kvapil -31
Sheldon Creed -42
Sam Mayer -97
Sammy Smith -107
Taylor Gray -159
Brandon Jones -183
Austin Hill -197
Parker Retzlaff -210
Rajah Caruth -231
The 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season is set to conclude next Saturday, November 7, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, where a champion will be crowned. The finale’s coverage time is slated to commence at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM.
LAS VEGAS (Oct. 31, 2026) – Funny Car’s Jack Beckman secured the No. 1 qualifier on Saturday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, taking the top spot as part of the first 3-second Funny Car qualifying field in NHRA history at the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge.
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 19th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the fifth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Beckman stayed a distant first in the loaded Funny Car category, as his run of 3.836-seconds at 335.32 mph from Friday in his 12,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet SS wasn’t challenged on Saturday.
But it was a noteworthy Saturday in Funny Car, as Beckman was the pacesetter in the category’s first-ever Funny Car field, with Jeff Diehl qualifying 16th with a 3.968 at 317.94. That will be Beckman’s first-round opponent as he is rolling in Las Vegas after making the quickest pass in the last three qualifying sessions this weekend.
“First all-three-second field, Jack Beckman to Jeff Diehl. It’s neat to be a footnote to history. I geek out on that stuff,” Beckman said. “Running the table and qualifying is 20 points. We got 19, and we missed that extra point by a thousandth of a second on Q1. Our peak Chevy’s just been amazing; this is three in a row that we’ve been No. 1. It’s just an absolute pleasure to drive this car, and it almost spoils you.
“You always have to be on your toes and say, ‘It’s still a nitro Funny Car.’ You’ve got to be ready to catch it if something goes wrong, but when our car is running the way it’s been running lately, and it did this last year for a period of time, our tune-up window is so big that even if we miss it, we still haul butt.”
Points leader Matt Hagan qualified second with a 3.868 at 332.51, and Jordan Vandergriff took third after going 3.868 at 327.74. He has a 99-point lead against Vandergriff, who could be a possible semifinal opponent, while third-place J.R. Todd could meet Hagan in the second round on Sunday.
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon moved a step closer to getting his second world championship, qualifying No. 1 on the strength of Friday’s 3.672 at 332.59 in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster.
It’s the ninth top spot of the season for Langdon, who could clinch a championship on Sunday if he goes three rounds further than Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta during eliminations. If Kalitta fell in the opening round, Langdon would clinch the title by advancing to the final round, and if the reigning world champ lost in the second round, Langdon could grab the championship by winning his ninth race of the season.
The veteran, though, is simply focused on the task in front of him and continuing to push forward on Sunday in Las Vegas. He opens eliminations against Cam Ferre.
“I just want to keep the same mindset that I’ve had. Boring, but I just want to keep the same mentality, keep the same focus, the same energy that we had in the first four [Countdown] races, and hit the gas,” Langdon said.
“Obviously, it would be neat to race Doug in the semis. I don’t know if we could actually clinch [the championship] here if we do. I think we’d have to probably show up to Pomona. It doesn’t really matter. We just have to get the job done. That’s our goal; however it happens, whatever the scenario is, we’re prepared for it.”
Tony Stewart qualified second after going 3.676 at 339.28 and Josh Hart took third with a run of 3.688 at 325.61.
Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn made a major statement on Saturday, as the points leader and reigning world champ made the quickest runs in both sessions, taking the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.620 at 205.91 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
Glenn added to his points lead with the strong Saturday, clinching his fourth top qualifier in 2026 as the defending event winner looks to repeat in Las Vegas. He’ll open eliminations against Alan Prusiensky, attempting to move a step closer to his second straight world championship.
“After my misstep driving ability on Friday — I didn’t do my job as well as I should and I just didn’t shift very well,” Glenn said. “Today, I really had to make sure I focused. We knew the air was going to be a little bit better today and could go and try to get No. 1 or lay down a good run.
“Your reaction to the shift light when you miss it is enough to kill two and a half hundredths and can easily make the difference in winning a round and losing a round. Tomorrow I’m just going to try to be more like I was today and do a better job.”
Greg Anderson qualified second with a 6.622 at 205.16 and Matt Latino was third thanks to a 6.628 at 205.47.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera got even better on Saturday, going low of each session, including a 6.799 at 197.91 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to collect his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season.
He was the only rider to dip into the 6.70s this weekend and will open eliminations against Chris Bostick.
“I wasn’t too sure if it was possible to run in the 6.70s, but last night at dinner, I got a text from Andrew [Hines, crew chief] saying we’re going .70s tomorrow,” Herrera said. “He’s definitely got the bike figured out right now. It’s in a window and it’s in a happy window, so I just had to go out there and do my job more than anything.
“All the little [qualifying bonus] points are going to matter at the end of the day. I feel like me and Richard (Gadson) both are going to be on our game and we’re going to go as many rounds as we can until we meet each other or any other competitors and get put out early.”
Points leader Richard Gadson qualified second with a 6.836 at 196.10 and Ryan Oehler is third after going 6.844 at 196.87.
Eliminations for the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
LAS VEGAS — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 26th annual MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 19th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.672 seconds, 332.59 mph vs. 16. Cameron Ferre, 4.218, 282.72; 2. Tony Stewart, 3.676, 339.28 vs. 15. Chris Powers, 3.807, 321.19; 3. Josh Hart, 3.688, 325.61 vs. 14. Shawn Reed, 3.777, 328.94; 4. Clay Millican, 3.691, 336.32 vs. 13. Justin Ashley, 3.759, 331.61; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3.695, 335.73 vs. 12. Will Smith, 3.756, 327.11; 6. Leah Pruett, 3.705, 332.84 vs. 11. Tony Schumacher, 3.750, 334.65; 7. Maddi Gordon, 3.716, 335.65 vs. 10. Antron Brown, 3.738, 324.90; 8. Spencer Massey, 3.719, 332.67 vs. 9. Billy Torrence, 3.722, 334.73.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Bernie Plourd, 5.584, 121.34.
Funny Car — 1. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.836, 335.32 vs. 16. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 3.968, 317.94; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.868, 332.51 vs. 15. Dave Richards, Ford Mustang, 3.962, 330.31; 3. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.868, 327.74 vs. 14. Julie Nataas, Toyota GR Supra, 3.938, 322.50; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.874, 333.33 vs. 13. Hunter Green, Charger, 3.921, 324.75; 5. Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.878, 312.71 vs. 12. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.914, 328.14; 6. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.887, 328.62 vs. 11. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.913, 330.23; 7. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.889, 336.82 vs. 10. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.905, 319.52; 8. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.897, 333.25 vs. 9. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.900, 327.74.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Jason Rupert, 3.998, 320.28; 18. Jeff Arend, 4.070, 308.35; 19. Terry Haddock, 4.109, 303.50; 20. Cory Lee, 6.704, 97.77.
Pro Stock — 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.620, 205.91 vs. 16. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.927, 197.39; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.622, 205.16 vs. 15. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.727, 200.89; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.628, 205.47 vs. 14. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.711, 204.48; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.632, 206.57 vs. 13. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.704, 203.31; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.633, 206.26 vs. 12. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.661, 205.07; 6. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.636, 205.01 vs. 11. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.661, 205.35; 7. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.639, 204.70 vs. 10. Aaron
Stanfield, Camaro, 6.659, 204.51; 8. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.646, 205.82 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.651, 205.44.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.799, 197.91 vs. 16. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.043, 187.86; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.836, 196.10 vs. 15. John Hall, Buell, 6.973, 190.30; 3. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.844, 196.87 vs. 14. GT Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.962, 193.27; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.856, 197.19 vs. 13. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.960, 190.46; 5. Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.856, 195.65 vs. 12. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.957, 192.77; 6. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.857, 195.11 vs. 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.954, 192.88; 7. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.867, 194.66 vs. 10. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.933, 193.24; 8. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.921, 193.90 vs. 9. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.926,
194.55.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Ronnie Procopio, 7.407, 144.75; 18. Brad Hawkes, 7.414, 184.35.
JONES LEADS TEAM TOYOTA WITH A FIFTH-PLACE FINISH AT MARTINSVILLE All Four JGR GR Supra’s Finish inside the Top-10 on Saturday
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 31, 2026) – Brandon Jones rallied from deep in the field yet again to lead Toyota with a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Martinsville Saturday evening.
In addition to the strong night for Joe Gibbs Racing with our four cars inside the top-10, Team Toyota posted five GR Supras inside the top-12 in the final finishing order – Jones, William Sawalich in eighth, Brent Crews in ninth, Taylor Gray in 10th and Harrison Burton in 12th.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (NOAPS) Martinsville Speedway Race 32 of 33 – 131.5 miles, 250 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Carson Kvapil*
2nd, Justin Allgaier*
3rd, Corey Day*
4th, Sam Mayer*
5th, BRANDON JONES
8th, HARRISON BURTON
11th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
21st, DEAN THOMPSON
13th, BRENT CREWS
19th, TAYLOR GRAY
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BRANDON JONES, No. 20 Menards/Lyons GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
How did the strategy work out for your top-five finish?
“This place has gotten so interesting over the last couple of years because track position just means so much. There’s a lot of passing going on out there and kind of rooting guys out of the way. It takes lap after lap to kind of get leverage over somebody and make those passes work. In the middle of that race we elected to flip the stage and try to then hopefully back on the strategy to jump them at the end. I really think that’s the right call and the right decision. On the pit box, you have to be really smart with this place and make these decisions because I think trying to get your track position late in this race. You put my car in 28th and it’s hard to get it out of 28th, but when you put it in the top five you finish inside the top five and I finished top five. It shows you how close everyone is in the field and how hard it is to get by guys.”
Seems like veterans had the patience today at Martinsville paid off?
“It does. You can get in a hurry here and get yourself in a lot of bad situations. Even like myself trying to chase the 17 (Corey Day) there at the end, I was trying to pick apart my strengths and weaknesses, and I just couldn’t get off the corner and he could do a lot better than I could. You get in a hurry about rushing the middle of the corner or get off the corner too hard and you end up compounding the mistakes and problems. I did the best I could without really using him up. He’s still in the hunt, so being smart about that and trying to keep those guys in a decent spot and come home with a top five, it’s a good day for our Menards/Lyons GR Supra.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 Qualifying — Martinsville Speedway Saturday, October 31, 2026
Ford Qualifying Results:
4th – Austin Cindric
5th – Joey Logano
6th – Ryan Preece
10th – Josh Berry
13th – Ryan Blaney
18th – Chris Buescher
22nd – Todd Gilliland
23rd – Brad Keselowski
31st – Noah Gragson
33rd – Zane Smith
36th – Josh Bilicki
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Menards/Delta Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I think this is a track where you definitely need a good qualifying run because of pit selection. It’s a tough one maybe not to manage from midpack, but if you have a bad qualifying effort, especially with how long the first stage is, you’re in big trouble. It’s a critical hurdle for us to get right, especially after kind of a weird practice session for us, so I’m happy to obviously have some pace in the Menards/Delta Ford Mustang.”
HOW BIG OF A HELP HAVE BLANEY AND LOGANO BEEN FOR YOU HERE? “When I re-watched the race from the spring, there was some absurd stat that Logano has had consecutive top 10 finished out the wazoo at Martinsville. Between him and obviously Ryan has been stellar here the last several years, so I think having some good gauges. We’ve been bringing fast race cars and this statistically is probably one of my better tracks as well, so I think it’s been a good fit for us, but having some quality guys to lean on is a great advantage for us, for sure.”
A LOT HAS GONE INTO TRYING TO GET THIS CAR TO RUN LIKE THE PREVIOUS GENERATION. ARE THEY GETTING CLOSER TO HOW THE O’REILLY CARS RUN HERE WITH THE NEXT GEN? “It’s certainly become its own thing. I think the O’Reilly race and the Truck Series race are so much shorter. The amount of rear tire fall off that we have in these cars and how difficult they are to drive after 20-30 laps is way different than the other two lower series. I do feel like this is a track where the tire really drives what happens in the race, but the temperature also does just like any concrete track. I think the combination of those two things, and I feel like this track more than any other track, I know there are two or three at least Goodyear tire tests since I’ve been in the series, and I feel like that’s more than most tracks and I think because we all recognize how much the tire does drive things. It’s been different, but at the same time lane manipulation and different lanes you can run, I feel like it happens super early. We’ve been able to have tires that lay down a boatload of rubber, so I feel like Goodyear has definitely done their part to enhance what happens during the race and the options we have as a driver. As far as what a 500-lap race used to look like, I don’t think my experience from those other series paint the picture well enough to comment further.”
DO WE NEED TO HAVE THE SOFTER BUMPERS HERE? “I’m definitely interested to see how tomorrow goes. I don’t think we’ve done a Martinsville race with the softer bumpers and I think this is the track everyone had in mind as far as what that would look like. I think it’s yet to be seen from that standpoint. From a spotter’s standpoint, I want to know stacks. I want to know what’s happening because although I don’t think it’s gonna be catastrophic what happens to your car, I think you can easily reduce the power by crunching the snorkel and doing those things. If you look at the structure that’s gonna crush first, it’ll definitely hurt your day.”
Denny Hamlin secured the penultimate NASCAR Cup Series’ Busch Light Pole Award of the 2026 season for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, October 31.
The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, two-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots cycled around Martinsville twice to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap earned pole position. During the session, Hamlin, who was the sixth-fastest competitor in practice on Saturday prior to qualifying, utilized his two-lap qualifying session to post his fastest lap at 98.492 mph in 19.226 seconds. Hamlin’s lap was enough for the Chesterfield, Virginia, native and driver of the No. 11 King’s Hawaiian/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry to secure the top-starting spot for Sunday’s main event.
With the pole, Hamlin notched his 54th career pole position in the NASCAR Cup Series division, the sixth at Martinsville and of the 2026 Cup season and his first since Las Vegas Motor Speedway in early October. Hamlin is currently ranked in the runner-up spot in the 2026 Chase standings and trails points leader Kyle Larson by 73 points with two Chase events remaining until this season’s conclusion. With a strong qualifying lap to claim the pole position, Hamlin vows to strive at his fullest to reel in his deficit and remain in contention for his first elusive Cup Series championship.
“It was a great lap,” Hamlin said. “Truthfully, [I] kind of hit all the marks I wanted to hit. The car did a lot of the things I needed it to do there on that first lap. It was a great job by the race team. Great adjustments there. We’ll see what we got tomorrow. We’re gonna give it all we got. All we got is all we got. I wish I had a little bit more, but we just need to control our own destiny tomorrow and that’s getting a best day we possibly can. Wherever the chips fall from there, they do.”
Hamlin will share the front row with teammate Ty Gibbs, the latter of whom posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 98.241 mph in 19.275 seconds. Kyle Larson, the 2026 Chase leader and winner of last weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway, will start in third place with a lap of 98.114 mph in 19.300 seconds. Like Hamlin, Larson controls his destiny on potentially clinching his third Cup Series championship at the conclusion of Sunday’s main event at Martinsville and a week prior to next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“[I’m] Happy to start in the first couple of rows,” Larson said. “Hopefully, we can stay in the hunt all day. I’m looking at [clinching the title early]. Denny starts ahead of me, so he’s really, really good here. He was one position away from a max points day earlier this year. I’m more looking at like how do I keep [my car] upfront to leave myself a [points] buffer for next week. We’ll see how the race plays out.”
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and Joey Logano will start in the top five while Ryan Preece, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Josh Berry complete the top-10 starting grid, respectively.
With eight of 16 Chase contenders (Hamlin, Gibbs, Larson, Cindric, Logano, Preece, Byron and Elliott) starting in the top 10, the remaining Chasers that include Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar will start 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 24th and 25th, respectively.
Notably, Cody Ware was the lone competitor who did not post a qualifying lap due to damage repairs made to his primary entry. Earlier in practice, Ware ran into the rear of Ross Chastain as the incident also nearly collected Larson.
With 37 competitors vying for 37 starting spots, all made the main event.
Martinsville – Starting Lineup:
Denny Hamlin, 98.492 mph, 19.226 seconds
Ty Gibbs, 98.241 mph, 19.275 seconds
Kyle Larson, 98.114 mph, 19.300 seconds
Austin Cindric, 97.987 mph, 19.325 seconds
Joey Logano, 97.962 mph, 19.330 seconds
Ryan Preece, 97.896 mph, 19.343 seconds
Alex Bowman, 97.840 mph, 19.354 seconds
William Byron, 97.770 mph, 19.368 seconds
Chase Elliott, 97.714 mph, 19.379 seconds
Josh Berry, 97.709 mph, 19.380 seconds
Chase Briscoe, 97.699 mph, 19.382 seconds
Tyler Reddick, 97.638 mph, 19.394 seconds
Ryan Blaney, 97.538 mph, 19.414 seconds
Christopher Bell, 97.528 mph, 19.416 seconds
Bubba Wallace, 97.442 mph, 19.433 seconds
Ross Chastain, 97.392 mph, 19.443 seconds
Austin Hill, 97.362 mph, 19.449 seconds
Chris Buescher, 97.322 mph, 19.457 seconds
Connor Zilisch, 97.158 mph, 19.490 seconds
Austin Dillon, 97.133 mph, 19.495 seconds
Cole Custer, 97.078 mph, 19.506 seconds
Todd Gilliland, 97.068 mph, 19.508 seconds
Brad Keselowski, 96.993 mph, 19.523 seconds
Daniel Suarez, 96.924 mph, 19.537 seconds
Carson Hocevar, 96.909 mph, 19.540 seconds
Michael McDowell, 96.849 mph, 19.552 seconds
Riley Herbst, 96.835 mph, 19.555 seconds
Ty Dillon, 96.815 mph, 19.559 seconds
Shane van Gisbergen, 96.691 mph, 19.584 seconds
Erik jones, 96.671 mph, 19.588 seconds
Noah Gragson, 96.514 mph, 19.620 seconds
AJ Allmendinger, 96.494 mph, 19.624 seconds
Zane Smith, 96.401 mph, 19.643 seconds
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96.107 mph, 19.703 seconds
John Hunter Nemechek, 95.995 mph, 19.726 seconds
Josh Bilicki, 94.661 mph, 20.004 seconds
Cody Ware, 0.000 mph, 0.000 seconds
*Bold indicates Chase Drivers
The 2026 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
TOYOTA RACING – Christopher Bell NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 31, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville Speedway.
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
How do you balance everything you have gone through this year?
“I think has a whole, our season has been really good. Four months ago, I don’t think any of us thought we were going to be in the position we were in. Obviously last weekend was disappointing, I think in one way it makes to where our mentality going into these next two races is a lot different. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just going to go out there with max aggression and have two good weeks.”
Was the wrist injury the first time you’ve been hurt in racing and what did you learn about yourself in trying to battle through that?
“It was the first time I’d every broke a bone in my life and certainly the first time I’ve been injured driving a racecar aside from mild concussions here and there. I don’t really know that I learned anything about myself, but it was fun to learn to persevere and push through it. I’m proud of how I handled it.”
How do you handle the disappointment of last week?
“Our team has team has really good chemistry right now and were having a good time working together. We have great comradery between our mechanics, our engineers, Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and myself. Last week was a trying moment for our team. I was really happy with how we all came together. It would have been really easy to tear each other down in that moment and none of us did. I was really proud of our group for last week and how we handled it.”
How did you go home and process all that happened last week after Talladega?
“It’s certainly a mentality shift. Where we are at now, we know that the only way forward is to go out here and win two stages and a race and go to Homestead and win two stages and a race. In reality, we have nothing to lose, so now the pressure is off. It’s just a matter of going out there and throwing hail mary’s. We’re to that point now, so that’s what we are going to do.”
How easy is it to make that mistake coming to pit road when you have no experience with that package?
“There’s a lot of things that go into it. Nobody in the field had any data on where your car needed to be and where your brake marks needed to be or anything like that. It was a guessing game for all of us, we’ve had many conversations leading into Daytona when we first tried the low downforce package. Where we tried to get to pit road was going to entail. Then there wasn’t any green flag pit stops at Daytona, so we had no data on what was going to happen or what we needed. When I went to pit road last week I just had nowhere near enough front brake bias in it and the minute I touched the brake the rear tires locked up and it was game over. I think it was just a matter of not having any data on it and we guessed wrong.”
How have you dealt with the pressure for the last eight weeks?
“I hope that our results will speak to how we handled the pressure. We did good all the way until last week, so I guess that maybe we didn’t handle the pressure well, so I don’t know. We had a great run of consistent cars and consistent performance. Maybe we could have won more races there, Gateway, where I crashed out and then the power steering issue at Las Vegas hindered a lot of points there. Aside from that, the performance was really strong all the way through. My team does really good in these pressure moments. Just looking back on the history of our postseason performances, I think we’ve been one of the top guys.”
What are your thoughts on racing at Homestead?
“I think Homestead is a great place to go and cap our season. It’s a super fun and challenging track, and something that really rewards drivers, it’s a drivers track. It’s similar to Darlington in that Darlington is slippery, you have to change your line around and you have to change your driving style as the tires wear. It’s a drivers track and certainly a track where the good drivers and good teams succeed at.”
Would it be beneficial for NASCAR to do a pit road practice at Talladega with the change in package?
“I promise you if we would have had some sort of practice every team would have come to pit road to see how their car would handle getting on to pit road and the decel. It would have been beneficial to all of us. With that being said, it was the same for everybody and however many cars there were in the race with 36 of us in the race and I was the only one who crashed out on pit road and a few guys got speeding penalties. All of us had the same opportunity, but practice would have helped a lot. But I will say it’s the same for everybody.”
Does adversity pull you and your team together even more than before?
“Just the way we all handled it was remarkable. All of us knew that Talladega was going to be a turning point for better or for worse. When it all happened, I ended up driving the car back to the hauler. Instead of leaving, I said I would just stay here and see Adam and my guys and see how they react and we all were accountable. We all pulled the rope in the same direction and nobody was finger pointing and saying this was on you. We all screwed up, I could have lifted earlier. We all held each other accountable and moved forward.”
The bumpers give more than they used to. How much will you pay attention to that tomorrow?
“That’s a great question. I owe you a thank you for the reminder. I’m going to have my spotter remind me of that all day tomorrow. That is a super critical thing that has the potential to be a really big change for Martinsville. The way the restarts happen and the stack ups, it’s going to have a really big impact on the race. Making sure that you’re mindful of that is going to be mission critical. I think it’s going to be a talking point for sure.”
How different do you think the atmosphere of this race will be since it’s not a last-ditch effort like it’s been in the past?
“This is new for everybody. I think it’s yet to be known exactly how the race is going to unfold tomorrow. But certainly the format is different and the lows can be a lot more penalizing knowing the points are going to carry over into Homestead as well. I think it’s yet to be told as to how it’s going to play. But the bumper structure is going to be a really big deal, you aren’t just going to plow through guys like you did in the past. It will be a interesting race.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.
Ford Racing Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 Media Availability — Martinsville Speedway Saturday, October 31, 2026
RFK Racing drivers Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece stopped by the infield media center this morning at Martinsville Speedway to answer questions from the media. Here is a transcript of that session.
CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Kroger/Nerds Gummy Clusters Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DOES 400 STARTS MEAN TO YOU? “It means I’m getting old at the end of the day. That’s what I keep realizing. To go this long, to be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re in this garage and still kicking,’ still been able to win a good handful of races since I first started and trying to figure out how to win more yet. But, yeah, it’s pretty wild. The number itself doesn’t get my attention until you put it into years and you realize, ‘OK, that’s a lot of years of being around here since the beginning.’ Actually, I was talking to Massaro when he was talking about it being 400 starts. I was like, ‘Hold on, we need to make sure that this is accurate’ because Martinsville has not been my most favorite track through the years, even though the spring was going quite well. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know that I want this to be Martinsville and be a big deal.’ You remember I missed one race when I got sick and they’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s in there.’ So, it’s true. This is number 400, so it snuck up, but it’s been an absolute blast and will continue to be from here. It’s neat to see. I joke about getting old and seeing some of the drivers come through here and feel like some don’t have driver’s licenses yet that get to come out there and run a truck around this place, so it’s all coming soon, but it’s been a blast.”
HAS THE VIBE CHANGED MUCH SINCE BRAD ANNOUNCED HE WOULD NOT BE BACK NEXT YEAR? “Right now, certainly there’s change with that news, but where we’re at we have been able to get in the Chase and trying to figure out how to drive forward through that. The Chase has not been as competitive as we would have liked. To be honest with you, that has been priority and that has been where we’ve been at, trying to make that part of it more successful right now and let the offseason stuff come around in the offseason, which is extremely close. So, there’s change and there always will be, but I think everybody has been able to stay pretty focused on what’s immediately ahead of us right now, especially as you look at it and saying we’ve got this weekend and one more to go. So, we’re trying to go with that at least for the time being.”
RYAN PREECE, No. 60 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – DO YOU FEEL LIKE ANY OF THE BRAD STUFF HAS IMPACTED PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST EIGHT WEEKS? “I’ll be honest with you, I think right now Chris and I have been really in the trenches with our teams to make sure that in 2027 we’re not talking about being 15th or possibly 14th – in that 12th-16th range – we want to be in that top 10 contending range, so coming up with processes and being there like Brad, in what I believe, has been in part of those meetings, that’s what Chris and I are working towards doing. We’re looking forward right now, just like Talladega last week – that stage one deal. You can’t look behind.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE MOVE YOU GUYS MADE AT TALLADEGA LAST WEEK? HOW DID THAT COME TOGETHER AND WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? CAN YOU BUILD ON THAT FOR THE FUTURE? “Well, Chris and I both probably haven’t stepped on a peloton, but I can tell you that we, in fact, like I know Chris your temperament and how you are is very calm. Inside the race car, I’m very high strung. That’s just how I operate. I like to know a much information as I can, so if you go back and listen to us versus listening to you guys, it was quite a bit different, but in the moment I would say that I didn’t realize what was truly happening.”
YOU DIDN’T HAVE THIS PLANNED AHEAD? “I don’t know. Did you?”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “I didn’t have this planned ahead, but, to your point, I just didn’t hit the button. I had all this going on in my mind, but I just didn’t hit the button. I thought we had evolved to that.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – WHAT WAS THE MEANS TO THE END? “As far as when they saw the opportunity, I think really when I go back and re-watch the race, I was in a poor fuel position for our group, so I kept slowing the field down getting to less and less throttle percentage to the point we were running 57-whatever second laps, and I thought my dash just wasn’t working, but that was the case and we kept talking about fuel mileage and how I couldn’t do anymore because everybody behind me is slowing down. It’s kind of like when you relate to a short track. When you are saving tires and everybody else just follows suit. They play the game that you’re playing. Well, everybody played that game to the point that we were gonna be in a poor position and then we changed the game and nobody reacted. That’s why I said last week, I think they were just so focused on getting one can of fuel at the pit stop and saving three seconds that they lost 40. That will never happen again. I promise you. People, instead of being tunnel vision on the task at hand in the moment, will see things differently. I was proud of Scott, proud of Derrick, proud of Mike and everybody – the engineers and our strategy group because that’s forward-thinking. That’s looking outside of the box and not being tunnel visioned. In racing, that’s how you succeed.”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “It was a relief because for what the entire field was going through and in our heads behind the wheel, we weren’t having fun either. When you’re trying to save that much and talk about it, things are constantly evolving. We don’t have all that info in front of us. We have one dash screen that’s spitting out the same numbers it does every week, so in that moment it was nice to breakaway. I know for a fact that everybody that was behind us was sitting there trying to figure out if they could go or not, too. You know they wanted to and ultimately just stuck to the strategy they planned on ahead of that and it worked because nobody reacted.”
AS RFK GOES THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WHO WILL LEAD THE COMPETITION SIDE, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THAT POSITION? “Just racers. That’s where we’re at. We’re trying to figure out if we can find that role and have somebody that’s in the trenches and has been around the garage, knows how to play the games that make speed and can really lead and push everybody to the best of their ability. I think that’s kind of the idea from where I’m at. I’m not the one signing the paperwork for anybody, but for us what we’ve kind of talked about is just trying to find somebody that can help us have faster race cars yet and can have that knowledge base of this car, too. We’re five years into Next Gen now and we’ve certainly found out the sensitivities to it and you need somebody that’s been around and has seen that and can continue to push whatever makes these things work. That’s a big part for us, I think, is finding somebody that’s in the trenches of the racing side of these things.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – “To echo that, when I look at the photos on the walls, I’ve seen race cars change from the seventies to the nineties to 2010 to now. I want somebody that’s gonna help continue to give us the tools to progress and keep progressing, so whatever that may be, whether it’s a racer, whether it’s somebody that’s been in this role or not been in this role, I don’t know, but I want the same type of person that’s gonna give me fast race cars because giving me fast race cars is gonna help me win races.”
HOW CAN YOU WORK AHEAD ON NEXT YEAR KNOWING YOU WILL HAVE A NEW FORD BODY AND WHAT YOU HAVE NOW MAY NOT APPLY? “I think that’s racing in general. Rules may change. Bodies change. That goes back to being quick to adapt. That’s why I pointed out those pictures. You’ve seen somebody get ahead of everybody and then they reap the benefits from that. I want to be that guy. Chris wants to be that guy. RFK wants to be that team and that’s the mindset of what it’s gonna take, so, yeah, the body is changing and how you get that information and how quickly you get that and decipher good, bad, do we need to make adjustments, you need to be quick to react. We as a company, like I said, Chris and I are the drivers. We talk about simulation. We talk about wind tunnels. We talk about attitudes and all these things, but we’re the validation tool. Simulators and all that are great tools, but, at the end of the day, it leads to us, so being part of those conversations to make sure that all the great adjustments and the collaboration that the teams have had with Ford to come with this new body, we want to go out and I’m sure there’s gonna be some sort of a learning curve as Chevrolet and Toyota had at one point in time, but we’re here to go out and put a huge effort into making sure that we’re competing every week.”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “We’ve known that was coming for a long time and our people are gonna really dive into the trenches on it, so I’m pretty excited for the new Mustang Dark Horse SC. I personally think that if we could get a loaner for the offseason of the production car, that would help us have a better idea of what we are gonna be racing.” PREECE INTERJECTS. “I agree. A couple set of rear tires, too.” BUESCHER CONTINUES: “We can cover the tire side. I’ll cover that, but it just seems like the right thing to do.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – NASCAR MAY TRY TO CORRECT THE FUEL SAVING ISSUE. WHAT IS THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP? “Lap money. Did you guys ever hear about the Race of Champions back in the day at Oswego? For some of you that don’t know, they used to give cases of beer to those racers, and lap money, but it also came with cases of beer. So, incentivize. We have incentive to race, but it puts a whole different element into it. Now, I’m sure there are other ways. I’m just a driver. I like the idea of chasing something, so what do you think Chris? Maybe some Nerds?”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “Nerds. Every lap you lead you get another pound of Nerds. At the end of the day, there are too many smart people in this paperclip right now and back at our shops, no matter what the rules are, if there is an advantage to it, people will play to it and that will be part of the strategy and as drivers that will trickle down to what our game plan is. You’re sitting there in that pack last week and it crossed my mind that I could just go. I was like, ‘I could just take off down the middle. It’s wide open and I could just leave this behind.’ Where would it get you at the end. If I had taken off by myself, where would it have gotten us? And the answer is, buried in the back. So, it takes smart people to figure out what the best way to go about it is and that is minimizing time on pit road to set you up for positioning later in those races and the stage moves helped that at Talladega, but then you still don’t have enough handling issues to make the field have the big movement throughout it once you do get down to the end and everybody is wide-open. I think it still comes down to a car that has a very planted feel to it, even though they were freer than the last go-around, but not quite to the point where you had that separation of packs. You still have a wider tire under it than it’s ever had and I think it’s just the handling part of it is hard to bring back. And Talladega, you’re comparing it next to Daytona too, and it’s just so big. You don’t have the handling issues there even when this series was at its worst for handling, so it’s just a little different that way. We’ll try and adapt, but you start enticing us and that starts adding up, you start getting everybody on board with it and we’ll figure out ways to lead more laps and push harder every lap.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – YOU ARE LOOKING TO RUN AN OPEN CAR NEXT YEAR. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? “I think that’s a question for Chip, to be honest with you. Their plans as far as the open charter that they’re running three cars.”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – HOW DOES YOUR POSITION IN THE CHASE DICTATE YOUR STRATEGY FOR THIS WEEKEND? “We’re in the Chase, but we haven’t had the success through the Chase that we’d like to have, so, with that, it’s kind of a similar scenario of everything to gain and really nothing to lose right now. It opens up some ability to be aggressive at times if the situation presents itself. It seems like it’s always a little bit more difficult to come up with something off the wall here at Martinsville, but we will have that in our thought process is we have the ability to take some chances here tomorrow and into next week as well.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – IS WHAT YOU DID AT TALLADEGA THE ANTIDOTE TO FUEL SAVING IF THEY KEEP THE SAME STAGE LENGTHS? “No, because I think everyone is just gonna ride as long as somebody else rides. Moving forward, I think whoever decides to go first is still gonna be in the worst fuel position, and if everybody is on the same strategy as you, they’re gonna save time when they come to pit road and then they’re gonna pass you that way. That’s kind of been the thought process of what it is before, so if there’s a team that decides to go before everybody else, well, everybody else is gonna react and then they’re just gonna still be able to kind of 75 percent throttle it while the other team is full throttle. You’re still gonna be at a detriment. If I’m wrong, I’ll buy you a nice steak, but I don’t think I’m wrong.”
YOU THINK FUEL SAVING WILL STILL BE THE MAIN ISSUE? “Yeah. You would say so, right?”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “Yeah. The physics of it essentially is like even fifth in line, you’re not even trying to save fuel but you are part throttle because you can’t just keep pushing through the car in front of you and you can’t take the run, so you just steadily save more gas the further you go through the field. I don’t know if this came around accidentally initially. I doubt it because like I said we have a lot of smart people and somebody figured out, ‘We’ll just jump them on the cycle.’ No matter what the package is, that will exist to some level. It’s just a matter of is coming down pit road first versus coming down pit road 28th is the time difference in the fuel stop is it enough to jump that many positions. That’s the hard part. I don’t have that answer, but you will always save more fuel if you’re not in the first three or four spots or the first two or three rows. And it’s not strictly to save fuel, it’s just how the pack works.”
RYAN PREECE CONTINUED – WHAT RESULTS WOULD MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD GOING INTO THE OFFSEASON? “I think next year is gonna change regardless. There are a lot of changes – body, whatever the rules potentially could be – so I think change is just inevitable. I think the momentum of how you approach it or build upon it from 2026 is important. Martinsville is one of my favorite racetracks. We were strong here last year. I drove up to third and everything didn’t work out in our favor, but we had a really, really good race car. I feel like today we’re gonna be the same, so, me personally, I want to come here and bring home a clock. That’s my goal every time I come here. This is my favorite racetrack on the schedule, so that’s the plan for here and then Homestead, continue to build on that momentum and have a great outing and try and keep climbing the point standings because the loser of our points deal between Chris and I, I believe somebody has to drive around a roundabout and do 500 laps around that while the other person sits in the center. So, I’d rather be the guy sitting in the center in a chair videotaping him doing it, so I’m gonna do my best to make sure that’s possible.”
CHRIS BUESCHER CONTINUED – “We had a jail and bail charity event last week and as we’re sitting in there calling on people we know to try and donate, it did dawn on me that Ryan might come up with something that would require real bail money, so I’m sitting there going through my contacts and was like, ‘I actually need to save that one for the real thing.’ That might be a call. I can’t ask twice in a couple weeks. That probably will make me the Boy Who Cried Wolf. It will seem like I’m just pocketing money, so it’s on our radar that this could end poorly. To Ryan’s point, this is a racetrack he’s loved and it’s helped me get better here, being able to learn from Ryan, especially this place and I feel like we’ve been a little bit better. The last race here was certainly one of our stronger Martinsvilles, I think the strongest Martinsville that we had and just had that freak deal – a bolt on track got caught in the caliper, so it didn’t end the way we would have liked at all, but it would be nice to pick up a little bit of momentum as we had into the offseason. I can’t help but wonder. If you did have a clock, would you stop showing up 30 minutes early to everything? Would you actually just decide to try and be on time?”
Brad Keselowski and Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing have reached a mutual agreement that will enable the former to compete with a different organization and manufacturer for the 2027 NASCAR season.
The news of the agreement was made by RFK Racing on Saturday, October 31, and an hour prior to Keselowski addressing the media at Martinsville Speedway at 11 a.m. ET on his whereabouts for next season. Keselowski chose the Martinsville weekend for his announcement instead of next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, citing it was, “out of the respect on what [the event] means for the [NASCAR] industry and the sport.”
As part of the mutual agreement, Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion from Rochester Hills, Michigan, will be a passive owner of RFK Racing and have his role in governing, overseeing RFK Racing’s competition and participating within the RFK board terminated. While addressing the media on Saturday, Keselowski announced that he will begin selling his 20% ownership stake in RFK Racing and not be taking any partners/sponsors from RFK Racing with him.
“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 it would be where I would finish my career, transcend into management and ownership for the rest of my professional career in life,” Keselowski said during his news conference at Martinsville. “That was really where my heart was and it didn’t play out the way that we hoped that it would work out, 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 kind of every measurable way. I’m proud of the people I got to work with and that we did that together with. No matter where this goes from here, that doesn’t change.”
The news of Keselowski’s departure from RFK Racing was first made on September 29, when it was announced that Keselowski will not be returning to drive RFK’s No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for the 2027 Cup Series season. Negotiations of Keselowski’s contract along with the driver’s vision of ownership with the organization commenced 11 months ago, which ultimately resulted with both parties not reaching an agreement.
“I wanted to keep driving and to continue my role in the competition group for many years to come,” Keselowski said. “There was more that I want to achieve and there is still more that I want to achieve behind the wheel. Unfortunately, what became very clear in the negotiation is my partners saw that differently and we were not able to come to an 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 view the future of the company and the path forward for the team and for myself.”
At the conclusion of the 2026 Cup Series season, Keselowski will cap off a five-year partnership with RFK Racing that will accumulate to 180 starts during the span. Thus far, the Michigan native achieved a single victory with the organization, which occurred at Darlington Raceway in May 2024. He has also made the Chase twice (2023-24) and has notched a pole at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2022 along with 25 top-five results and 55 top-10 results through 178-scheduled starts. Keselowski, who is currently ranked in 19th place in the 2026 driver’s standings, has this weekend’s Cup event at Martinsville Speedway and next weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to contend for victories and depart RFK Racing on a high note.
Currently, Keselowski’s whereabouts for the 2027 season remains to be determined, though he is open to compete for any organization and has opportunities granted for him to pursue now that he has received permission from RFK Racing to do so without any restrictions. In doing so, Keselowski, who remains committed to compete in the Cup division as his main priority, seeks to pursue the media/marketing partners to support his future endeavors.
“There are a number of opportunities in front of me in the Cup Series for 2027 and beyond,” Keselowski said. “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 team, but I’m eager and willing to execute one of them and to be a part of the 2027 season as a manager in NASCAR and the driver. 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 team leader. I’m certainly not ready to retire or walk away at any means from this sport.”
With his future plans in the works, Brad Keselowski’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season resumes on Sunday, November 1, at Martinsville for the Xfinity 500. The event’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
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.”
