Perfect NASCAR playoff streak in jeopardy at Daytona

Brad Keselowski has made the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs every year since the knockout-style format was introduced, but his streak is in serious jeopardy.

Brad Keselowski enters the final race before the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, needing a win to make the postseason.

The 2012 Cup Series champion, who is in his first season driving the #6 Ford for RFK Racing, is part of an exclusive group of drivers who have made the playoffs every year since the 16-driver knockout-style format was implemented in 2014.

However, Keselowski is the only member of that group who hasn’t already extended his streak into 2022.

Kurt Busch clinched a playoff berth this past Sunday, as Kyle Larson’s win at Watkins Glen International ensured that there can be no more than 16 different regular season race winners.

Busch will miss his sixth straight race this weekend as he continues to recover from a qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway that left him with concussion-like symptoms. But he has enough points to stay in the top 30 in the point standings and won the race at Kansas Speedway in mid-May, so his medical waiver allows him to retain playoff eligibility.

Also locked into the playoffs are Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch. Harvick was below the cut line with four races remaining in the regular season before grabbing two straight wins.

All five drivers have made the playoffs every year since 2014, though three of them have longer streaks than Keselowski does. Both Busch brothers have made the postseason consecutively since 2013, while Harvick has been there every year since 2010.

Keselowski will need a win at Daytona to keep his playoff streak alive, but the victory would mean a lot more than just extending an active record.

Keselowski made a major career move last offseason by leaving Team Penske, with whom he had spent his entire full-time Cup Series career, for Roush Fenway Racing (RFR).

As part of the deal, Keselowski took on an ownership role, with the team later renamed RFK (Roush Fenway Keselowski) Racing.

“This presents an opportunity to continue my on-track success with a strong team and a long-term commitment, but also dive into my passion of team ownership,” said Keselowski in the team’s initial media release.

“I am optimistic about what Jack (Roush), John (Henry) and I can accomplish together, especially with a new era for our sport…our goal is to win races and compete for championships at NASCAR’s top level, and we plan to do just that.”

But success has been hard to come by for the 35-time race winner, joining an organization that have fallen behind the other powerhouses of the sport.

RFR have 137 wins and two championships to their credit, at one point fielding five full-time cars, and they won multiple races each season between 1997 and 2014.

However, since 2015, RFR have won just two races, both in 2017 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and they have made the postseason only twice, first with Stenhouse in 2017 and then with Ryan Newman in 2019.

“A good season in 2022 is probably winning a lot of races — at least between the two cars, three or more — and I’d say, of course, being in the playoffs,” Keselowski told reporters, including FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, last November. “That’s pretty much a no-brainer.”

Keselowski’s hopes of achieving that goal of another playoff appearance took an early hit with a major penalty against RFK Racing.

Following the fifth race this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, RFK Racing received an L2 Penalty for modification of a single source supplied part. Keselowski later told reporters that it had to do with a repaired tail panel.

The penalty included a loss of 100 driver points and 10 playoff points, which left him with a total of just 12 points after Atlanta.

While Keselowski would still have entered the regular season finale in a must-win situation even if he hadn’t been docked 100 points, the situation presented an early season hurdle for the newly configured team, which put him in a must-win situation much earlier than most of his competitors.

Keselowski has shown some signs of improvement as of late, putting him back in the picture. He has four top 15 finishes in the last six races after posting just seven in the first 19 races. His best finish of the season is a seventh place result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.

His last opportunity to win his way into the playoffs also comes at the track where he had his best overall race of the season. Keselowski finished in ninth place in the season-opening Daytona 500 after leading a race-high 67 laps and finishing second and fourth in the first two stages.

A win by Keselowski would not only give him the first victory for RFK Racing since his affiliation but it would also keep him with the other four drivers who have made the playoffs in every season since the knockout-style format was introduced. He has +1800 odds to win Saturday night’s race, second highest among the 13 drivers in must-win situations. Bet now at WynnBET!