Some drivers, such as Kyle Larson, ended the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season on a high note while others were left simply needing a reset altogether.
But for Brad Keselowski, the 41-year-old veteran and 2012 champion, the 2026 season cannot get here fast enough, as he is looking to return to victory lane after experiencing several near-misses during the 2025 campaign.
Keselowski did not have a poor season with six top five finishes, 13 top 10 finishes and 222 laps led, but his average starting position (20.9) was his lowest since his rookie season in 2010. Despite the poor qualifying effort in 2025, plus seven DNFs, Keselowski was in contention to win multiple races over the course of the season.
He appeared to have the fastest car at Iowa Speedway and led 68 of the 350 laps, only to settle for third after William Byron stretched his fuel over the final 144 laps to spoil his efforts. He was leading on the final lap of the summer race at EchoPark Speedway before being overtaken by Chase Elliott for the win, and he was in position to win the Bristol Night Race before a check-up on the final restart allowed Christopher Bell to take the lead and hold him off.
Brad Keselowski made the wrong kind of history in 2025
According to NASCAR Insights, Keselowski was the driver passed for the win in seven races in 2025, which was the most by a winless driver in a single season in Cup Series history.
The seven races:
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) December 3, 2025
Nashville - 32 laps to go
Pocono - 34 laps to go
Atlanta II - 1 lap to go
Watkins Glen - 17 laps to go
Richmond - 49 laps to go
Gateway - 25 laps to go
Phoenix - 1 lap to go
If you factor in the positions Keselowski found himself in toward the end of the Iowa and Bristol events, you get nine races he had a great chance of winning, only to fall short for one reason or another.
The championship race at Phoenix, in particular, was perhaps the most disappointing, as Keselowski drifted high in turns three and four on the final lap and allowed Ryan Blaney to get underneath him and win in a photo finish.
Pocono was a totally different story, as Keselowski, who led 27 of the 160 laps, stayed on track longer than crew chief Jeremy Bullins wanted him to and paid the price when the caution flag flew before he made his final pit stop.
On the eve of the championship race at Phoenix, Keselowski noted that the No. 6 team needs to do a better job of taking advantage of the speed in 2026.
"We had a few flashes, but didn't get any wins," Keselowski said, per NASCAR.com. "So, you know, that's what we need to do in this sport right now. It's what it rewards. We had a couple really good runs, like Iowa was probably our best race, and a handful of seconds. So just need to convert those into wins going forward."
Keselowski was outside the top 30 in the standings for most of the season, but he salvaged the most he could from an up-and-down season with three top 10 finishes in the final four races to finish 20th, and with some momentum.
That does not make up for the agonizing finishes he was part of, but it at least shows a driver who is poised to return to victory lane in 2026 and return to the postseason in what is set to be his 17th full-time season in the Cup Series.