Right when everyone was finally talking about the Cup Series championship battle instead of Carson Hocevar, the NASCAR Cup Series world woke up on Tuesday to a stunning bombshell. Brad Keselowski will not return to RFK Racing as either a driver or owner in 2027.
The 42-year-old veteran and 2012 series champion has been brought up as a potential fit at Kaulig Racing, though this is nothing more than a rumor. Meanwhile, it's anybody's guess who takes over his now soon-to-be-vacant No. 6 car, if it even runs at all next year.
But where RF-minus-K is concerned, it's the end of an era that could have been something so much more.
RFK Racing was never brave enough to take the risks required to become an elite NASCAR Cup Series team
Keselowski bought into Roush Racing in 2022 and had a vision for great success. He was going to turn around a program that had fallen on hard times and build them back to competing for wins and championships, just as fellow Cup Series star Denny Hamlin was doing with 23XI Racing.
And by the middle of Year No. 2, RFK was well on its way. Keselowski and his teammate Chris Buescher, who won three times in a five-race stretch over the summer, both made the playoffs. But this is where they needed to capitalize on their growth by taking the next step.
23XI did that by signing Tyler Reddick, while most of the series' other young teams made similar moves. Spire Motorsports landed Hocevar to build around. Trackhouse Racing brought in Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch.
RFK, meanwhile, signed Justin Haley in an alliance with Rick Ware Racing in 2024 and then added a full-time third car for Ryan Preece. With age catching up to Keselowski and Buescher reaching his ceiling as "a guy, but not the guy", it was a commitment to 16th place.
RFK never once attempted to find a high-upside prospect to develop. They never once went after a flashy free agent to sign, even as proven winners like Ross Chastain or overachieving youngsters like Zane Smith could have made good fits. Then, Keselowski and his Fenway Group co-owners reportedly didn't see eye to eye about the team's direction, and that was that.
We'll see if Keselowski can have any better success at his next venture, perhaps as the anchor program for Dodge's return to Cup. But Roush will certainly take a hit as they revert back to their late 2010s form.
All in all, the reality of RFK never lived up to the vision of RFK. And at a certain point, regardless of who was responsible for holding it back, the vision stopped aiming to be anything more than mediocrity.
RFK Racing could have been something so much greater. But greatness requires risk, and the organization's ultimate decision-makers were afraid to take it.
Now, this is the result.
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