In a grand total of more than 2,300 races, the organization has taken home 333 victories (142 Cup; 137 Xfinity; 50 Trucks; 4 ARCA) as well as 235 poles.
Among the biggest highlights were back-to-back Cup series championships came from Kenseth (final year of the year-long points system in 2003) and Busch (first year of the 10-race Chase points battle in 2004).
But around the mid 2010s, the wheels started to fall off at the Roush team, and it was essentially irrelevant on track until Keselowski joined the fold after the 2021 season ended and he left a competitive ride at Penske Racing to become co-owner at the newly named RFK Racing.
People though Brad was crazy, even I did to some degree. Why leave that security of Penske for a reclamation project that was no guarantee to be turned around?
But I also recognized that when you take into account the person Brad is, it was indeed possible. He had run a successful truck series team, and grown up competing in a family-owned race team before that, so he had both the pedigree and the will to succeed.
Sunday’s win by Keselowski at Darlington — the first this season for the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse — was a thrilling race from start to finish, and the veteran racer came through at a veteran’s track. After watching his teammate Chris Buescher take the No. 17 car to Victory Lane four times in the past two years, Brad won for the first time as co-owner, and go to celebrate with his family one of the more popular wins of the year, breaking a personal winless streak of more than 100 races.
A shocking stat is that the last time the No. 6 went to Victory Lane was in July of 2011 when David Ragan won at Daytona. But this win was no plate fluke, Keselowski fought hard for the victory at perhaps the toughest track on the circuit.
And that’s a direct effort of the hard work that’s gone into RFK Racing — by Brad himself and the organization’s leadership team — to right a ship that had been crashing into rocks for so long. He came in with an ultimate hands-on approach and helped to examine every process so the team could find out what ailed it.
And it appears to have worked wonders so far, though maintaining consistency will be essential to truly take on the Gibbs and Hendrick teams come playoff time.
I would argue that RFK has been the best Ford team for much of the 2024 season, with his old Penske team falling a step back from their usually front-running ways this season.
And with the talented Buescher locked into a long-term deal now, and Brad obviously finding his home as a driver/owner, RFK Racing looks to be in a good place for the foreseeable future.
In typical Keselowski fashion, Brad isn’t getting complacent, though.
When asked about the legacy he is building after Sunday’s win, he said: “I’ve got a lot more I want to do. Thirty-six wins is great. It’s a nice stat to have, but I want to win a lot more.”
Blue Oval resurgence
Keselowski wasn’t the only Ford that had a strong day on Sunday. For a car make that hadn’t yet taken a victory in 2024, Ford managed to have a total of 5 drivers in the top 10.
Brad was 1st, Josh Berry 3rd, Chase Briscoe 5th, Justin Haley 9th and Michael McDowell was 10th.
Most notable of those names is Haley, who made his own risky move from Kaulig to Rick Ware Racing in 2024, and just gave the RWR team its first top-10 on a non restrictor plate track.
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