Editor’s note: This is the 11th in a series in which we review the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the 2025 final standings.
Driver: Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford, RFK Racing
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Final 2025 Ranking: 20th
Key Stats: 0 wins, 6 top fives, 13 top 10s, 222 laps led
How 2025 ended: RFK Racing wound up winless last season for the first time since 2021, and Keselowski finished third of the three drivers on the organization’s roster. All three — Keselowski, Chris Buescher and newcomer Ryan Preece — wound up in the “next five” just outside of the playoff field in the final standings, and each had close brushes with reaching Victory Lane. One the nearest misses for the 41-year-old co-owner/driver came in the season finale’s last lap, when he overcooked the entry for the final corner while leading in overtime, allowing Ryan Blaney to scoot past his No. 6 Ford for the victory at Phoenix Raceway.
Best race: A handful of candidates stand out among the races where the No. 6 team best contended, but besides Phoenix, Keselowski’s run in the heartland at Iowa Speedway was among his most stout performances. Keselowski started a season-best fifth and led a season-high 68 of the 350 laps in the Iowa Corn 350, and he appeared to get the upper hand when a crucial divide in teams’ pit-stop calls materialized in Stage 2. William Byron, however, made the most of the strategy split by stretching his fuel payload over the final 144 circuits, leaving Keselowski to settle for third place. While the victory fizzled, Keselowski gained five spots in the Cup Series standings to aid his late push for a postseason berth.
RELATED: 2026 Cup Series schedule | Brad Keselowski driver page
Other season highlights: Two more podium results this past year illustrated the No. 6 team’s potential. Keselowski led 46 laps — including at the white flag — at Atlanta, where Chase Elliott rode a teamwork train with Alex Bowman to a narrow victory, leaving the No. 6 team second again. After missing out on the 16-driver postseason field, he nearly accepted the role of playoff spoiler in Bristol’s annual night race, leading down the stretch before a late caution. A jam-up on the final restart gave Christopher Bell the avenue to escape for the victory, with Keselowski a hard-luck runner-up.
Stat to know: Keselowski’s average starting spot this season (20.9) was his lowest since his rookie Cup Series campaign in 2010. His last pole position was in September 2022 at Texas Motor Speedway, a 114-race drought.
Quotable: “We had a few flashes, but didn’t get any wins. 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.” – Brad Keselowski, summing up his year on the eve of the Phoenix season finale.
Looking ahead: Keselowski grew RFK Racing into a three-car operation last season, and it appears its Cup Series roster will head into next year with its core largely intact. Keselowski hinted that RFK has some advanced interest in Ford’s IMSA operations, which would be a nod toward team founder Jack Roush’s run of sports-car success. On the personal side, the veteran driver is set to reach a milestone with his 600th Cup start on March 29 at Martinsville. Only 34 drivers in Cup Series history have reached that plateau.