Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing management explain details of surprising split

LAS VEGAS -- After one of the most surprising developments of the 2026 NASCAR season, Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing president Chip Bowers offered insight into the circumstances surrounding their split on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2026 season was the final year of a five-year driving contract for Keselowski, who joined the team as a driver and co-owner ahead of the 2022 campaign. Keselowski hoped to continue his driving career well into the future while RFK wanted him to move into the lead competition role more promptly. RELATED: Sunday's starting lineup | At-track photos: Vegas Within the last month, discussions between the two sides broke down and Keselowski’s future became clearer. At the end of the 2026 season, he will be looking for his next opportunity. “We wanted to make sure organizationally that not only we set ourselves up for near-term success, but really long-term sustainable success,” Bowers said to a room full of media members at Las Vegas. “And so, when we started looking at what the next three years look like for us and beyond, it was clear that we wanted Brad to start focusing more on his role in competition. "For us, we wanted that to be a natural transition over the next two to three years for Brad. I think he wants to continue to drive much longer than that, and that's fine. We applaud that. Like I said, we want to give Brad, because we have such immense respect and appreciation for Brad, every opportunity to do all the things he wants to do in his career. But that's what makes it so hard, right? This this is a business, and we just weren't aligned with that, and that happens.” Keselowski will start 16th in Sunday's South Point 400 (5:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This story will be updated.