Keselowski Ends Winless Streak with Triumph at Darlington

Brad Keselowski broke a 110-race winless drought with a victory at Darlington Raceway, showcasing patience and capitalizing on a late-race incident involving his teammate.

Brad Keselowski's long-awaited victory at Darlington Raceway was a testament to his patience and the unpredictable nature of NASCAR racing. The RFK Racing driver had endured a frustrating 110-race winless streak, but he seized the opportunity when his teammate, Chris Buescher, suffered a flat tire with nine laps to go.

Keselowski had been one of the strongest cars throughout the race, leading 37 laps and consistently running near the front. As the race wound down, he found himself in a prime position to take advantage of Buescher's misfortune.

The incident occurred when Tyler Reddick made an aggressive move on Buescher, resulting in a door-slamming collision that flattened both their tires. Keselowski inherited the lead and held on to secure his first victory since becoming a co-owner at RFK Racing at the start of the 2022 season.

"I love this track," Keselowski said after the race. "I love coming here. It's a special place to me whether you win or not, but to run up front all day and have a great car, qualify up front, it was just an awesome day."

The victory was a significant milestone for Keselowski. It marked his first win as a team owner, the first for Ford this year, and the first for the No. 6 car since David Ragan's triumph at Daytona in 2011.

"There's a lot of things to be excited about, so it's really hard to pick one over another, whether it be just winning as a whole, winning at Darlington, winning and locking into the playoffs, winning with my family here, winning on Mother's Day," Keselowski said. "I don't know how to pick which one means the most, but they all mean a lot. I can tell you that."

Keselowski's winless streak had been a source of frustration for the veteran driver, but he and his crew had remained focused on improving their performance.

"We just talk about winning," Keselowski crew chief Matt McCall said. "It does us no good to talk about the losing streak. You've just got to talk about how you're going to win. That's what you talk about."

"Obviously, it's been a long time coming, but we feel like we've been getting a little closer and closer, so feels good now."

The race at Darlington also featured a heated confrontation between Buescher and Reddick after the tire incident. Buescher confronted Reddick and shoved him, expressing his anger at the reckless move.

"We had clean racing all day long and to get flat-out fenced like that there's no excuse. It's a poor decision and an immature move. I just don't get it," Buescher said.

Reddick apologized for the incident and took responsibility for Buescher's flat tire. "He did nothing wrong," Reddick said. "I popped his tire [getting into him]. He was going to win the race."

Another incident occurred early in the race when Ryan Blaney was wrecked out after he was squeezed into the wall by William Byron. Blaney was critical of Byron's move, accusing him of not leaving enough room.

"Don't shove it three-wide at a place you can't run three-wide," Blaney said. "If he wants to do that, fine, but your responsibility is to leave room. You have to leave room for the top two cars. ... He was off the dotted [lane designating] line until we were already wrecking."

"He faded up and sandwiched [Truex] into me."

Byron expressed surprise at the incident and said he was not intentionally trying to cause a wreck. "I felt like I was ahead of them," he said. "The exit is really narrow right there. I hate if I did come up a little bit. I was surprised I was even in that spot. I felt like I would never get to the bottom of a three-wide there, but the lane was there into [Turn] 1 and my car turned really good."

"I got almost clear of Martin (Truex Jr.), and I hate that it happened."