As Harrison Burton reveled in triumph, several Daytona favorites found themselves in despair. Brad Keselowski, a renowned expert on superspeedways with three wins at the iconic tri-oval and six trophies from Talladega Superspeedway—second only in victories at that Alabama venue—saw his return to Daytona take a disappointing turn in stage 3, largely due to NASCAR’s officiating.
Keselowski has already secured his playoff spot thanks to his victory at Darlington, while his teammate Chris Buescher struggles to hold onto the 16th playoff position. Amid the chaos of the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Keselowski couldn’t contain his frustration.
A glimpse into Brad Keselowski’s frustration
The RFK Racing team kicked off the Daytona race on a positive note, with the No. 6 car starting in 12th and the No. 17 in 13th. However, Keselowski quickly emerged as a standout performer. His King’s Hawaiian Ford consistently led the pack, making its way to the front three times and rarely dropping out of the top five or ten. He made strategic fuel stops during the wrecks on laps 61 and 141, the latter setting him up for a final push toward the finish line. But everything unraveled during a restart in stage 3.
With just 16 laps remaining, Keselowski found himself on the front row for the restart. Austin Cindric’s No. 3 car was designated as the control vehicle, but it appeared that Keselowski jumped the gun in the restart zone. NASCAR deemed that the RFK driver had accelerated prematurely, prompting NASCAR Cup Series Event Director Jusan Hamilton to announce, “Restart’s under review.” In response, No. 6 crew chief Matt McCall communicated with a heavy heart, “He’s trying to give us a restart violation.”
Spotter T.J. Majors had to remind Brad Keselowski about the necessity of adhering to the directives from the officials. “We need to serve a pass-through penalty here, Brad,” he stated. In response, the seasoned driver erupted in frustration, exclaiming, “Can’t they see he got hit from behind and spun his tires? I can see it clearly from my seat!” Keselowski argued that Cindric had spun his tires during the restart, but NASCAR dismissed his claims. “This has to be one of the worst calls I’ve ever witnessed,” he fumed. Ultimately, Keselowski’s pass-through penalty on lap 147 drastically diminished his chances of victory. Nevertheless, the No. 6 Ford managed to fight back and secure an 8th-place finish. This situation echoed a similar incident from 2015 when the same driver faced a restart penalty, which even the driver who benefited from it contested.
Following a restart violation imposed by NASCAR, Brad Keselowski, then with Team Penske, made a pointed comment. “It’s a pretty straightforward concept. This is an entertainment sport, not necessarily a fair one, but we had an excellent car.” Even Greg Biffle came to Keselowski’s defense, drawing a comparison to a more blatant incident. “If you look at that restart, Brad and I were side by side as we entered Turn 1. The real issue people were raising was with Matt Kenseth at Richmond, where he was a good 2 ½ car lengths ahead of everyone going into Turn 1 – that’s where we need more oversight. There’s always going to be some gamesmanship, and we should embrace that. Let us enjoy our time in the zone as long as it’s relatively balanced. Just give us a quarter of a fender or something.”
Clearly, Brad Keselowski has faced his share of restart penalties in NASCAR. However, his points position remains secure, and he heads into Darlington next weekend with a notable advantage.
