Brad Keselowski will make his 600th career start on Sunday in the Cup Series, a tribute to the adaptability of a 42-year-old who became NASCAR's first millennial champion in 2012.
"It's a number I never dreamed of," Keselowski said before practice and qualifying at Martinsville Speedway, the 0.526-mile oval in Southwest Virginia where he will try to join Richard Petty as the second driver to win in his 600th start.
Longevity is nice, but the co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing knows there's only one statistic that truly determines his value.
"To be judged as successful in this sport, you have to win and be a contender to win regularly," Keselowski said. "I sense we're not far off, but we're also not there. So we're somewhere in this ambiguous spot. I'm hopeful that we can push through with some sort of stellar performance and assert ourselves."
After a winless 2025, Keselowski's team opened this year with Ryan Preece winning The Clash exhibition event – kicking off a season that's delivered its fair share of surprises.
Tyler Reddick, also winless last season, has four victories in the first six races to build a massive points lead with the No. 45 Toyota of 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA great Michael Jordan.
Before Reddick took the checkered flag at Darlington Raceway, the RFK Racing trio of Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Preece ran 1-2-3 for a stretch last week at what's been dubbed "The Track Too Tough to Tame." Keselowski led a race-high 142 laps for his sixth runner-up finish since his most recent win nearly two years ago, but he still felt inferior to Reddick, who won easily despite dropping deep in the field with an alternator problem.
"We were close last week, and this will be another of those opportunities that I feel really good about," said Keselowski, who has 18 top 10s in 32 starts at Martinsville, more than any other track. "We want to have that blinding speed like the 45 car had last week. We've had close moments but haven't fully experienced it. If we can bring that, it'll make my day feel really special. There's a lot of talk about Tyler, but they won with flat-out speed that's rare in the Next Gen car era. The car was intentionally designed with some level of parity, so to see a group that wins on blazing speed, it’s notable."
The struggles of some title contenders also have been striking. Three-time Cup champion Joey Logano is coming off a season-worst 33rd at Darlington (as Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric finished in the top five). Defending series champion Kyle Larson (32nd at Darlington) has only one top five, and Trackhouse Racing has only three top 10s among its three drivers.
A few variables (increased horsepower, lower downforce, a new Chevrolet body) have contributed to the results shuffle. The Next Gen car, which is in its fifth season, is also known for sensitivity to adjustments, and its common chassis can make it easier to miss the setup.
"It speaks to how easy it is to be off in the Cup Series, and by 'off,' I don't mean having a bad day, but the cars themselves," Cindric said. "Everything is really sensitive, so the smallest piece or part or a decision can be how things fell. We're talking about tenths of a pound of air pressure making swings. Nothing really surprises me anymore. I've been in that situation enough times to not jump to any conclusions over one race or one performance."
Sunday's 400 laps at Martinsville — a tough short track that favors experience — could be a regression to the mean.
"At some point, everybody's going to get really close again because they have all the same parts and pieces," said Carson Hocevar, who drives for upstart Spire Motorsports. "It's just being able to put it together."
Hendrick Motorsports, the winningest team in NASCAR history, usually hits the right combination at Martinsville. Its drivers have a record 30 wins at the track and 11,455 laps led (the only team with more than 10,000 laps led at a single track).
Keselowski believes his team's "supercompetitive" cars could end a victory lane drought in points races that dates to Buescher's win at Watkins Glen International on Sept. 15, 2024.
"It's disappointing to not push through in the category that means the most,' Keselowski said. "Off the track, last year was the best we ever had at RFK. On track, it wasn't that remarkable. We have to perform well as a business and on the racetrack. This year, we're poised to do that at the highest level since I've been here."
Spire's success
Hocevar has finished an average of 8.2 spots better than last season through six races. He credits Spire's improvement in part to the arrival of Daniel Suarez, who came from Trackhouse Racing to replace Justin Haley in the No. 7 Chevrolet.
"When a car struggles, it tends to be a distraction at times," Hocevar said. "They've got to deviate from setups and ideas and just really halts the direction of the three cars' forward progress and sends them on an island. Daniel is running well and doing a good job, and that's eliminated the distraction that's kind of been there the last two years with the 7 car."
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