Brad Keselowski reflects on breaking 110-race winless drought at Darlington

Brad Keselowski was finally able to return to victory lane at Darlington Raceway, where he captured his first win as a driver-owner, since taking over the No. 6 for RFK Racing.

The former NASCAR Cup Series champion was exhausted by the end of the afternoon, but he was filled with excitement when it was all said and done. Speaking with FOX’s Regan Smith, Keselowski tried to put what breaking his 110-race winless drought meant to him in the moment.

“Finally,” exclaimed Keselowski, as he climbed out of his car. “What a heck of a day. It’s Darlington, so whether it’s your first win or your last win, it’s just a really special track. The history of NASCAR, it’s as tough as it gets.

“Then that battle at the end, with my teammate (Chris Buescher) and Tyler Reddick, and we all just laid it all out on the line. It was freaking awesome, man. I thought it couldn’t get much better than Kansas, it did today. That was awesome. I’m so glad you guys got to see that. It was incredible. Thanks for being here. We did it. Just really great.”

Of course, Keselowski is referencing the battle between his teammate Chris Buescher, and the wheelman of the No. 45 for 23XI Racing in Tyler Reddick. The duo was ahead of Keselowski, when they were racing for the win, and made contact when Reddick made an aggressive move, which helped Keselowski close the gap.

Prior to that, Keselowski had his own multi-lap battle with Reddick, where Buescher was able to take the lead in the process. The wheelman for the No. 6 knew he’d be able to get back to the lead though, as his car was better on the long run.

“I mean, it wasn’t good,” Keselowski said, harkening back to his battle with Reddick. “But I knew that I’d have another shot at it. My car was really good on the long runs.

“When Tyler got underneath Chris, I knew I’d have another shot at it, when they made contact. I couldn’t get by them, I was like, ‘Oh.’ But then he must’ve gotten a flat tire or something. We caught a break. You know, we caught enough bad breaks over the last year or two, it’s nice to catch a good one.”

Perhaps Brad Keselowski’s first win with RFK Racing will knock the lid off the cup, and he’ll rip off a couple more here as the season progresses. He’s been close all season long, but the No. 6 getting back to victory lane was a huge moment for the organization as a whole.