Kevin Harvick evaluates Brad Keselowski's 'hit or miss' performance leading up to playoff elimination

Brad Keselowski took a tremendous leap earlier in the season, as his RFK Racing No. 6 looked better than ever when he won at Darlington and throughout the summer, but the former NASCAR Cup Series champion was eliminated from the playoffs when the Round of 16 came to a close at Bristol.

While many didn’t think Keselowski would be among the first four to be eliminated before the Round of 12, Kevin Harvick explained during the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour that the signs have been there from the No. 6 team, as Keselowski has been “hit or miss” over the last couple of weeks, leading into the playoffs.

“I think we’ve been surprised about this all year. They had that one moment in time, in the middle of the year, around Darlington, the first Darlington, those three, four, five weeks right there, where they had good speed, and then it’s just been really hit or miss from them,” Harvick explained, regarding Keselowski’s 2024. “Chris Buescher was obviously fast at Watkins Glen last week, and did a phenomenal job to win the race, and able to put it all together, but it’s not been consistent. It’s been very inconsistent, as to what happens on a week-to-week basis.

“It’s easy to do, with this particular car, but I think Brad’s been deep in the field, the last couple of weeks, just struggling.”

While Keselowski seemed destined to make a long run in the playoffs after a successful regular season, it was all for naught after a couple of rough finishes over the past few weeks. Harvick wasn’t the only one of Keselowski’s peers who noticed his slippage though, as Denny Hamlin pointed out Keselowski’s struggles on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast.

“Given the wildness of the tracks, and the unpredictability of the finishing order due to the type of tracks we were running, yes, you have a very valid point there. I just thought — I think Atlanta, I think they hit it right on TV, Atlanta was the big swing and miss for Brad K there,” Hamlin said, regarding Keselowsi’s surprise elimination. “You know, usually, the last few Atlanta races, he had run really well, just didn’t have it this time. So that, compiled with two other really bad finishes, just was not enough for him.”

2024 was certainly Brad Keselowski’s best season with RFK Racing yet, but he’ll have to go back to the drawing board, as the team, for all their success, couldn’t get beyond the Round of 16, and that’s unacceptable for one of Ford’s top groups in the NASCAR Cup Series.