Brad Keselowski may not have achieved the end result that he was hoping for in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway, but his performance ended up being one of the strongest runs he’s had all season.
A victory for Keselowski was well within reach on Sunday, as the driver of the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse swept the opening two stages and led a total of 68 laps, but came up short to William Byron and Chase Briscoe, as both got track position by stretching their fuel tanks longer.
During the latter part of the second stage, when drivers like Byron, Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott pitted under green, Keselowski and others stayed on the racetrack in hopes that a caution would be displayed.
That caution came at Lap 171, when Shane van Gisbergen spun in Turn 2, and was Keselowski’s saving grace, as drivers who pitted beforehand were pinned a lap down, creating a scenario for Keselowski to put himself back in contention for the victory.
But as 10 cautions came within the next 100 laps of the event, the strategies of the race were turned upside down, as Keselowski was able to prevail with enough fuel left in his Ford Mustang Dark Horse, ultimately winding up third when the dust settled in Iowa.
“We had an opportunity today, but yeah, it’s disappointing to not be able to get the win,” Keselowski noted after the race. “We put ourselves in a position. We can’t control what we can’t control, and we need to focus on what we can. We couldn’t control all the yellows that shifted the dynamics of the race today away from us. It’s unfortunate, but I love the position we were in and the speed that we had.”
Those @RFKracing cars are on the rise. ?
For the first time since 2012, the team has placed two cars in the top five in consecutive races. pic.twitter.com/qT8PLmuYn3
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 3, 2025
Meanwhile, Keselowski’s RFK Racing teammate, Ryan Preece, had a quiet showing until the later portions of the event, where he was able to sneak into the top 5 for the second week in a row. Unfortunately, Chris Buescher was the odd one out of the RFK bunch, as he wound up finishing 22nd, still maintaining his place above the provisional playoff cutline.
“Yeah, great run for both of our RFK cars,” Keselowski added. “We want to win, but we’re in contention, that’s for sure.”
Keselowski will try to limit his 121-point buffer off the cutline with a win when the Cup Series visits the famed Watkins Glen International road course on Sunday, August 10.
Coverage of the Go Bowling At The Glen will air live at 2:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, with radio coverage provided by The Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
