DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Brad Keselowski limped through the NASCAR Cup Series garage to his No. 6 Ford, cane in hand, ahead of Wednesday’s Daytona 500 practice session. He is only eight weeks post-surgery for a broken right femur.
On a ski trip with his family on December 18, Keselowski slipped on ice and took a tumble. He considered it “by far the worst pain I’ve ever been through.”
It took until three to five weeks into the process for Keselowski to feel like he’d be able to even walk again, let alone think about competing in a race car. He was only cleared to race in this week’s Daytona 500 on Monday, passing a test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“When I’m in the car, I know I have an injury, but I feel the best in the car,” Keselowski said on Wednesday. “The seat is molded to me well. You get a little adrenaline going, so I felt pretty good.”
Keselowski ended the opening practice session of the 2026 season 28th on the scoring pylon, with the majority of the field making single-car runs in preparation for qualifying. Hopping in and out of the car is the biggest challenge he faced.
“The hardest part is getting in and out of the car,” he said. “You have to turn your legs and hips. There are parts in me that aren’t quite ready for that. I have to be intentional.”
Keselowski has a knack for toughening out injuries. Nearly 15 years ago, he broke his left ankle in a test session crash at Road Atlanta and followed it up with a victory at Pocono Raceway mere days later. But knowing that this particular injury is much more significant than a broken ankle, it’s going to push his toughness.
“Probably just really stubborn,” Keselowski said of his mentality. “I don’t want to miss a race. This is what I do; I love it. Tough isn’t what you say, it’s what you do, so we will find out how I make it through this whole process. What matters to me is not a label, it’s making it through this race and having a shot to win.”
David Ragan, two-time superspeedway winner, including at Daytona in 2011, is on standby for the No. 6 team at Daytona. Corey LaJoie is the signed relief driver for RFK Racing, but is trying to put a fourth bid into the Great American Race with the No. 99 team. If needed, road-course ace Joey Hand will be on standby in two weeks at Circuit of The Americas, the first road course event of the 2026 season.
“COTA is a big concern for me,” Keselowski admitted. “If I had to run the full race today, I’m not 100% sure I could do it. I’ll have another two weeks of reps and rehab to continue to gain and hopefully I can get there.”
The Daytona schedule is beneficial for Keselowski. Each day the aggression level amps up, with a pair of America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona races on Thursday to set the starting lineup for the 500-mile spectacle.
Though Keselowski is winless in 16 Daytona 500 starts, and it’s at the top of his bucket list to achieve, he won’t rule out being relieved during the race. He is monitoring the situation daily, knowing some moments will be difficult.
Keselowski said: “If I felt like I was holding the race team back from giving my best effort and having a chance to win the race, I would get out.”
Keselowski has led the most laps in two of the four Daytona 500s that he’s participated as a driver and car owner.