The 2026 season was the final year of a five-year driving contract for [Brad] Keselowski, who joined the team as a driver and co-owner ahead of the 2022 campaign. Keselowski hoped to continue his driving career well into the future while RFK wanted him to move into the lead competition role more promptly.
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“We wanted to make sure organizationally that not only we set ourselves up for near-term success, but really long-term sustainable success,” Bowers said to a room full of media members at Las Vegas. “And so, when we started looking at what the next three years look like for us and beyond, it was clear that we wanted Brad to start focusing more on his role in competition.
“For us, we wanted that to be a natural transition over the next two to three years for Brad. I think he wants to continue to drive much longer than that, and that’s fine. We applaud that. Like I said, we want to give Brad, because we have such immense respect and appreciation for Brad, every opportunity to do all the things he wants to do in his career. But that’s what makes it so hard, right? This this is a business, and we just weren’t aligned with that, and that happens.”
— NASCAR.com —
See also: Brad Keselowski addresses RFK Racing departure after Las Vegas Cup qualifying