Keselowski to team: 'Tune out any distractions that make you feel like you're not good enough'
Yesterday at 23:28
Brad Keselowski had a simple message for his RFK Racing team:
"Stay focused and tune out any distractions that make you feel like you're not good enough," Keselowski revealed to RACER.
The message was delivered in the garage at Phoenix Raceway. As Keselowski huddled and delivered that message to his No. 6 team, the race continued without them on the track. The day had ended for Keselowski and his team after they were collected in the multi-car crash that occurred off Turn 2 on lap 99.
"We haven't had the results we want to start the season, but I feel like our cars drive really well," Keselowski said. "My car here this weekend (in Las Vegas) drives really well. There's been a series of circumstances that haven't played in our favor, and those don't last. They come and they go; the good comes and goes, and the bad comes and goes.
"To me, this sport is about capitalizing when you have good fortune and shaking it off when you have bad fortune, and I just wanted to make sure that we didn't allow ourselves to be defined by our bad moments and that we are focused on capitalizing when the good opportunities come. I just wanted to make sure everybody knew how I felt about it, and I still feel that way."
Unfortunately the car could not be repaired. Done for the day. Afterwards, Brad huddled the team to reinforce that better days are coming. pic.twitter.com/ZgRKmKVLcQ
— No. 6 Team (@RFK6Team) March 9, 2025
Keselowski failed to finish two of the first four races. He's finished outside the top 25 in three of the four races, with the best result being a 15th place effort at Circuit of The Americas.
"I don't think it hurts," he said of whether his message resonated with the team. "I guess time will tell. You never know what's impactful and what's not until the events are done, right? But I don't feel like it was the wrong thing to do."
On the eve of Sunday's event in Las Vegas, the first intermediate race of the season, Keselowski is 33rd in the standings. He was 26th fastest in practice Saturday morning and qualified 27th. The latter also reflected the team's qualifying draw due to the performance metric, which will easily hinder a team after a rough few weeks.
He also admits there have been some teething pains within the organization. Not only is he working with a new crew chief on the No. 6 team, Jeremy Bullins, but the organization has expanded to a third car. That’s a lot of "dynamic changes" for a company after three solid and steady seasons.
That's why, as a driver and co-owner, Keselowski understands how important leadership is for a group. He believes people crave leadership and feed off of confidence.
"I'm confident that we've got a big stretch in front of us here with seven or eight races we can win any of them," he said. "If we go out and execute and just have not necessarily good luck but not bad luck, we can get some results out of it."
The good news? The team isn't chasing speed or comfortable-feeling race cars.
"Yeah, the potential is there," Keselowski said. "We just need to execute and not have any misfortune."
