Brad Keselowski says he needs another month or two before his 2027 NASCAR Cup season plans become clear.
“There’s more opportunities than I think you guys (media) are aware of right now,” Keselowski says. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter and things that happen that doesn’t always make its way to you guys. So, I would say that there’s some really good opportunities.
“There’s always things that come up that surprise you and unique deals. The book of things that could have come together but didn’t come together and you guys never found out is pretty thick.”
Keselowski and RFK Racing shocked the motorsports community late last month when it was announced the NASCAR champion would leave the organization. Recently, Keselowski said he had a five-year driver contract with RFK Racing that was separate from his minority ownership in the organization. That driver contract expires at the end of the season. Keselowski wanted to continue as a driver while the majority owners wanted him to step out of the car and focus on competition.
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The Michigan native said he would like to drive another three to five years, but that wasn’t mandatory to getting a deal done.
“There’s plenty of opportunities that don’t entail that, that interest me,” he said.
Keselowski says he’s not looking for a “one-directional deal.”
“I wanna do something that works for everybody,” Keselowski said. “That’s what a good partnership is. If I can make somebody better, that’s part of the fulfillment I get.
“I tell people that I have the fastest feedback loop in sports because I drive the car and I’m able to provide feedback to the team. There’s no other leader or owner that can really do that, maybe outside of Denny Hamlin, but he doesn’t even drive his own car. I think being really deeply ingrained is a significant advantage for me on the leadership side. That differentiates me from most of the peer group.”
Keselowski said he wouldn’t be willing to do something that would harm his career or someone else.
“The leadership style that I take pride in is just having really clear lines of accountability, authority and autonomy among our management team that enables and empowers them to be successful and grow in their own right,” Keselowski said. “I really enjoy that.”
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.