Brad Keselowski: ”The wins will come’

When the field took the white flag in the Ambetter 400, Brad Keselowski led but his former Team Penske teammate Joey Logano ultimately prevailed.

Christopher Bell gave Logano the push he needed to get around Keselowski and take the victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“We were right there. I’m glad a Ford won. It was a heck of a battle. The coolest thing about this is two veterans showed that you can run a race here side-by-side bump drafting and not wreck the field,” Keselowski said.

“It can happen if you race respectfully and I thought everybody did a great job. We were right there. I’m proud of my team and the effort, just not much we could do there.”

For Keselowski, his second-place finish was his highest in a Cup Series event since a runner-up showing at Talladega in October 2021 – and his highest finish since becoming an owner-driver at RFK Racing in 2022.

Five races into the season, Keselowski is ranked fifth in drivers’ standings with two Top-10 finishes and one stage win.

There are still 21 races until the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs are set, but Keselowski has a 58-point margin ahead of the cutline — one point short of a full race over Bubba Wallace, the first driver on the outside looking in..

Keselowski’s teammate, Chris Buescher, is ranked 13th on the playoff grid, 20 points ahead of the cutline. Neither driver qualified for the playoffs last year.

“It’s night and day from where we were a year ago, 100 percent,” Keselowski said. “You just keep running like this with good finishes and the wins will come.”