"I still have empathy" - Brad Keselowski makes his feelings known about Alex Bowman’s DQ following personal experience
RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski recently reflected on Alex Bowman not qualifying for the Round of 8 playoffs after a post-race setback. Keselowski was also part of the 2024 playoffs but fell out of contention after the Round of 16 race at Bristol.
The jubilation of Hendrick Motorsports' four-car sweep through the Round of 12 was quickly dampened when the #48, despite qualifying on points, faced a setback. Bowman's Chevrolet was issued a last-place penalty at the Charlotte road course race due to a post-race inspection failure, effectively ending his championship hopes for 2024.
Speaking with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, the 40-year-old Keselowski reflected on Bowman's unfortunate disqualification. He said:
"I have empathy for sure for the 48 team. I hate to see a team that can act out of playoffs that way, you know."
In the aftermath of his Martinsville DQ, the 2012 Cup Series champion revisited his thought process and claimed it wasn't "egregious" to him. Keselowski continued:
"In 2022, we had the same penalty at Martinsville. And we tracked it all down to, we had ran a 400 lap race at Martinsville and we had worn such and such weight off the car and accumulated X amount of rubber and we were plenty good. And in the fall race, we wore more brake pad and brake rotor off the car and at the end of the race we got hit in the back and the rubber that naturally adds weight to the car didn't accumulate. And the combination of two put us below the weight threshold and it didn't feel egregious to me."
As things stand, Bowman's DQ has reinstated Team Penske driver Joey Logano into the next round of playoffs. This means there will be two Ford drivers competing for the 2024 Cup Series championship.
"Hungry for another win": Brad Keselowski hopes to secure another triumph in the 2024 season
Former Cup and Xfinity Series champion Brad Keselowski booked his spot in the playoffs with a win at the 2024 Goodyear 400 race at Darlington Raceway. He continued his impressive performance by finishing in the top three during the next two races; however, he had a rollercoaster of performances after that.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Michigan native reflected on his exit from the 2024 championship run after being eliminatedt after the Round of 12.
"Although I’m disappointed in our championship run, every challenge is an opportunity to come back stronger. Still hungry for another win this season... The journey isn’t over yet. #6NeverQuits," Keselowski wrote.
Despite being eliminated from the Cup Series championship chase, Keselowski nearly secured a victory at the chaotic Talladega race. He finished a close second, just 0.006 seconds behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
The RFK Racing driver now has four more races to earn his 37th NASCAR Cup Series career win.