The first six races of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule have treated some drivers very well, but as always, some have had quite the slow start.
Two drivers in particular who have suffered their share of struggles are Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski. Between crash-outs, slow days and generally wild circumstances, the two can’t seem to catch a break a month-and-a-half into the year, but who’s had it worse?
That’s for you, and two of our writers here at Frontstretch, to decide.
Ty Gibbs Has Been The Biggest Loser
Gibbs has really struggled to find pace, especially during the weeks when teammate Christopher Bell won three straight. Two of the races he crashed out, at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Atlanta’s a bit different and unpredictable, with higher speeds and pack racing, so I don’t fault him for that. Phoenix wasn’t really his fault either, as the brake rotor broke on the No. 54 late in the race when he was running 13th.
But the other races? Yeesh.
Gibbs started the season with a 16th at Daytona International Speedway, but that was the best he’d finish through the opening six events. In the past two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, he came home 22nd and 25th.
Compared to his first two seasons in 2023 and 2024, it’s been a dismal couple of months for Gibbs. In ’23, he had two ninth-place results in the first six races and finished on average about 18th. Last year, Gibbs had three top fives and five top 10s, earning an average finish of 7.83.
What’s his average finish this year? 25.7.
Ouch.
He’s ranked way back in 34th in the point standings, with only fellow full-timers Cole Custer and Cody Ware behind him.
And don’t forget when he lost his cool at Bowman Gray Stadium and went to make contact with Justin Haley, launching into the air when their tires touched.
Gibbs is in a bit better equipment than Keselowski, and is much younger as well. Teammates Bell, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe are all in the top 13 in the standings, so I know the cars can run up front during the race.
Maybe some more time in the Xfinity Series is needed for the 22-year-old to rebuild his confidence. Gibbs has 12 wins there, including seven en route to the championship in 2022.
We’ve seen other drivers go to Xfinity, whether it be part-time or full-time, and find success. Custer went back down to that series and won the championship in 2023, and now he’s racing in Cup again. Others seem to perform a little better on Sundays when they compete in Xfinity for a couple of races. Kyle Larson just won and nearly swept Homestead. More track time could really do Gibbs some good.
Or even a change in crew chiefs — maybe he’s not gelling with Tyler Allen as much. It’s not a knock on Allen; I mean, look at how Bubba Wallace is doing with his new crew chief, Charles Denike. The team could do a quick switch with someone else on the team, maybe for the All-Star Race, and see how Gibbs feels with that person leading the crew.
Whatever JGR needs to do to help the young talent, it needs to do it soon, before Gibbs’ confidence dwindles. – Joy Tomlinson
Brad Keselowski is in Full Ownership Mode
It’s his fourth full-time season in the role of driver/team owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, and through the opening six races of the 2025 Cup Series season, Keselowski the driver has stumbled out of the gate.
Coming off a disappointing 26th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway this past weekend, while his two team cars placed sixth with Chris Buescher and ninth with Ryan Preece, the No. 6 was nowhere to be found. This is only the latest speed bump for the 2012 Cup Series champion-turned-driver/owner Brad Keselowski, who’s had one of his worst starts to a season in recent memory.
Paired together with crew chief Jeremy Bullins, reunited from their time spent together at Team Penske, Keselowski is among the lowest-ranked drivers in the current Cup Series standings sitting in 30th place after six races, a far cry from what we’re accustomed to seeing from a driver of Brad’s caliber.
With RFK Racing having a more steady foundation to stand on after the struggles in Keselowski’s debut year in 2022, things appeared to be heading in the right direction with the team following Buescher’s breakout multi-win campaign in ‘23, along with both Buescher and Keselowski appearing in the playoffs that season.
Switching gears to the current state of the team, if you asked me which of the three drivers is the weak link at RFK Racing in the season’s early stages, it’s Keselowski and the No. 6 team. Take the race at Homestead-Miami last weekend for instance, where the No. 17 of Buescher and the No. 60 of Preece both scored top-10 finishes, while the No. 6 and Keselowski were a disappearing act all weekend with a lackluster performance in qualifying and overall lack of raw speed compared to his RFK teammates.
Those strong runs currently have both Buescher and Preece holding provisional spots in the playoffs at the moment.
Furthermore, through the first six races of the season, Keselowski’s average starting position is 24th, while his average finish is currently 25th, numbers that don’t scream championship-contending driver by any means. In the era of stage racing, drivers that have poor showings in qualifying typically don’t score a lot of stage points, if any.
Additionally, Keselowski’s lack of speed to begin 2025 somewhat rivals that of former Team Penske teammate Joey Logano, the defending Cup Series champion. However, Logano has scored more stage points than Keselowski, despite not having scored a top-10 finish himself in any of the first six races, but that’s a story for another day.
Keselowski earned his only win as an owner/driver by winning at Darlington Raceway on Throwback Weekend one year ago with a car that had good speed throughout the weekend, which directly carried over into the race. This season, the No. 6 driver needs some of that same speed just to jumpstart his season after a tough opening stretch of races to begin 2025.
While there are still 20 races remaining until the playoffs begin, Keselowski and his team have a long road ahead if they have hope of making the playoffs for a third straight season.
Lastly, Keselowski knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level of NASCAR with a Cup Series title in 2012 under his belt. However, being slow out of the gate to begin this year spells trouble for the RFK Racing owner/driver, and only time will tell if this slow start will continue for the former Cup Series champion moving forward. – Christopher Hansen
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.
