With the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season set to begin in less than two weeks via the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Feb. 1, one former series champion will already have to overcome significant adversity.
Brad Keselowski, driver and co-owner of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, broke his leg after slipping on ice during a ski trip with his family in December. Keselowski underwent successful surgery and has since been following an intensive rehab program with the goal of being back for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.
RFK Racing announced on Jan. 8 that Keselowski will sit out the Clash, with Corey LaJoie tabbed to fill the seat of the No. 6 for the exhibition race.
“I’m happy for Corey to get this opportunity,” Keselowski said in a team release. “I’m laser focused on being ready for Daytona.”
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Injuries have always been a part of NASCAR racing, and Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, is now the latest driver seeking to bounce back from a major injury to perform at a high level.
So how will Keselowski fare this season coming off of a leg injury? History tells us the potential is wide-ranging.
On one end, you have Tony Stewart, who broke his leg in a dirt race midway through the 2013 season, missing the rest of that campaign. Stewart’s Cup career was never quite the same after that, winning just one more race at Sonoma Raceway in 2016 before retiring at the end of the season.
In the middle, you’ve got Chase Elliott, who broke his leg in a snowboarding accident in March 2023. Elliott missed six races before his return at Martinsville Speedway, ultimately going winless and missing the playoffs. However, Elliott still showed solid consistency that year with an average finish of 13.1. He has since returned to championship-contending form, winning three races across the 2024 and 2025 seasons and making the Round of 8 both times.
Then there is Kyle Busch, who missed 11 races after sustaining a broken leg and a broken foot in a crash during the 2015 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. All but written off for the season, Busch won five races, made the playoffs and went on to win the first of his two Cup championships.
Keselowski himself has previously shown resilience in the face of injury. In 2011, he broke his ankle in a hard crash during a testing session at Road Atlanta. Days later, Keselowski not only raced but also won at Pocono Raceway, holding off a hard-charging Busch.
Keselowski added a win in the Bristol night race a few weeks later, made The Chase and finished fifth in points, setting the stage for his championship run the following year.
On the other hand, Keselowski turns 42 on Feb. 12, so his body probably won’t bounce back as quickly as it did when he was a 27-year-old young gun in 2011.
Performance-wise, he is far from his career peak in the early-to-mid 2010s. Since moving to RFK and the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, Keselowski has only collected one checkered flag, winning the spring race at Darlington Raceway in 2024. Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in points only once with RFK, placing eighth in 2023.
Barring any setbacks in his recovery, Keselowski plans to have a medical evaluation test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Feb. 5, per a FOX Sports article.
“I’m not great, but I’m good,” Keselowski told FOX Sports. “I’m recovering really well. I had a major injury. I’m on a significant rehab plan to be back for the Daytona 500.”
If there is one thing we have learned over Keselowski’s long career, likely destined to end in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it’s to never count out Bad Brad.
Andrew Stoddard joined Frontstretch in May of 2022 and is currently an editor and a weekly writer of Stat Sheet. He is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond, and VCU. He works as an athletic communications specialist at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va.