DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sunday (Feb. 15) was yet another close call for NASCAR Cup Series champions Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott in the Great American Race.
Yet neither left Daytona International Speedway with the Harley J. Earl trophy, as they both were caught up in a crash coming to the checkered flag of the Daytona 500.
Keselowski will most certainly be enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame sooner rather than later. The co-owner of RFK Racing and 2012 Cup champion currently has 36 Cup Series wins across his tenure at the sport’s highest level. Six of those came at Talladega Superspeedway, and he’s known as somewhat of a superspeedway wizard.
Yet the biggest prize of them all — a Daytona 500 win — still eludes him, and it continued to do so on Sunday. Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford Mustang got collected in a last-lap crash caused by a block from Riley Herbst, with whom Keselowski voiced his displeasure after the race.
“The 35 [Herbst] just wrecked me out of nowhere for no reason,” Keselowski said. “That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. He had no chance of blocking my run. I had a huge run.
“I don’t know if I would have caught [Tyler Reddick] or [Ricky Stenhouse Jr.], but I would have liked to have found out, because my run was coming fast. And (Herbst) just wrecked us and himself. Pretty stupid.”
Frontstretch reached out to Herbst after the race but was unable to get a comment.
The fact Keselowski was even in Sunday’s race was miraculous enough, given he broke his right femur falling on ice during the offseason. He missed the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium due to the injury and was seen walking with a cane all during Speedweeks. The fact that he finished fifth on Sunday was a remarkable achievement.
Instead, all Keselowski will be able to think about is how another Daytona 500 slipped away. He’s now 0-for-17 since attempting his first 500 back in 2010.
Keselowski isn’t the only one who watched their latest chance at the Daytona 500 trophy slip away. Elliott only led two laps of Sunday’s race, but during the final lap, he rode a train of Chevy Camaros to the front of the pack.
Before Herbst crashed into Keselowski, he pushed his 23XI Racing teammate by Elliott and, ultimately, to the win. In the process, Elliott got collected in the skirmish, effectively ending his day coming to the checkered flag. He wound up with a fourth-place result, which felt like 40th considering what could have been.
As NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, it’s easy for fans to forget that the 2020 Cup champion and 21-time race winner still hasn’t won The Great American Race. For Elliott, though, it’s a fact that’s starting to really bother him.
“Obviously, it sucks to be that close there in the closing lap and have the lead coming off [turn] 4 and come up short,” Elliott said. “I think the momentum just shifted the other direction. It was just all defense, and being on defense the last lap is tough.”
For these two bona fide stars, another shot at the biggest stock car race of them all has come and gone. There are many other races on the schedule, and there is still a championship to be fought for this year.
But no races for the next 12 months have quite the allure of the Daytona 500, and as much as Elliott, Keselowski and others don’t want to admit it, losing this one in the fashion they did always stings.
“It was just pretty disappointing,” Elliott said. “I just don’t know what else to tell you other than we were leading the Daytona 500 off of turn 4 coming to the checkered flag and we didn’t win. So you tell me [what the emotions are like].”
While 30-year-old Elliott will still have his fair share of chances to win a Daytona 500, Keselowski’s opportunities are winding down. He isn’t expected to step away after this year, but Father Time remains undefeated and is creeping up on the 42-year-old Michigan native.
Will 2026 wind up being his last, best chance at the trophy? Only time will tell.
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Some drivers at or near the front of the field scare me. B.J. McLeod, Cody B. Ware, LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Herbst and rookies. Heim caused a wreck with a bad bump. I don’t think Allgaier would have caused a wreck if he didn’t move down or try to move back up.
The consequences of another driver’s mistake are too serious and result in a lot of money for NA$CAR when the cars are repaired or replaced. Imagine that! Who’da thunk it?
Exactly why I would have rather seen Alfredo in the race than McLeod.
I’m pretty critical of Nascar, but i have to give them kudos on this one for letting the race play out to the checkers on the final lap. They could have easily thrown the caution with Chase in the lead, but they did not. I’m sure it was tempting.