CUP: Brad Keselowski swept up in big Pocono wreck off Turn 3
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
SCREENSHOT: NASCAR on PRIME
Brad Keselowski picked up the 4th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA at the Pocono Raceway when his #6 Castrol Ford was involved in a multi-car accident after 46 of 160 laps.
The finish, which came in Keselowski’s 609th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since February 23, 2025 at Atlanta, 50 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 37th for the #6, the 710th from a crash, and the 771st from Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 76th for the #6, the 1,097th for Ford, and the 1,465th from a crash.
When Keselowski was last featured on this site, RFK Racing had just expanded to three full-time teams with the hiring of former Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece to the #60 Ford. The 2025 season saw all three teammates show flashes of brilliance, but all three missed the Playoffs and ended the year winless with Keselowski’s #6 the worst ranked of the three. Preece got the current years started on the right foot by winning a hard-fought exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium, and all three teams have been firmly in the fight for places in the upcoming Chase, but each are still striving for their first win of the season.
Keselowski’s best finish of 2026 came at Darlington in March, where he led a race-high 142 laps and finished runner-up to a surging Tyler Reddick. But after back-to-back crashes in the most recent rounds at Nashville and Michigan – his first DNFs of the year – he slipped from 11th to 15th in the standings, just 21 points above the cutline.
In his career, Keselowski has just one Cup win at Pocono, which came while driving for Roger Penske on August 7, 2011. He won the race with a broken ankle, an injury he suffered just days before in a testing crash at Road Atlanta. Curiously, Sunday would see another driver – Christopher Bell – start the race with a broken wrist suffered in his late-race crash at Michigan, an impact measured at 36 G’s.
Bell and Keselowski were among the 38 drivers to attempt Sunday’s race. Keselowski began the weekend ranked 29th in opening practice with a best time of 53.862 seconds (167.094mph). In qualifying, he struggled to the slowest completed lap of just 71.136 seconds (126.518mph), ranking him just 37th on the starting grid. Originally reported to be an engine issue, the team only needed to change the airbox, which still incurred him a tail-end penalty for Sunday as an unapproved adjustment.
Securing the 38th and final starting spot was the #23 Shadyrays Toyota of Bubba Wallace, who during his own qualifying lap clipped the wall exiting Turn 2 with the right-rear, then spun nose-first into the inside wall. The 23XI Racing team managed to complete repairs without going to a backup car, but incurred a redundant tail-end penalty of their own. Also docked was the #60 Trimble Ford of Ryan Preece, who was cited for unapproved adjustments after he timed in 35th on the grid.
When the green flag dropped, Wallace remained in the 38th and final spot, 3.108 seconds back of the lead behind 37th-place Preece (2.956), then 36th-place Keselowski, who was door-to-door on the inside of 35th-place Casey Mears in Beard Motorsports’ #62 The Gracie Foundation Chevrolet (also 2.786). Keselowski inched forward of Mears entering Turn 1, followed by Wallace, who had Preece running to his outside, forcing Mears into the high lane in a sudden three-wide battle for the last spot. Mears had to lift, causing him to trail the field by open track coming off Turn 1. “That was close,” said Mears, who completed the first lap 5.411 seconds back of the lead, about a full second behind 37th-place Preece.
On Lap 3, Mears remained last, 7.765 seconds back of the lead and about seven-tenths behind new 37th-place runner Daniel Dye in the #78 Champion Container Chevrolet. The next time by, Mears said, “It doesn’t turn very good, but I’m sliding the rear a lot - a whole lot,” adding that he couldn’t make an aggressive turn into the corners because it was so loose. By Lap 5, he was 12.712 seconds back of the lead and more than a second behind Dye. That gap increased to 3.3 seconds by Lap 8, when Mears had fallen 20.424 seconds back of the lead. By Lap 14, Mears was 25.527 seconds back of the leader and couldn’t see Dye ahead of him. The gap between these final two cars increased to nearly 10 seconds on Lap 16, when Mears was 36.677 seconds back of the leaders. But on Lap 17, Mears was told he was picking up speed, remarking “that’s a tenth off your fastest lap so far.” The team would later say that Mears would sometimes get a good run through Turn 2, but other times missed his mark, costing him speed into Turn 3.
By Lap 20, with ten laps remaining in Stage 1, Mears was 44.492 seconds behind the leader and about 12 full seconds back of 37th-place Dye. And on Lap 25, when he was 52.911 seconds back of the lead, he was less than a full corner ahead of a tightening battle between leader Kyle Larson and 2nd-place Denny Hamlin. Mears’ spotter told him to keep the high lane open off Turn 3, where the leaders were expected to catch him. But Mears was running so loose that he stayed in the high lane, blocking Larson and allowing Hamlin to make his pass for the lead. Since there was still such a large gap between Mears and the still 37th-place Dye, Hamlin didn’t lap anyone else by the time the caution fell on Lap 31 to end Stage 1.
Mears got his lap back on Lap 33, pulling to the outside of the pace car in Turn 1, but the team wasn’t sure if they could now pit with the lead-lap cars. He ended up staying out as the leaders pitted, including Ty Gibbs, whose crew dropped the jack too soon while securing the right-rear wheel of his #54 Monster Energy Toyota. This dropped Gibbs to last place on Lap 34, just before Mears pitted from 35th and retook the last spot on Lap 35. Still under yellow, Mears reported a small vibration from his brakes, saying the rotors may have been warped. He was assured by his team that was normal.
On the Lap 37 restart, Mears briefly pulled ahead of Gibbs and the #88 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet of Connor Zilisch, who was in position to become the first driver to ever score four consecutive last-place finishes in points-paying Cup races. But by the start of Lap 38, Mears was last again, 4.602 seconds back of the lead. This time, the car was handling better, and Mears stayed in touch with the rear bumped of Dye, who had again fallen to 37th.
Back up front, Zane Smith was one of eight drivers to pit before the end of Stage 1 and stay on track for the restart, putting them ahead of Hamlin and Larson. On Lap 41, Smith’s #38 Long John Silvers Ford set up a pass on 4th-place Hamlin entering Turn 1, pulling to his inside then just ahead near corner exit. But at that moment, Smith’s car broke traction and spun nose-first into the inside wall. As the field slowed and Mears rolled past, Smith took over the last spot. With damage and at least one flat tire, Smith couldn’t get his car rolling again. And without the pneumatic jacker device installed on his car, it couldn’t be raised to roll on its own. Instead, it was hurriedly dragged by a tow truck around the track and into the garage, where it was dropped off nose-first in Garage Stall 21. There, the crew called for a replacement front bumper structure, splitter, front bumper, and left-front fender.
Zane Smith’s #38 towed behind the wall at Pocono. (PHOTO: Turn 4 Productions)
The race restarted on Lap 45, where soon, trouble broke out once again. Running near the middle of the pack in Turn 3, Shane Van Gisbergen’s #97 SuperFile Chevrolet got under Josh Berry’s #21 Capgemini Ford when the two made contact and slid up the track. Diving under them both was a closing Austin Hill in the #33 Zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet. Hill’s run stalled at corner exit, locking them into a three-wide battle. The three cars made contact, shoving Berry into the wall and bouncing him back into Van Gisbergen, trapping Joey Logano’s #22 Shell / Pennzoil Ford. Logano ran into Berry, then was hooked to the right, where Christopher Bell had bounced off the wall in his #20 Rheem Toyota. For a split-second, the seas appeared to part in the middle lane, where Keselowski now found himself, only for Bubba Wallace to spin after contact from Logano, sending Wallace sliding directly in front of Keselowski. The collision destroyed the nose of Keselowski’s Ford, and he stopped on the apron of Turn 1. Two other drivers were also collected as both Noah Gragson in the #4 MillerTech / KOA Ford and Connor Zilisch’s #88 sustained damage, Zilisch spun into his teammate Van Gisbergen.
As the rest of the drivers involved in the wreck made it to pit road, each gradually filtered back onto the track. One of the few left behind was Gragson, who fell to 37th and lost a lap by Lap 48. This was the same lap Keselowski received a tow, his car dragged the long way around the track just as Zane Smith’s Ford had during the previous yellow. Gragson was then told to back up and drive to the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” zone, where he pulled into Garage Stall 22 next to teammate Smith. Keselowski’s car soon followed on the hook of its tow truck. When the race restated on Lap 53, all cars still on track cleared minimum speed, including the damaged Van Gisbergen, Logano, Zilisch, Berry, and Bell.
Keselowski’s car towed behind the wall. (PHOTO: Turn 4 Productions)
On Lap 55, Keselowski was declared the first car out of the race, and his on-board camera was shut off an instant later. At the time, Keselowski was shown in 36th and on the same lap as 37th-place Gragson, both five laps ahead of the still last-place Smith. Gragson’s crew appeared set to return before Smith, relaying information on what was happening on the track. Then on Lap 83, Gragson’s crew was directed to repair a lower control arm, and estimated they’d return when Stage 2 ended. By Lap 89, the crew checked the toe-end, then sent him back out just as the Stage 2 ending caution fell on Lap 96. By then, Gragson was 49 laps down, but immediately climbed past Keselowski into 36th. Gragson’s Lap 97, including repairs, timed in at 3,194.727 seconds, or just over 53 minutes. “Feel anything ugly?” the team asked. “No, it feels okay,” said Gragson. He cleared minimum speed on Lap 103.
On Lap 106, Smith’s crew dropped the hood, then lifted it again. On the track, Mears was running on the lead lap in 30th spot when he lost an unsecured right-front wheel in Turn 2, putting him into the outside wall and drawing the caution. Mears pulled behind the wall and into Garage Stall 20 to the left of Smith’s car, but by Lap 107 the driver had climbed out and the on-board camera was shut off. If Mears returned to the track, he would have had to serve his two-lap penalty for the loose wheel. Instead, the team retired from the race, which NASCAR confirmed on Lap 112. At the time, Mears was just seven laps down.
On Lap 113, one lap after Mears was declared out, Smith was backing out of his garage stall and returning to the track, showing 71 laps down. He, too, had to clear minimum speed, which was set at 59.30 seconds. Back under power, he completed his first lap with repair time at 5,123.759 seconds, or just under 1 hour and 27 minutes. Smith, too, cleared minimum speed on Lap 116, though as he did, he pulled to the low lane off Turn 1 as race leader Hamlin zipped past, putting him a 72nd lap behind. This momentarily delayed Smith climbing to 37th until Lap 120, when Keselowski officially took over the last spot. Smith’s crew estimated they would only gain more spots in the next 20 laps. So, on Lap 140, exactly 20 laps after passing Keselowski, he pulled into the garage, done for the day in 37th. Gragson managed to catch and pass Mears, then pulled his car off the track two laps later. Logano rounded out the Bottom Five, four laps down to the leaders.
Hamlin took the victory, which broke several records: Hamlin’s first streak of three straight Cup wins, a 64th career win that broke his tie with the late Kyle Busch achieved just last week, and the first time a Cup driver won three straight races after starting in the 1st spot since Darrell Waltrip in 1981. It was also the first win for sponsor Kings Hawaiian, a brand that had gone winless in Hamlin’s five previous Cup starts with the company – and 20 starts for Keselowski from 2022 through 2024, including his own “Minions” themed car. The win even came three days after the 20th anniversary of Hamlin’s first Cup win, which came at the same track – his first of eight Pocono victories.
Legacy Motor Club comes to play
Sunday was also a breakout day for Legacy Motor Club, whose driver Erik Jones continued a streak of six consecutive finishes of 19th or better, a streak that began with a Stage 1 victory in Texas and continued through a runner-up finish to Hamlin last Sunday in Michigan. Jones again ran well in his #43 Dollar Tree Toyota, leading a lap ad taking home a 6th-place finish.
But just as impressive was teammate John Hunter Nemechek, whose #42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota led three times for 42 laps, at one point battling door-to-door with point leader Tyler Reddick, and finished a career-best 4th. These were the first laps Nemechek has led since the Daytona 500, just his second top-ten finish aside from a 10th in Watkins Glen, and his first Top Five since last fall’s Southern 500, where he also finished 4th.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*This marked only the second time the #6 has finished last in a Cup Series race at Pocono. The other occasion was on July 23, 2000, when Mark Martin’s #6 Valvoline Ford lost the engine after 25 laps.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
38) #6-Brad Keselowski / 46 laps / crash
37) #38-Zane Smith / 66 laps / handling
36) #62-Casey Mears / 105 laps / crash
35) #4-Noah Gragson / 107 laps / handling
34) #22-Joey Logano / 156 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Trackhouse Racing (4)
2nd) Joe Gibbs Racing, Trackhouse Racing (3)
2nd) Hendrick Motorsports (2)
3rd) Garage 66, Kaulig Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, RFK Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Wood Brothers Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (9)
2nd) Ford (4)
3rd) Toyota (3)
2026 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP
