"It's hard to have a rivalry": Brad Keselowski wants to reignite rivalry with Kyle Busch again

A familiar fire flickered again ahead of the 2025 Brickyard 400 as Brad Keselowski admitted he'd love to relight one of NASCAR's most explosive rivalries with Kyle Busch. But in a sport where rivalries are forged at the front, not mid-pack, Keselowski was blunt about what's missing.

Once one of the most combustible pairings on the grid, the Keselowski-Busch feud has cooled in recent years. Time, maturity, and a lack of regular contention have dulled the edges. But when the two drivers recently appeared together in a NASCAR promo for the Homestead championship race, it was enough to spark old memories. That moment prompted a question during Keselowski's media availability this week at Indianapolis, and he said (via Cup Scene):

"I think we're both in a position where it's hard to have a rivalry — and I've said this throughout my career — when you're not competing for wins. And right now, neither of us are have been consistently in a spot where we're competing for wins. And so, any type of rivalry is really just a distraction." (2:28 onwards)

Neither driver is currently in a playoff position. With just five races to go in the regular season, Kyle Busch sits 39 points below the playoff cutline, while Brad Keselowski is 27th in the standings with 360 points, 140 below the cutline. Four playoff spots remain with 12 different winners this year.

Brad Keselowski (2) and Kyle Busch (18) at Phoenix Raceway, 2020. Source: Imagn

Brad Keselowski, who last won in May 2024 at Darlington - his only win in the last 154 races - has shown flashes of speed but lacks the race-winning edge. Busch's drought runs longer. The two-time champion hasn't won since June 2023 and even failed to make the playoffs last year.

"I'd love to rekindle that rivalry because in my eyes what that would mean is that we're competing each other for wins. I always tell our people like, you have disagreements throughout the year — you don't get in a fight over 15th place finishes… But, when you're running up front, those are the good rivalries. I don't think the two of us have seen each other much up front," he added. (2:58 onwards)

It’s not a jab. It’s a reflection of where both their careers currently stand and what it would take for that rivalry to matter again. They have led a combined 163 laps this season and are looking to turn their season around at Indianapolis this Sunday.

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Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch aim for playoff breakthrough as rivalry lingers in the background

Brad Keselowski (L) and Kyle Busch at the 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. Source: Imagn

The rivalry between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch is one of the most well-known and enduring in NASCAR. It's defined by more than a decade of bitterness, bold quotes, and full-contact racing.

From the moment Keselowski called Busch 'an a**' during driver intros at Bristol in 2010, the lines were drawn. In 2012, they tangled in a dramatic last-lap incident at Watkins Glen. A year later, Busch spun Keselowski in the Xfinity race at Kansas, prompting Brad to call him a 'dirty racer'. The feeling became mutual in 2016 at Bristol. Even in 2017, Brad's comments about Toyota teams 'sandbagging' sparked a fresh war of words on X.

Kyle Busch (8) and Brad Keselowski (6) during the 2023 Ally 400 at Nashville. Source: Imagn

Now, both drivers enter this Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway needing to deliver as the playoff race tightens each week. The 160-lap event at the iconic oval has its history with both drivers. Keselowski won the Cup race at Indy in 2018 and the Xfinity race in 2012. In 12 Cup starts at the Brickyard, he's notched six top-10s.

Busch has been better. He has two wins and five top-five finishes at Indianapolis. And though he hasn't been dominant in years past, he's quietly posted six top-15 finishes in the last nine races — signs of life from the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team. Brad Keselowski isn't far off. In his last nine starts, the No. 6 has earned five top-10s with an average finish of 14.7.

If either driver finds the speed they once had, the kind that forced confrontations and split the grandstands, the old tension could return with it.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl