NASCAR Pocono race shake-up: Spotter roster updated for Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are among the drivers with changes in their spotter lineup ahead of the upcoming Pocono Cup race. In the latest update from NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass on X, he reports a roster-based update listing spotter changes across Cup and Truck Series entries.

In the tweet, Pockrass shared that TJ Majors is back this week spotting for Brad Keselowski after missing time due to a medical issue. Majors also appears to be returning to the spot for Carson Kvapil and BJ McLeod’s team driver Matt Mills.

Meanwhile, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has a new spotter, Clayton Hughes, who replaces Tab Boyd following Boyd’s controversial remarks during the Mexico City race weekend. In the Truck Series, Freddie Kraft has stepped in as spotter for Giovanni Ruggiero, replacing Frank Kimmel II.

Brad Keselowski’s longtime spotter, TJ Majors, is reportedly returning to full spotting duties after being sidelined by a medical procedure. Majors had been out for about a month and was temporarily replaced by Todd Brewer during that time.

While there has been no official team confirmation, Pockrass' tweet suggests Majors is now back in action for Keselowski as well as for drivers Kvapil and Mills.

Another big change involves Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Hyak Motorsports. His former spotter, Tab Boyd, has been removed following public backlash over comments he made about Mexico City during the recent Cup race there.

Boyd’s status remains unclear, but he is no longer listed in the active spotter lineup. Taking over is Clayton Hughes, a familiar name in NASCAR circles. Hughes previously worked with Martin Truex Jr.

In the Truck Series, Giovanni Ruggiero appears to have a new spotter: Freddie Kraft. Kraft is best known for his current role spotting for Bubba Wallace in the Cup Series.

According to the updated spotter rosters, Kraft is now handling duties for Ruggiero, replacing Frank Kimmel II.

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Brad Keselowski reflects on the Michigan Cup race

Brad Keselowski gave a candid post-race assessment after the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, where a pit road speeding penalty derailed his bid for a stronger finish. Speaking to NBC, Keselowski said,

“We had a really good car. I felt like we had a top two or three car and just didn’t get to see it through. I’m really disappointed. We kind of crushed ourselves on pit road with the speeding penalty and then having to go around the 45 and the 71. Every time we pitted we would lose a lot of spots.”

Brad Keselowski started 27th and slowly climbed the field, reaching 21st by the end of Stage 1. However, early pit stops and the speeding infraction dropped him back to 25th by the end of Stage 2.

Keselowski managed to rebound in the final segment and finished 10th, just behind teammate Ryan Preece and ahead of Erik Jones.

While it wasn’t the outcome he was aiming for, Brad Keselowski’s comments made it clear that the car had pace. He pointed out that the pit crew wasn’t at fault, but the pit stall selection and the unexpected speeding call both played a role in costing the team a higher result.

“I’m not really sure on the speeding penalty. I felt I was way slow, so getting called fast didn’t really add up,”

Keselowski added that he still saw value in finishing inside the top 10 despite the setbacks. All three drivers from the outfit secured top-10 finishes: Chris Buescher came in second behind Denny Hamlin, while Preece and Keselowski followed in ninth and tenth.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua