"There's nothing we could do to defend": Brad Keselowski voices frustration over nonstop cautions ruining Iowa strategy

Brad Keselowski shared his disappointment after nearly winning a NASCAR Cup Series race since his last victory in May 2024. The RFK Raving driver and co-owner spent much of Sunday's Iowa Corn 350 playing the winner. He swept both opening stages and led 68 laps of the 350. Starting from the fifth spot, his No. 6 Ford sat third at the checkered flag, just ahead of Ryan Blaney and behind William Byron and Chase Briscoe.

During a post-race interaction with the media at Iowa, the two-time NASCAR Cup champion voiced his frustration with the nonstop cautions.

"The guys that pitted and lost the lap in the middle of stage two ended up being the best thing that happened to them because they had all the crashes at the end of stage two and the start of stage three. And it just cycled them into such a favorable position that there was really nothing we could do to defend against it," Brad Keselowski said (via Bob Pockrass).

Keselowski's pace early made him the man to beat. He grabbed the Stage 1 win with a late pass on Byron and hung on to lead early in Stage 2. Then a brief green‑flag pit cycle put him in perfect position until the caution storm hit.

After just two cautions through lap 170, the final 140 laps saw seven stops in Stage 3 alone. That made fuel strategy the deciding factor, drivers who pitted late saved fuel and jumped him. However, after a late pit stop and restarting from 26th, Keselowski could only move to third.

"Every yellow was bad for us and, you know, you get frustrated at the field for wrecking so much but that's part of it. You used to tell your team that like, 'Hey this is gonna race like Pocono,'" Keselowski added.

Keselowski entered the Iowa race 24th in points and now sits 19th, 121 points behind the playoff cutline with three regular‑season races remaining.

---

"Can't take anything for granted" - Brad Keselowski on winning one of next three Cup races

Brad Keselowski is optimistic for the next three Cup races. He has one win at only one of the three tracks (Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona), which came at the 2016 Coke Zero 400.

"I just feel like we can win any of these next three races, and that's a good feeling. Can't take anything for granted. Ultimately, we need to get wins," Brad Keselowski said (via NASCAR's official website).

Meanwhile, the other two RFK Racing drivers are also battling for a playoff spot. Ryan Preece, who started the race in 33rd position last Sunday, finished in fifth after an early pit-road speeding penalty at lap 73.

However, Chris Buescher struggled after a pit lane equipment interference call on lap 224 dropped him to the back. That penalty cost track position and momentum. He finished 22nd and now sits only 23 points above Preece for the final playoff spot.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Luke Koshi