Keselowski's drive at Iowa not quite enough to end drought

Brad Keselowski. Ayrton Breckenridge/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brad Keselowski's drive at Iowa not quite enough to end winless drought

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 8:17 PM ET

Brad Keselowski put forth his best drive of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to get him to victory lane and lock up a spot in the NASCAR playoffs.

Keselowski took the lead from William Byron late in Stage 1 and went on to sweep the stages while leading 68 laps. Over the race's final run, however, he was unable to get around runner-up Chase Briscoe, which left him unable to mount a charge on Byron for the win.

Two stage wins and a podium finish. pic.twitter.com/KqunwbDp9P
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) August 3, 2025

"We had so many yellows there in Stage 3 that it got the No. 24 and No. 19 to where they could make it on fuel pitting way outside the (fuel) window," Keselowski told USA Network. "We just couldn't get back by them. Got back by a lot of guys; (we) restarted 24th after we pitted and got all the way up to third, but that was as far as I could get."

Keselowski remains in a must-win situation in regard to the playoffs with three races left in the regular season, but he and the No. 6 team have been on a tear over the summer. Keselowski has seven top-10 finishes over the last 11 races and has risen from 32nd to 19th in the points standings over that span.

Keselowski's current winless drought sits at 46 races.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

More must-reads: