The target is to achieve the Championship 4 race at Phoenix – that path that will get you there’s not essential.
It may very well be a string of constantly robust finishes, or it might embrace victories in “must-win” eventualities like Christopher Bell did twice final yr.
In any case, Keselowski sees the playoff journey merely as one in every of “survival” regardless that some may say his finishes of sixth and ninth within the first two races present he’s among the many few excelling to date.
“Surviving and thriving might not all the time be the identical. However, typically surviving is prospering within the playoffs with the way in which this stuff are arrange. I assume I’ve a special perspective on it,” Keselowski stated.
“I wish to get via every spherical one of the best we are able to after which transfer on. In the end, if you happen to get to the Championship 4, no one else cares concerning the 9 races earlier than that. Conversely, you’ll be able to win two or three races and never make the ultimate 4 and it nonetheless not be thought-about yr.
“I believe the way in which that this factor is ready up, it’s important to simply repeatedly survive. It’s a survivorship mentality.”
Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, Castrol Edge Ford Mustang
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
With solely Saturday night time’s race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway remaining within the first spherical, Keselowski is fifth within the playoff standings and in glorious place to advance, whether or not he picks up a win this weekend or not.
Nevertheless, he stays keenly conscious the profit he has gained with a pair of robust runs to kick off the 2023 title combat can disappear virtually as shortly because it was earned.
“You take a look at these eventualities and there’s plenty of alternatives to be aggressive and achieve some positions, however they arrive at the next threat. You’re simply continuously doing threat evaluation,” Keselowski stated.
“In actual time, it does make it tougher, however once more, it’s a part of why the drivers make the cash they do and what makes them particular. They need to all the time be performing in real-time threat evaluation, the strikes that we make and the way laborious we drive the automobile.
“That’s plenty of the enjoyable for me.”
The 39-year-old co-owner and driver of RFK Racing additionally has the added duty of doing what he can to make sure his teammate, Chris Buescher, additionally stays a viable championship contender.
Getting each automobiles into the subsequent spherical
Proper now, each drivers seem in place getting into Bristol and RFK would like to have each automobiles advance to the Spherical of 12.
Buescher, who has gained three races this season, is ninth within the standings, however simply 13 factors above the switch line.
Buescher, nonetheless, did win this race one yr in the past, whereas Keselowski completed thirteenth however led 109 laps.
“It’s good to have each automobiles within the black, and never within the purple in relation to factors. After all, the No. 6 automobile having 30-something level cushion, which is sufficient to really feel fairly snug so long as we simply don’t have an entire catastrophe of a race,” Keselowski stated.
“The No. 17, nonetheless having a cushion someplace over 10 factors – I believe he’s 12 or 13 up – that’s higher than nothing actually and higher than being within the purple. However, not as a lot as we’d hoped – with Chris having the failure there with the tire on the finish of the race in Kansas actually shook issues up.
“That was unlucky, however I’m fairly assured that we are able to have two robust automobiles and good runs this weekend. Trying ahead to repeating our outcomes from final fall at Bristol.”
