Keselowski is officially leaving the team he co-owned since the start of the Next Gen era. He will be selling his stake in the RFK too. A move this late and this shocking leaves behind a lot of questions. One of which is where the 2012 Cup Series champion race goes next? He made it clear he’s not retiring, but this late into a chaotic, silly season, there’s not a lot of options. With the likes of the Wood Bros and LMC seats all filled up. But a lot is not all so what seats are there for Brad Keselowski to take?

Kaulig Racing!

One team quickly linked to Keselowski was Dodge/RAM’s newest and so far only confirmed team in Kaulig Racing. The team finds itself in quite the transition period heading into 2027. Rumor has it Dodge wants to join Cup in 2027, and no doubt RAM’s only team in Trucks in 2026 would be one of Dodge’s newest Cup teams when the manufacturer makes its return.

This leaves one of Kaulig’s two Cup drivers in an awkward position: Ty Dillon. Ty Dillon is the grandson of Richard Childress, owner of RCR, and he’s never driven for the Richard Childress Racing team. He’s driven for teams aligned with RCR and its ECR engine program, like Germain and most recently Kaulig.

But if RCR sticks to Chevy, they’ll cut off Kaulig from their engine program, and Kaulig will instead use Dodge engines. So Ty Dillon loses the family connection to the Kaulig family, and his performances leave a lot to the imagination. He’s done almost two full seasons in the Kaulig #10 and has only had one single top-ten finish so far. And he is outperformed by his veteran teammate AJ Allmendinger almost weekly.

This has led to a lot of speculation over Ty getting the axe from Kaulig next season and fans linking many drivers to his seat. Brad Keselowski is the latest driver fans speculate will take over the #10 car. And Kaulig, if they want to become Cup Series title contenders, would benefit from not only Brad Keselowski, experience and talent as a driver. But also from his skills as a team owner.

Starting in 2022, Keselowski turned Roush into a team that, from 2015 to 2021, only had a pair of wins with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. In 2017, in the Cup Series. To return Roush to having multiple cars in the postseason. And getting the Roush stable multiple wins in a season again. Not their best, but Keselowski certainly got Roush back to winning form.

Brad Keselowski had even more success on his own in the truck series. Back when he owned Brad Keselowski Racing, a team that won 11 races from 2007 to 2017 and developed many different elite Cup talents. Such as Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, and future Cup Champion Ryan Blaney.

But the question is, would Keselowski be interested in going to the ambitious Kaulig? Because right now, they are NASCAR insiders who say otherwise. As perhaps the most famous NASCAR insider, Bob Pockrass had something to say on the topic in response to a fan bringing up the possibility of Keselowski going to Kaulig. That was much of the speculation this weekend that Brad Keselowski could end up at Kaulig/Dodge. While anything could happen, especially with these developments, I am not expecting that is the plan at the moment. Is what Pockrass said on the matter.

Well, it’s unknown what the development of Brad Keselowski leaving Roush has to do with why he wouldn’t be interested in going to Kaulig. It’s clear, however, that those on the inside have their reasons to dismiss Keselowski going to Kaulig. So if he’s not interested in going to Kaulig, what teams would the former Cup Series champion go to?

Joe Gibbs Racing!

Something that’s been lost in a wild, silly season is that both Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell haven’t re-signed with the top Toyota team yet. Leaving two of the best seats in the Cup Series vacant. It’s extremely likely that both of them will return to the 19 and the 20, respectively. But there’s a reason why Keselowski leaving his own team may not be the biggest shock of the 2026 silly season.

With the sword of Damocles hanging over both of Briscoe’s and Bell’s contract negotiations is their desire to race on dirt. Recently, it’s become common for NASCAR drivers to cross over into late models and dirt racing in the middle of the season. With many examples from Kyle Larson, Corey Day, and Alex Bowman from Hendrick, Carson Hocevar from Spire, Ty Majeski from Thorsport, Kayden Honeycutt from TRICON, Ryan Preece from Keselowski’s former team, RFK Racing, Connor Zilisch from Trackhouse Racing, and Austin Cindric from Team Penske, these are only some of the NASCAR drivers who have dipped into other forms of motorsports recently.

And Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell, both from the dirt racing world, want to do what Kyle Larson did in 2026 and travel from Iowa Speedway to race in the Super Bowl of Dirt track racing and win the Knoxville Nationals. Christopher Bell has already won the Chili Bowl, a prestigious dirt racing event that takes place before the start of the NASCAR season. So he’s already climbed that mountain; now the next mountain he wants to climb is the Knoxville Nationals.

Whether a shot at Knoxville glory is enough to sway Bell or Briscoe from returning to one of NASCAR’s most currently competitive and one of the most historically dominant teams in NASCAR history is a matter of speculation. Especially with the most competitive ride available outside the 19 and 20 being Keselowski former No.6. But there’s something about Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing that isn’t speculation. And that’s Keselowski and Joe Gibbs Racing’s tumultuous history with one another.

Going all the way back to the late 2000s, when he began feuding with Denny Hamlin, who still drives with JGR today, back in the Nationwide Series before Keselowski even won his first Cup race at Talladega, and things only spiraled from there. From starting a rivalry with Kyle Busch that would last all the way until the end of Kyle Busch’s time with Joe Gibbs Racing, starting in 2009 and ending at the second-to-last race of the 2021 season at Martinsville. And having the mild-mannered Matt Kenseth run him down and beat the lights out of him after Keselowski hit him on pit road when Kenseth had his belts off.

And Corey Heim fans know how personal history can stop someone from getting a JGR seat even if they earned it. Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim have rarely raced since 2021, but man, did they race each other. Ty Gibbs was obviously on his grandpa’s team, and Heim drove for the dominant Venturini, so no shock they won 16 out of the 20 races. So it should also be no shock that the 2 aggressive and hot-headed drivers clashed with each other throughout 2021.

Starting at Elko, on lap 63, Heim tried to pass Gibbs on the outside, but Gibbs bumped him to keep the lead. Heim took that personally as he bumped Gibbs into the next turn, but the 18 kept the lead. On a late-race restart, Heim shoved Gibbs off the racing line, which caused the dominant Gibbs to finish 4th while Heim won that night. Heim even admitted to payback in his victory lane interview, trash-talking his fellow Toyota driver while he was at it.

Then at Winchester, Corey Heim was dominating, but Ty Gibbs was right behind him. As Heim dealt with lap traffic, Gibbs kept slamming into his back bumper, and then Gibbs, getting more impatient, drove it deeper into Turn 1 and dumped Heim, ruining the chance for him to win. Heim, in his interview, said nothing against him, but you can tell he was hiding his fury. The following incident occurred at Watkins Glen. With the two starting side by side, the two banged doors on lap one but carried on the rest of the race and season clean.

Despite no other incidents since then, many suspect this is why Corey Heim hasn’t once raced with Gibbs! Any talented Toyota prospect has spent at least some time with JGR since the mid-2010s, but Heim, since 2022, has raced with every other Toyota team in Cup and Xfinity. LMC in 2024, 23XI in 24, and 24 plus SHR from 2023 to this year, only driving with 23XI and TRICON. Many look to this as the only reason why JGR would go with the likes of Brandon Jones or Sawalich over this proven talent.

But it’s never been known if this decision was because of Ty Gibbs holding a grudge against the now two-time Cup Series winner. Or if it was a decision from the big man himself, Joe Gibbs. Which matters a lot because if that was because Ty Gibbs held on to his emotions as a teen, then that has nothing to do with Keselowski. But if it was a call by Coach Joe Gibbs, if he didn’t want to employ Heim after a few incidents with his grandson in ARCA. There’s a chance Keselowski is fifty times more unemployable after the decade-plus of feuds and incidents Keselowski has had with JGR drivers.

Joe Gibbs does have a history of petty behavior, proven in 2018 when he cut his alliance with Furniture Row Racing after the 78 team, and MTJ beat Gibbs to the 2017 Cup Series title. Directly leading to the shutdown of that team only a year after they won their only title. But JGR was also in pursuit of Kevin Harvick three years after he admitted to intentionally wrecking his son, Coy Gibbs, at Martinsville in 2002. Almost trading away Bobby Labonte in 2005 to acquire Harvick’s services. A move that would’ve massively shaken up NASCAR history if it had gone through. But also shows he can let bygones be bygones. But is there a team whose history favors Keselowski taking a seat?

Haas Factory Team!

2008 was a low point for Gene Haas and his Haas CNC team. The Busch Series team was still pretty competitive before he sold it. Winning races with the likes of Jason Leffler and Johnny Sauter, and even got top 10 finishes in the points in the Buschwhacking era. But even that sale was enough to lift his Cup team into being more competitive.

Instead, even with talented drivers like Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield, Johnny Sauter, Max Papis as a ringer, and others. The team could only have a single top-ten finish all year, with Riggs at Talladega and multiple DNQs, mostly from the 70 team. But most people didn’t see this as a low point but as the team’s last rides. And who could blame them, because the owner of the team was making decisions from a prison phone. After January 2008, when Gene Haas was arrested on suspicion of filing false tax returns, witness intimidation, and conspiracy. Four others were indicted together with Haas, all of whom pleaded guilty.

To most, Haas looked like a classic case of a promising midpack team that made one or two missteps and fell into backmarker obscurity, then into the history books. A tale all too common throughout the history of NASCAR. But here comes the twist in the tale.

Because one day a at the time two time Cup Series champion paid him a visit in prison and offered him a deal. A deal that not only saved his team but turned him into a Cup Series champion. Tony Stewart did not want to drive Toyotas, which meant his time as a Joe Gibbs driver was over as Coach Gibbs inked a deal with the Japanese brand in 2008.

The traditional move would be driving for another team, but Stewart’s always been one for doing things his own way, even if it means going off the beaten path. So instead of driving for his own team, he decided it was time to own a team of his own, or co-own a team of his own. With Gene Haas, it would be the right move.

The team drastically improved under Stewart’s ownership, as the two-time champion, only two years into his time as a Cup Series owner, would become a three-time champion. And in 2014, the team would help Kevin Harvick win his only Cup Series title in their first year working together. And would win many crown jewel races too. Such as the 2017 Daytona 500 with Kurt Busch and multiple Brickyard 400s with the likes of Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick.

With multiple championships and many wins under their belt, it looked like Stewart-Haas was NASCAR’s next long-standing success story. The rarest of rare teams. But that’s when there was another twist in the tale.

Gene Haas, heading into the Next Gen era, was already paying more attention to his F1 team than his NASCAR venture. Something that wasn’t a problem because he had Tony Stewart attending to the team. But Tony Stewart had been butting heads with NASCAR and the direction they’ve been taking the sport for a while. And it was starting to get tiring for a man nearing his 50s.

Until NASCAR finally put the final piece of straw that broke the camel’s back. Coming off a 2021 that saw SHR take a step back in competitive pace. Everyone at the time was hoping the new NASCAR Next Gen car would give the team a fresh start; it killed the team. After years of hating NASCAR’s new direction and all the penalties his team had fought against. And fighting against all the teams for any and all sponsorship.

So Stewart began to pay attention to a new challenge and a new motorsport to conquer in NHRA drag racing. So turned his attention to NHRA, and with both team owners having their eyes off the ball heading into a new generation of cars, the lack of leadership and less Ford support saw SHR lose its competitiveness, and they slid towards the midpack.

Until 2024, when the team confirmed it was closing its doors, with Stewart selling his stake in the team he helped make into champions and selling the charters to all three of the cars that Gene Haas didn’t own. A sole win at Darlington by Chase Briscoe became their swan song.

But while Stewart was out and ready to win NHRA titles, Gene Haas wasn’t. From the four car Stewart-Haas Racing stable, Haas Factory Team was only left with the 41 car. Which would now be driven by a former SHR driver, the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, and son of the team’s president, Joe Custer, Cole Custer took the 41 from the outgoing Ryan Preece, who went to Keselowski’s old team to drive the 60.

Since then, Haas Factory Team has found itself in a very familiar situation. One where the O’Reilly team is doing very well. With the 41 of Sam Mayer and the 00 of Sheldon Creed making the 2026 Chase. And Sheldon Creed is emerging as a late-season title contender after winning multiple races this season. For the first time in his career since he was in the Truck Series.

But their form in Cup leaves a lot to be desired. As Custer, since 2025, has only had 5 top-tens in total for the one-car operation. Only getting close to victory at the summer Daytona race in 2025. Only slightly better than what the team was doing in 2008.

But if it took teaming up with a former Cup Series champion to get Haas from the basement into champions, why not try it again? And buy an extra charter for the Keselowski Haas factory operation? Sometimes you gotta play to your strengths, and clearly Gene Haas is best when he has help. Not only shown with Stewart-Haas Racing, but also in the improvements his F1 team has made since teaming up with Toyota.

But while it makes sense, and no doubt Keselowski would give Haas a boost if he went. But in terms of getting back to their SHR, there are potential pitfalls. NASCAR is in a way different position now than it was in 2009. Back then, it wasn’t uncommon to see cars only have two or three sponsors a year, many of which were Fortune 500 companies. Something that helped Stewart-Haas Racing a lot was that Tony Stewart was able to attract the likes of Old Spice and Office Depot to sponsor him. And even the likes of the US Army and Tornadoes partnered with the second SHR car, the No.39.

Now, one of the reasons Tony Stewart left NASCAR team ownership was how competitive the NASCAR sponsorship scene had become. With teams fighting each other to find two or even one off sponsorships. Bringing that funding was a huge reason for the sudden turnaround. But there are a couple of advantages Keselowski brings to the table that Stewart didn’t.

For one, Keselowski, unlike Stewart, already has experience as a team owner in NASCAR. Tony Stewart did already own a team in the world of dirt track racing, but Keselowski has spent most of his career in the Cup Series owning a NASCAR team on the side. For example, his truck series team, which he started in 2007 in ARCA before moving up to trucks in 2008, but closed in 2017. Then his recent four-year stint as the co-owner of Roush, the exact same kind of deal Stewart had with Gene Haas.

Keselowski also has a proven track record when it comes to developing drivers. Tony Stewart, during his time owning a team, could be accused of signing guys he had on his contact list on his phone. Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart had been close friends for years before he signed to SHR in 2014. Then they were the likes of Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, and Ryan Newman, all of whom were at least good drivers who did great work for the team. But when it comes to developing drivers, SHR only developed Cole Custer, who’s struggled in the Cup Series since Haas’s downfall, and Chase Briscoe, who’s gone on to great success with JGR. But whose development was also helped by Keselowski in the Truck Series, along with the likes of Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and even the likes of Daniel Hemric and Parker Kligerman. With a lot of NASCAR’s current generation being mentored by Keselowski.

With Haas having one of the best teams in the O’Reilly Series but so far having neglected it as a place to develop future talent for the team. That could be something Keselowski could change. Giving Haas a more stable foundation for the future this time around.

Spire Motorsports!

With such a wild, silly season, plenty of stories have gotten swept under the rug and forgotten by fans and media alike. And one of them is that defending Coke 600 winner and a man who made the 2026 Chase, Daniel Suárez, is currently a free agent. He signed to the Spire No.7 on a one-year “prove it or lose it” deal after the team he built up, Trackhouse, decided to show him the door for the prodigy Connor Zilisch, who left the team for Hendrick earlier this year.

Now winning a crown jewel event and making the Chase, even outperforming veteran teammate and former Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell would be enough to prove that Suarez deserves that No.7. But NASCAR is a business, and Spire may go with someone who brings more value to their team and can help further their growth. And a former champion who’s proven himself as a top Cup Series owner. It could be argued Keselowski is more valuable than even someone like Suarez.

Spire, as we’ve seen, is an ambitious team. Going from backmarkers who were only beating the likes of RWR, Premium Motorsports, StarCom Racing, Go Fas Racing, MBM Motorsports, and Gaunt Brothers Racing through the Lajoie’s pure talent and determination. Lucking into the only win at the summer Daytona race in 2019 because of a lightning delay. To a promising midpack team led by a young and promising Carson Hocevar, while showing the world their ambition by acquiring the likes of Michael McDowell, Justin Haley again, Rodney Childers before he was fired midseason and left for JRM, forming a close relationship with the most successful NASCAR team in history, Hendrick Motorsports, and even former Hendrick engineer Travis Peterson. And in 2026, Spire has finally put everything together and has become a winning team capable of contending for a win every few weeks. Winning two major races at Talladega with Hocevar then at Charlotte with Suarez. With both of them making the Chase and Hocevar becoming the hottest young star in NASCAR this year.

But despite their constant growth, there’s also a feeling they’ve hit their ceiling already. Spire has established itself as the Hendrick B-team, destined to be one step behind its more well-known and successful partners. But if Brad Keselowski can come and raise Roush’s ceiling from a midpack team to returning them to victory lane. Keselowski could raise the ceiling of Spire and get them closer to pulling a Furniture Row, the team they took their number font from, and going from backmarkers to winning a Cup Series championship.

But Suarez has done a great job with that No.7 team, with Suarez’s 2026 being by far the best season that Spire seven team has ever had. And most importantly, he outperformed Keselowski all season, doing two things Keselowski didn’t do in 2026. Win a race and make the Chase. Keselowski hung on to contention but lost out to Suarez and his own driver, Ryan Preece, after the two finished 1-2 at Daytona to make the Chase, and Preece got his first win in clutch time. So if Keselowski joins, the overall performance of the team may go up, but the performance of the 7 team; but if Suarez stays, the performance of the team might get that much better, but that seven-man team will continue to get better.

Where there’s a way Spire could have their cake and eat it too in this case. There have been rumors spurred on by Jordan Bianchi’s comments on Keselowski’s free agency. That with the Cup garage mostly set for 2027, Keselowski may be forced to move down ranks and join the Truck Series before returning to the Cup Series in 2028.

There hasn’t been any indication Keselowski would be interested in moving down to the Truck Series any time soon as of writing this. But if there’s any truth to what Jordan Bianchi’s saying, then it’s time to consider that Spire not only has a Truck team but a Truck team at a very interesting crossroads in 2026.

While Spire has two full-time truck teams this year, they did not have a single full-time driver this season. Instead, they opted for a rotation of several different drivers of varying types. From Buschwhackers like Carson Hocevar, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch, SVG, and even Chase Elliott. There were even a few O’Reilly drivers in their trucks, like Jesse Love, Corey Day, Sammy Smith, former full-time Spire truck driver Rajah Caruth as well, and even Brennan Poole. Then there’s the true blue part-time drivers like Nick Sanchez, Parker Kligerman, and Connor Mosack. Then there’s the road course ringers, former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, and Trackhouse’s co-owner Justin Marks. Then there’s incredibly promising young prospect Tristan McKee.

The 16-year-old has been turning heads because his list of accomplishments outpaces many lifelong veterans before he’s even reached his senior year of high school. McKee has already won the likes of the 2026 ARCA Menards Series East Champion, the 2025 Cube 3 Architecture TA2 Series Champion, 2020 INEX Summer Shootout Bandolero Bandit Champion, 2020 Thursday Thunder Bandolero Bandit Champion, and is the 2026 Battle at Berlin Winner. And he recently broke a NASCAR record with Spire becoming the youngest driver to ever finish top-five in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Imagine this promising prospect getting direct mentorship from the 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski? With how many other drivers he’s helped grow into winners and champions, if they keep Hocevar and have Keselowski managing things, Spire could become unstoppable.

Recently, it was confirmed that former Cup Series veteran and a man who’s won both the Coke 600 and Brickyard 400, Kasey Kahne, will be coming out of retirement and returning to full-time NASCAR competition with Spire’s truck team in 2027. Perhaps if Spire wants someone older and more experienced to attract sponsorship and get results for their third-tier team, Keselowski would be the perfect teammate to Kasey Kahne. Two drivers who can win in the Truck Series, plus content for the title, and mentor a young McKee before he’s allowed to go full-time. While keeping Suarez for 2027 and preparing Keselowski to take over, or save up money for a fourth full-time entry in Cup for 2028. The possibilities are endless!

RFK Racing!

In the biggest twist of this saga so far, apparently RFK and Keselowski are open to a 2027 return. In recent press releases, RFK and Keselowski himself have shed more light on the recent shock exit. While RFK President Chip Bowers said it came down to Keselowski wanting to continue racing for several years while the team wanted him to start focusing on running competition. Which would imply that the last place Keselowski would race next year is 2027, Keselowski says otherwise.

As in his press release, he said that even though in the last 30 days it was clear to everyone that this is how things would go. But says doesn’t have anything signed for next year and wouldn’t rule anything or any series out (including returning to the 6). Which seems out of nowhere, but it makes sense if you consider the timing,

As stated before, this is pretty late into silly season, so not only is it possible Keselowski won’t find a better seat than RFK, or even not find a Cup Series seat for 2027. It’s also possible RFK won’t find a driver better than Keselowski either. So it’s entirely reasonable for RFK and Keselowski to trudge through one more awkward year under the same roof before finding suitable replacements for each other. Then go into 2028 refreshed and ready for a new challenge. Thanks a bunch for reading!

Image Credit: Patrick Vallely