Brad Keselowski Cleared to Return for Daytona 500

Photo: Stephen A. Arce/ASP, Inc. By David Morgan, Associate Editor After spending all offseason on the mend from a winter leg injury, Brad Keselowski has officially been cleared to return to the cockpit of his No. 6 RFK Racing Ford in the 68th running of the Daytona 500. On December 18, it was announced that Keselowski had suffered a broken femur after slipping on ice during a family vacation, making for a tight turnaround for recovery to make it back in the car for the Great American Race. Working diligently through his rehab, the all-clear from NASCAR officially came on Monday, following a medical evaluation and on-track testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, giving the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion the green light to make another run at the 500, a race that has eluded him thus far in his career. “Getting cleared was a huge moment for me. You put in the work, you trust the process, but until you hear that final ‘yes,’ nothing is guaranteed,” said Keselowski. “Knowing what Daytona means, and how hard it would have been to miss it, made this moment even bigger. I’m grateful to the medical team and to NASCAR for being thorough, and I’m excited to get back in the car. Highlighting how much being back in the car for Daytona would mean to him, Keselowski explained that he used that goal of racing in the 500 for the 17th time in his career as motivation to push forward and return to the World Center of Racing ready to go. “This process was about discipline and patience. There were no shortcuts,” Keselowski said. “I had a poster in my workout area that said, ‘Daytona. Earned not given,’ and that became my mindset every day. The focus was on getting stronger, improving mobility, and making sure I was truly ready to race.” https://twitter.com/RFKracing/status/2020958546775441905 In his previous 16 starts in the Daytona 500, Keselowski has finished in the top-10 on three occasions, with a best finish of third in 2014. Overall at Daytona, Keselowski has one win, four top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes, 356 laps led, and an average finish of 22.2. “The Daytona 500 is the most coveted race we have. The history, the names on that trophy, it speaks for itself,” said Keselowski. “I’ve won at Daytona, but I haven’t won the 500, and that’s always been one I want. After everything it took to get back to this point, having another chance at it means everything.” When on-track activity begins on Wednesday morning, Keselowski will be joined by three teammates to make up the four-car armada that RFK Racing is bringing to Florida, with his two full-time teammates in Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, along with Corey LaJoie driving a one-off for the team in the No. 99. On-track activity for the Daytona 500 kicks off with practice at 10:00 am ET, followed by pole qualifying at 8:15 pm ET. Thursday will consist of the Duel races to set the rest of the field, leading into two additional practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, followed by the Daytona 500 on Sunday at 2:30 pm ET on FOX. Source link