Brad Keselowski Exposes the “Illusion” that All Next-Gen Cars are the Same

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season so far hasn’t been kind to RFK Racing owner driver Brad Keselowski. He failed to make it into the last-16, while both of his teammates did and was never a contender for any race wins. This situation has often made him furious on the track and a handful of time he has even called out their OEM Ford.

Last week after getting overtaken by Joey Logano, ranted on team radio about Team Penske getting engines with more HP than them because they are a tier-1 side unlike them. He asserted the claim that the Next-Gen car made NASCAR more equal is just an illusion and the reality is brutal for teams that aren’t the primary partners.

Yeah, NASCAR likes to present itself with the illusion that all the cars are the same. I’ve been the benefactor of that and I’ve been on the bad side of that over the years of my career. When you are on the great side of it, certainly you like that illusion because it makes you look really good as a driver.

Brad Keselowski said ahead of Bristol race.

Furthermore, Brad Keselowski asserted that it is unfair to think that the Next-Gen cars are spec cars. They are spec parts that are used, but every team has a different procedure on how the put them together. This set-up difference is the real game changer and the potential hp advantage the big teams gets also makes a difference.   

When you’re on the bad side of that, you don’t like that because it makes you look terrible. The cars, they’re not spec cars. Yes, there are spec parts on them but they’re not spec cars and the way you put them together and the different tricks and trade craft, they make a difference.

Brad Keselowski added via motorsport.com.

Brad Keselowski explains the tough reality of Next-Gen era racing

In the same conversation, Keselowski explained the brutal reality about the car set up. He admitted that the deference race craft can make is really limited, as he highlighted how in the worst car will make the best driver the worst.

Well, that goes to the perception versus the reality and the big differences that there are. But I can tell you that if you put the best driver, whoever you perceive that to be in the worst car in the cup field, they will run last tomorrow night.

Brad Keselowski said.

Further talking about the point, he admitted that the brutal reality of the Next-Gen era is the massive disparities among teams and how that affect how successful drivers can be. But to be the best team, they have to understand limitations of the teams and their cars to, in order to find solutions to succeed.

That’s the reality of this series. Does that necessarily mean that if you put the worst driver in the best car, they’d win? No. No, it doesn’t mean that. But there are disparities and those disparities, they change the success of the drivers. Those that are really into the sport, it’s our job to understand the limitations of a driver, limitations of the equipment, and sometimes they don’t always align.

Brad Keselowski added.

The comments from the veteran racer are on point and shows how much the Next-Gen cars have changed the Cup series. It would be interesting to see how the reminder of the 2026 season is going to playout for the champion racer and his team.

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