Brad Keselowski Exposes the Reason for Quitting 2026 NASCAR Clash at The Madhouse

Coming into the off-season, after challenging 2025 season, RFK Racing owner driver Brad Keselowski had one goal, recover better and get himself back to race winning form for 2026. But things went wrong for him during the family ski-trip, as he fell and broke his leg, and had to go through a surgery where metal rods were inserted into his bones.

RFK Racing had to shift their focus to helping their boss Brad Keselowski get fit again and as part of the recovery, made the choice to let the veteran miss the unofficial season opener, the Clash which will be yet again hosted at Bowman Gray Stadium. Explaining the decision, he asserted that he is skipping the race for perfect rehab and admitted that it would have been super foolish to start the race.

I didn’t want to rush back. The team and I made the decision together that if all the rehab went absolutely perfect, we’d be ready like, literally, the day of the Clash. And that seemed super-foolish and didn’t give us any time to do any testing on myself or anything like that.

Brad Keselowski told Fox Sports (RACER.com).

The No:6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse will be driven by veteran Corey LaJoie, who will get another chance to prove he still deserves to race in the premier division. Discussing the announcement in his post on social media, Brad Keselowski asserted that he is happy to offer his service to RFK Racing and asserted he is looking for win again at the track, where he previously has won the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 ARCA Menards Series East race.

Happy to be of service. Wishing BK a speedy recovery. Let‘s go get another trophy at The Madhouse.

Corey LaJoie wrote on X.

🫡 happy to be of service. Wishing BK a speedy recovery. Let’s go get another trophy at The Madhouse. https://t.co/4Hc6dzT7WB

— Corey LaJoie (@CoreyLaJoie) January 8, 2026

Brad Keselowski explains how painful the leg injury is  

In the same conversation, Brad Keselowski shared more details on his recovery. He pointed out that he broke him femur and it demands significant rehab before the Daytona 500. The veteran admitted that the worse part about the injury is the fact that he broke the biggest and most painful bone in the body.

I’m not great, but I’m good, I’m recovering really well. I had a major injury. I’m on a significant rehab plan to be back for the Daytona 500. … I’m now made of titanium in my leg. It’s a really painful thing to break. It’s the biggest bone in your body, which is kind of the bad part about it.

Brad Keselowski said.

Further talking about the point, the RFK Racing veteran asserted that the good thing bout the injury is the fact that he will get healed fast. But till then the pain because of the injury will have a massive toll on him.

The good thing is it’s also one of the fastest healing parts of your body, so I’m just really dealing with the pain and trying to recover as fast as I can. I’ve broken a lot of different bones and parts of my body. I will tell you, none of them come close to hurting as bad as breaking your femur. It’s a very painful injury…

Brad Keselowski added.

The accident involving the 2012 Cup champion has yet again started discussions about the need to have restrictions on drivers over dangerous activities while they are contracted to teams. Absence of the personal due to injury cost the team millions in sponsorship as well as race purse pay.

Also Read: Christopher Bell Exposes “Fear Factor” with NASCAR Sims

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