2026 Daytona 500 Return Not Guaranteed for Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski's recovery from broken femur is going as expected, but he might still have to miss the second race of 2026 at Daytona.

2026 Daytona 500 Return Not Guaranteed for Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski (via Imago)

Brad Keselowski suffered from a disappointing start to 2026. The RFK Racing star broke his femur over the off-season and is still recovering from the same. As such, Keselowski does not have a valid NASCAR license yet and will miss the season-opener Cook Out Clash at the Bowman Gray Stadium. Moreover, doubts linger around his start for the subsequent Daytona 500 as well.

On around 18th December, Brad Keselowski broke his right femur after falling from a vehicle during a ski trip. Despite recovery going better than expected, he hasn’t fully healed yet, with the entire process taking a couple of months. Though Keselowski is active on social media and sharing his road to recovery, he has yet to obtain the green signal from the doctors and NASCAR authorities to participate in races.

As such, Brad Keselowski is certainly missing the Cook Out Clash and might be benched for the Daytona 500 as well. In a recent post on X, Keselowski explained his situation and what his gameplan was to fully recover and return to the grid as soon as possible. The RFK Racing star first mentioned that he wasn’t going to race at Bowman Gray, despite the race being postponed a couple of days.

Further, Brad Keselowski explained that he did not have a NASCAR license, which he must obtain after visiting the sporting authorities and proving his leg had recovered fully. Keselowski revealed that the test was scheduled for later this week, as he had to pass the test to drive at Daytona. However, if the medical crew of NASCAR believes that the 41-year-old isn’t fit enough, he will miss the Daytona race as well.

Short answer- NO
Long answer- I don’t currently have a valid NASCAR driver’s license. Scheduled to take the different tests end of the week. Must pass to drive the car at DAYTONA or anywhere else.
Big week ahead

Brad Keselowski said via X, @keselowski.

Brad Keselowski opens up on achieving ‘900 race starts’ in NASCAR

Brad Keselowski debuted in NASCAR with the Truck Series back in 2004 and made his way through the ranks to ultimately race for RFK Racing in the Cup Series. Over the years, Keselowski has achieved 600+ race starts in the Cup Series and will only increase the number following his 2026 performances. Amid the healing journey for his foot, the 41-year-old opened up on potentially achieving over 900 race starts in the pinnacle of stock racing.

Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski (Via @Brad_Keselowski/X)

Notably, only Richard Petty and Ricky Rudd have achieved over 900 race starts in NASCAR history. Though Brad Keselowski is nearing that goal, it will still take a lot of time to achieve the coveted goal. Keselowski reckoned that it would take around eight seasons, which he felt was definitely doable. The 41-year-old then joked that it was a great motivation to recover from the broken leg.

A few people have sent me this which got me thinking… 900 starts sounds nice to me. Will take about 8 more seasons, Definitely doable. Great broken leg recovery motivation. Thanks to all who’ve sent this to me.

Brad Keselowski said via X, @keselowski.

The start to the 2026 season has been far from ideal for both NASCAR and Brad Keselowski. The Cook Out Clash is delayed multiple days because of heavy snow, as the sport hopes to start the season as intended. For now, Keselowski is hoping to recover as soon as possible and return to racing in the pinnacle of stock racing.

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