RFK owner and driver Brad Keselowski, who broke his leg on a ski trip with his family in December, won’t be ready to lead the Clash when the 2026 NASCAR Cup the season begins February 1.
Corey LaJoie, RFK reserve pilot will replace Keselowski at the race at Bowman Gray Stadium, according to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports.
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“I’m not going to run the Clash…we’re going to put Corey LaJoie in there. start the Clash so he’s pretty excited,” Keselowski said. “Then our plan is for him to become the reserve driver for the first two weeks until we’re fully confident.”
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Missing the Clash won’t cost Keselowski any points since it’s an exhibition race. Keselowski hopes to be ready for the Daytona 500 race on Feb. 15 when the points system begins in the new Chase format.
Keselowski finished 20th in the 2025 points standings. He did not win a race in 2025, but finished second in the final race at Phoenix with Bristol and Atlanta and had top-5 finishes in three other races.
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“I didn’t want to go back,” Keselowski said. “The team and I kind of made the decision together that if the whole rehab thing went absolutely perfect, we would be ready like, literally, the day of The Clash. It seemed super stupid. That didn’t give us time to do any testing on myself.”
Keselowski’s last victory was in 2024 at Darlington. He also finished second in four other races that season. Keselowski won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2012, four years after making his Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway.
Contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article was originally published on Nashville Tennessean: Brad Keselowski will miss Clash due to broken leg, report says
