Corey LaJoie will take Brad Keselowski’s place in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford for the Feb. 1 NASCAR Clash event that unofficially kicks off the 2026 Cup Series season.
The move comes as Keselowski continues to recover from broken leg suffered during a family ski trip in December.
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“I’m happy Corey has this opportunity. I’m focused on preparing for Daytona,” Keselowski said. in a statement announcing the move.
Keselowski, 41 years old, spoke at length with Fox Sports about the decision to let LaJoie run the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium and his recovery from a broken femur that also caused nerve damage.
“I didn’t want to run back,” Keselowski told Fox Sports. “The team and I made the decision together that if all the rehab went absolutely perfectly, we would be ready like, literally, the day of the Clash.
“And it seemed super stupid and didn’t give us time to do any tests on myself or anything like that.”
Keselowski is determined to return for the Dayton 500, which this year is scheduled to take place on February 15.
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The 2012 Cup Series champion called it “kind of a freak accident”: He slipped and fell on the ice while getting out of his car.
“I fell perfectly in a spot that broke my leg,” Keselowski told Fox Sports. “I wish it was a cooler story than that, like jumping or doing something on the slopes.
“I think everyone thinks I did it on the slopes, which sounds a lot cooler than the story I have, but it was just a freak accident.”
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Brad Keselowski injury update and recovery
