CHARLOTTE, North Carolina. (AP) — NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski, a former series champion and now co-owner of RFK Racing, broke his right leg during a ski trip, the team announced Friday.
Keselowski had surgery Thursday and doctors told him to expect a quick recovery that will allow him to return for the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. He is winless in 16 starts in the showcase race as he enters the final years of his racing career.
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“Life has a way of reminding you to slow down,” Keselowski published on social networks with photos of him in the hospital surrounded by his wife and children, an image from the break and a video of him using a walker. “I’m grateful to have my family by my side, a great medical team and the opportunity to take a few steps forward today. Focused on Daytona. Bonus: I’m now bionic!”
Keselowski did not reveal the extent of his injury or which bones are broken.
Keselowski, who turns 42 just days before the Feb. 15 “Great American Race,” enters his 17th full season of racing at the highest level of the Cup Series. He spent most of his career with Team Penske, but purchased a stake in Roush Fenway Racing in 2022 and became owner/driver of the renamed team.
THE the organization is in shock from Thursday Fatal plane crash that killed longtime Roush pilot Greg Biffle and six others, including his wife and two children. Biffle had retired by the time Keselowski joined the team.
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“First of all, our hearts remain heavy with the news of yesterday’s tragic events,” the team said. “The RFK Racing family, as well as the NASCAR community, as a whole, continues to keep the loved ones of the Biffle family and everyone involved in our thoughts. Although it is untimely, we feel that in the interest of transparency, we share that RFK Racing co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski suffered a broken leg while on a ski trip with his family on Thursday.”
The team called the operation “routine” and said doctors expected a “speedy and full recovery.”
Keselowski broke his ankle in 2011 when he crashed during a practice session and won a Cup Series race at Pocono a few days later.
“I am grateful to the medical team who took great care of me and to the support system around me,” Keselowski said in a statement. “I am motivated to get back to full strength as quickly as possible and I will work tirelessly to be ready for Daytona.”
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Keselowski won the 2012 Cup Series championship for Penske and has 36 career victories at NASCAR’s highest level. He won the Xfinity Series title in 2010 and 39 races in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He’s had a profitable run since leaving Penske as he works to rebuild RFK into the once-proud organization founded by Hall of Fame team owner Jack Roush.
Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, missed six races during the 2023 season when he broke his leg in a snowboarding fall early in the season. Kyle Busch missed 11 races when he broke his leg in a crash at Daytona in 2015, but recovered to win the Cup championship that year.
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AP Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
