Pit This Time may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never affects our coverage. Learn more.
Brad Keselowski scheduled his Martinsville news conference himself and was ready to say “a lot of things” about RFK Racing until the team released him from his contract shortly beforehand, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck said.
Gluck made the comments on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
Gluck: ‘There’s a deadline coming up’
“What was interesting about this: it was scheduled days, if not a full week, before all this happened,” Gluck said. “And Brad scheduled it himself, not RFK. RFK clearly knew that, ‘Hey, if you don’t, there’s a deadline coming up, and I’m prepared to say a lot of things in a very interesting manner that’s going to get a lot of headlines.’”
“People thought he was going to burn down the house in the garage this morning. People are just like, ‘Oh, he’s going to burn it all down.’ And he comes in. Well, first of all, 30 minutes before he comes in, it’s like, ‘Oh, RFK has decided to grant him his release.’”
Notes with big X’s
RFK announced Saturday morning that Keselowski could drive for another team and would stay on only as a passive investor, giving up his roles in governance, competition and the board, as Pit This Time reported. Keselowski said the release came about an hour before he spoke and that, without it, it would have been a different day.
Gluck said Keselowski showed reporters his notes afterward, with large X’s through sections he had apparently planned to use.
The money
Gluck said Keselowski started with 5% of the team and had the option to get up to 20%, and that the stake is worth much more now because charter values have climbed.
“He got what he wanted,” Gluck said. “That 20% is worth a lot more now than when he bought in. Especially how much charter values have gone up. Let’s say they’re worth $100 million each, $125 million each, whatever they are. And there’s two of those, and he owns 20% of the company just on charters alone. That’s a lot of money.”
Gluck’s charter values were hypothetical. Keselowski said at Martinsville that his stake had reached 20% and that he will begin selling it. He joined Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group as a co-owner in 2022. RFK’s other owners had turned down his bid to buy the whole team, as Pit This Time reported.
What’s next for Keselowski
Keselowski said at Martinsville that he had not had a meaningful conversation with Dodge or Ram, but that every manufacturer remains an option. Dodge announced Monday that it will return to the Cup Series in 2027 with Kaulig Racing. Keselowski won the 2012 Cup title in a Dodge for Penske.
He has one race left in RFK’s No. 6 Ford, Sunday’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Leave a Reply