RFK owner and driver Brad Keselowski, who broke his leg while on a ski trip with his family in December, will not be ready to run the Clash when the 2026 NASCAR Cup season starts on Feb. 1.
RFK reserve driver Corey LaJoie will replace Keselowski at the race at Bowman Gray Stadium, according to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass.
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“I will not be running the Clash … we’re going to put Corey LaJoie in to run the Clash so he’s pretty excited,” Keselowski said. “Then our plan is for him to become the standby driver for the first couple of 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 point standings. He did not win a race in 2025 but finished second in the final race at Phoenix along with Bristol and Atlanta and was in the top-5 in three other races.
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“I didn’t want to rush back,” Keselowski said. “The team and I kind of made the decision together that if all the rehab went absolutely perfect, we’d be ready like, literally, the day of the Clash. That seemed super foolish. Didn’t give us any time to do any kind of testing on myself.”
Keselowski’s last win win came 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 series debut at Texas Motor Speedway.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brad Keselowski will miss Clash with broken leg, per report
