Brad Keselowski “bummed” Pocono race ended up in an average result for the #6 team

Brad Keselowski and his driver Chris Buescher led 20 and 19 laps respectively in The Great American Getaway 400. Despite that, Keselowski secured a seventh-place finish driving the NEXLIZET Ford, and Buescher crossed the line in 11th with the BuildSubmarines.com Ford.

Their race strategy was heavily impacted by untimely cautions, with four yellow flags waving in the last 44 laps alone. Each caution disrupted their momentum while leading. Reflecting on the race's twists, Brad Keselowski expressed his frustration on X [formerly known as Twitter], noting:

"2 gut punches. Yellows came out both times RFK cars were leading and crushed our strategy yesterday. Happy we had fasts cars. Bummed it didn’t go our way."

Brad Keselowski started the weekend with a P14 qualifying effort. The first stage, featuring only one caution, saw Keselowski making his initial pit stop and then clawing his way to an eighth-place finish, grabbing some stage points. His early strategy moved the #6 car up to second at the restart for stage two, finishing the stage in third.

By lap 115, Keselowski had pushed up to fourth. However, multiple cautions in the final stage neutralized any strategic advantages. Keselowski managed to pull ahead briefly when leading the pack.

While the leading pack generally opted for just two tires during pit stops, Brad Keselowski went for four. However, his strategy was undercut by four cautions in the final 18 laps, which broke up the race and kept him from climbing higher through the top 10 during the short spells of green-flag racing. The race resumed one last time on lap 137 with Keselowski in eighth place; he managed to advance one more position, securing a seventh-place finish.

On the other hand, Chris Buescher has been quite consistent recently. Over the past seven races, his lowest finish was P20 at Chicago. He's stayed within the top 20 throughout this period, securing three top-5 finishes. The stretch mirrors last season when Buescher came alive, winning three races in five weeks, including consecutive victories at Richmond and Michigan.

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Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher on the playoff standings table

Brad Keselowski's driver, Chris Buescher, currently holds the 12th spot in the driver standings with 547 points, trailing leader Chase Elliott by 156 points. Buescher has managed five top-5s and nine top-10s so far this season.

Meanwhile, Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing and winner of the Darlington race, is well within the playoff contention, sitting at ninth in the standings with 599 points, 104 points behind Chase Elliott. Keselowski has tallied seven top-5s and 10 top-10 finishes this season.

With only five races remaining in the regular season, it remains to be seen whether Chris Buescher can replicate last year's late-season surge.