"Brad Keselowski is not at fault" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. backs RFK driver's strategy during Brickyard 400’s decisive laps

Dale Earnhardt Jr. backed Brad Keselowski's pivotal decision to pit before taking the green flag in the first overtime restart of the Brickyard 400. Dale Jr. believes the #6 RFK Racing driver was not to blame for gifting eventual race winner, Kyle Larson, the preferential inside line on the restart.

In the final laps of the Brickyard 400, Keselowski was in the lead, with his car running on fumes. Ryan Blaney was chasing him for the lead, while Larson had charged through the field to make his way to the front. The #6 Ford driver had to pit for fuel and only ducked into the pits just before the green flag, allowing Larson to move up to the front row.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reviewed Brad Keselowski's last-minute decision which left Ryan Blaney and his faction furious, as they had to restart on the outside. Dale Jr. saw nothing wrong with how the restart unfolded, backing the #6 RFK Racing team's decision to pit right before the restart, as he suggested the team had every right to do so.

In the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download, the 49-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer said:

"I honestly feel like it played out the way it should have. Brad Keselowski is not at fault. They were trying to stretch fuel. They knew they were probably on the edge. They interviewed the crew chief, and he said, 'Hey, we're probably going to run out, but we've already made our bed, so we're going to go for it.'" Dale Jr. said [from 5:17]

"It's their prerogative to bring their car to pit road whenever they choose, and it just so happened that they were coming to the green flag and decided to pit. Something happening inside the car let Brad know that he wasn't going to make another lap. They brought the car to pit road, and that's no fault of Brad's," he added.

Kyle Larson went on to win the race, while Ryan Blaney had to settle for third place. Brad Keselowski's late-race stop dropped him to 21st.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares if NASCAR should have reset the grid after Brad Keselowski pitted

Brad Keselowski's last-minute decision put Ryan Blaney at a disadvantage as he was the control car but didn't have the preferential lane. Following Keselowski's unexpected move, there was plenty of debate about whether NASCAR should have thrown a caution to restack the grid.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was against such a move, stating that NASCAR would not have restacked the grid even if they had thrown a caution. He said on the podcast:

"I don't think they should throw a timeout. They even said that if they had not thrown the green, they still wouldn't have allowed them to reset, so it wouldn't have made any difference. It would have just allowed Blaney a moment to regroup and replan his strategy for the restart as the control car." Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. [from 6:15]

Keselowski's decision left Ryan Blaney livid, expressing his frustration over the radio on how the race win had slipped away from his hands. He dropped behind Tyler Reddick finishing third.