NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brad Keselowski is only two seasons into his role as a driver-owner at RFK Racing but has already looked at a potentially significant move for the organization.
Keselowski wants RFK Racing to take on IMSA, the North America road course racing series headlined by the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Expanding to IMSA is not what one might expect from a driver who grew up oval racing before winning championships in Xfinity and Cup. There is a specific reason behind this possible move, one that Keselowski would like to happen as part of a long-term plan.
“As NASCAR continues to get heavier and heavier into road course racing, I think that pedigree offers a lot of advantages to the ecosystem of a successful Cup team,” Keselowski said ahead of the NASCAR Awards at the Music City Center.
Keselowski noted that IMSA provides a route to get involved with hybrid race cars without having a product that competes with the NASCAR brand of “American horsepower.”
There are multiple drivers from the ranks of NASCAR who have competed in IMSA events. Jimmie Johnson and Austin Cindric competed on separate teams during the 2022 Rolex 24. Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray were part of the winning Chip Ganassi Racing team in the 2015 Rolex 24.
IMSA is a destination for RFK Racing but it will be some time before the organization fields an entry in the road course series. The bigger priority is expanding around a third Cup team.
Keselowski and RFK Racing announced Nov. 29 that it would field a part-time, third entry known as Stage 60. This Cup car will feature a variety of drivers in select races, starting with David Ragan at the 2024 Daytona 500.
The Stage 60 entry is comparable to Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 and 23XI Racing’s third entries, which helped Kimi Raikkonen, Shane van Gisbergen, Travis Pastrana and Kamui Kobayashi all make their Cup debuts.
Keselowski is not ready to provide details about the driver lineup or the number of races. What he will confirm is that the entry will compete on superspeedways and road courses.
Keselowski has big plans for RFK Racing. That doesn’t mean he will be rushing the process as his tenure continues. He still has the goal of being competitive after a season in which he and Chris Buescher both reached the playoffs and Buescher won three races.
“We don’t want to just grow just to grow,” Keselowski said. “I’m not particularly interested in that. We want to grow to be successful. And so it takes a very measured means to to do that.”
