NASCAR President Steve Phelps has mentioned on multiple occasions in 2024 his desire for drivers to lean into natural rivalries. Earlier this year at Circuit of the Americas, I asked multiple drivers, including Brad Keselowski — what two drivers in today’s Cup Series field would make up the top rivalry and draw attention to the sport?
“Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace,” Keselowski said. “That’s easy. They got the two biggest fanbases. If you get those two mad at each other, that’d be great.”
Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch Have a Rivalry That Dates Back Years
Brad Keselowski knows a little something about rivalries. He has had one of the longest in the sport with Kyle Busch. Back in 2010, the young Keselowski let it be known what he thought of his counterpart during driver intros at Bristol.
“Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge,” he paused. “Kyle Busch is an ass.”
There was more where that came from, including back in 2017 on Twitter when the former JGR driver didn’t sugarcoat what he thought of Keselowski’s comments on “NASCAR letting a manufacturer get this far ahead since the 1970s.” Busch replied: “STFU.”
Brad Keselowski Adds Latest Chapter With Kyle Busch
During the rain delay at Kansas before the May 5 race, Brad Keselowski and his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher hung out in the team hauler playing a friendly game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, which was shared on the team’s X account. The RFK co-owner also shared his thoughts on his own account, including a video revealing his rivalry with Busch is still alive and well.
Sorry @KyleBusch 😬 pic.twitter.com/GtrRHgUesb
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) May 5, 2024
“I was just telling these guys that I can eat these now since they stopped sponsoring Kyle Busch,” he admitted, holding a bag of M&Ms in his hand.
Both drivers have been running better as of late. That’s when rivalries matter the most. In a 2024 season that’s been full of action and historic finishes in the first dozen races, it wouldn’t be bad to bring back an old rivalry from the vault to add a little more spice to season.