The roar of the engines at Atlanta Motor Speedway provided a thunderous backdrop, but for Brad Keselowski, the real noise was the rhythmic throb in his right leg.
In the garage area, the driver and co-owner of RFK Racing leaned against his hauler, his focus narrowed to the immediate task at hand. In the world of NASCAR, momentum is everything, yet Keselowski was forced to operate on a different timeline: one weekend, one turn, one lap at a time.
“I’m going to get through this weekend and see how it goes before making a decision on COTA,” Keselowski said, his voice steady despite the grueling recovery process behind him. “But I’m feeling good for Atlanta.”
The “decision” loomed like a shadow. Just months ago, on a quiet family ski trip on December 18, a patch of ice had turned a vacation into a crisis. A slipped foot, a sickening snap, and a broken femur had traded his race suit for a hospital gown. Surgery had been a success, but bones don’t care about racing schedules. Rehabilitation had been a slow, grinding climb back toward the driver’s seat.
While Atlanta’s high-speed oval required nerve, the upcoming Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin was a different beast entirely. Road courses demanded heavy braking and violent downshifts—actions that put immense physical strain on a driver’s right leg. It was the ultimate hurdle in his comeback.
Brad wasn’t one to leave things to chance. He had already tapped Joey Hand to stand in the wings. Hand wasn’t just a placeholder; he was a road-course specialist with a trophy case featuring wins at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring. If Keselowski’s leg couldn’t handle the technical twists of Texas, he knew the car would be in the hands of a master.
For now, though, the backup driver remained a contingency. Keselowski adjusted his gear, eyes fixed on the Atlanta asphalt. He was back in the hunt, even if he had to take it one mile at a time.
