Brad Keselowski showed up to North Wilkesboro with the confidence of a man who knew where the grip was and wasn’t afraid to use it. After snatching the pole on Friday like a kid grabbing the last donut, he turned Saturday’s Heat Race into a statement: the No. 6 Ford is here to cause trouble.
In the first of two 75-lap All-Star Heat Races, Keselowski held off Ross Chastain and William Byron—both of whom had the advantage of fresh tires and a mid-race pit stop—to take the win. And he didn’t just win. He muscled that RFK Ford around like he was trying to bend physics to his will. It was aggressive, confident, and just unbothered by the fact that his chasers had newer rubber.
Chastain, who started in the back row like a kid being sent to detention, clawed his way to second. Byron was third, with Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman rounding out the top five. Josh Berry finished sixth, which is notable only if you’re Josh Berry or related to him.
Keselowski’s win marked his second consecutive Heat Race triumph, suggesting that RFK Racing might’ve finally stopped playing checkers while everyone else was playing chess.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Keselowski said with a grin, clearly understating the fact that he and his crew have been walking around like they just discovered fire. “Good two days, running up front, running fast. This is fun.” Which is the NASCAR equivalent of saying, We’re about to make your Sunday very uncomfortable.
As for Heat 2? That was a Christopher Bell masterclass. He started on pole, ran away like a thief with a getaway car full of Mobil 1, and never looked back. Joey Logano could only watch as Bell put a solid 2.085 seconds between them.
Bell sounded as surprised as anyone. “Maybe the Mobil 1 Camry’s a million-dollar Camry,” he said. “This thing was on rails.” And he wasn’t wrong. It looked like it was magnetized to the groove, while everyone else was skating around on mismatched shopping cart wheels.
Logano held on to second, followed by Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Chris Buescher.
They’ll line up on the outside lanes for Sunday’s main event, which comes with bragging rights, champagne, and the kind of payday that makes even seasoned veterans drive like it’s their last chance.
Sunday’s All-Star Race? It’s shaping up to be a brawl—with a million bucks at stake, a Ford and a Toyota up front, and 18 other drivers trying to turn those dreams into scrap metal. Buckle up.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.