DARLINGTON, S.C. — There were so many special parts of Brad Keselowski's first NASCAR win in three years, it was hard for him to say what meant more.
It was the 36th of his career and his second at Darlington Raceway, which he reveres as the ultimate test for drivers. It occurred in front of his young family with his daughters Scarlett, who will turn 9 later this month, and Autumn, 4, joining him on the podium.
And it was the first time since he left the Penske organization to become co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022.
“There's a lot of things to be excited about, I don't know which one means more,” Keselowski said with a smile.
He moved to the front as leaders Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick began battling for first place with nine laps remaining, and held on to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.
“A great effort by everyone,” Keselowski said after crossing the finish line.
It looked like Buescher, a Keselowski employee at RFK, would take the win after passing his boss and Reddick with 29 laps to go. But Buescher and Reddick collided and backed off, opening the door to Keselowski's satisfying victory.
“What a great day,” he said. “That battle with my teammate and Tyler Reddick, we just risked everything.”
Keselowski acknowledged the risk he took when he left Penske. Fans pounced on him when Austin Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500, saying it could have been him, and when Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney won the last two NASCAR Cup crowns.
But Keselowski couldn't be happier with his choice and the direction RFK is going.
“I think you guys know I'm going to do things my way,” he said.
Ty Gibbs was second, Josh Berry third and Denny Hamlin fourth. Chase Briscoe was fifth, followed by William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley and Michael McDowell.
It was another near miss for Buescher, who lost by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson at Kansas in the closest finish in NASCAR history.
Buescher fell to 30th and Reddick to 32nd.
Buescher confronted Reddick as they both got out of their cars. Reddick took full blame for the incident.
“For two weeks in a row we had a chance to win races,” Buescher said. “First, I'm going to relive in my head forever what I would have done differently. [at Kansas]. The other thing, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”
Larson was in the top 10 when he spun with 40 laps remaining and was unable to return.
A mistake also ended the chances of two NASCAR champions. Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Byron were wide on Lap 128 when Byron tagged Truex, who pushed Blaney and sent him into the wall in Turn 2.
Blaney's team, the defending Cup champion, could not repair the damage and their day was over. He rode alongside Byron to signal his displeasure with Byron's movement.
“He used a little more racetrack than I thought, so I have every right to be mad and he gets away with it,” said Blaney, who finished last in 36th place.
Truex, the 2017 series champion, fell out of the top 10 and finished in 25th place.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
