Five NASCAR Cup Series races of the 2023 season are complete. Brad Keselowski has not reached Victory Lane yet, but he has achieved something unique.
Keselowski is currently the only driver who has led laps in every single race of the 2023 season. He led 42 in the Daytona 500, two at Auto Club Speedway, five at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, one at Phoenix Raceway, and 47 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Only one driver has led a lap in every race this season, Brad Keselowski.
This is only the 2nd time in his entire Cup Series career he’s led a lap in the first 5 races of the season (2014).
This consistency is a far cry from the 2022 season, Keselowski’s first with RFK Racing. He only led laps twice in the first 15 races of the season, headlined by 67 in the Daytona 500. He also only had one top-10 finish in this stretch as opposed to two so far in 2023.
“It’s night and day from where we were a year ago, 100 percent,” Keselowski said after finishing second behind Joey Logano at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “You just keep running like this with good finishes and the wins will come.”
Keselowski & Byron Have Bragging Rights in Another Category
GettyBrad Keselowski (bottom) races William Byron (top) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Keselowski is the only driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to lead laps in every single race. He also joins William Byron on the exclusive list of drivers with bragging rights in another important category. Keselowski and Byron are the only two drivers to secure stage points in every race.
The driver of the No. 6 won Stage 1 in the Daytona 500 and then he secured two bonus points at Auto Club Speedway. Keselowski added three bonus points at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, nine bonus points at Phoenix Raceway, and 10 bonus points at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Byron, for comparison, secured four bonus points at Daytona, five at Fontana, 20 bonus points at Las Vegas (two stage wins), 19 bonus points at Phoenix (one stage win), and six bonus points at Atlanta.
Kevin Harvick was on the small list of drivers with stage points in every single race after the West Coast swing ended. However, he missed out on stage points at Atlanta before a crash ended his day early.
Keselowski Has Previously Led Laps Early
GettyBrad Keselowski waves to fans at Texas Motor Speedway.
Keselowski is the only driver to lead laps in all five points-paying Cup Series races of the 2023 season. This is not the first time that he has shown this consistency early.
According to stat man Trey Ryan, he also led laps in the first five races of the 2014 Cup Series season. Keselowski drove the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske at the time, and he was just over one season removed from winning the championship.
Keselowski led 13 laps of the Daytona 500 and three laps at Phoenix. He then led 53 at Las Vegas before winning his first race of the season. Keselowski led 40 laps at Bristol and 38 laps at Fontana. His five-race streak of leading laps ultimately ended at Martinsville Speedway as he finished 38th overall after starting 14th.
The 2014 season was one of the best of Keselowski’s career. He won six races — the most among full-time drivers — and he ended the year fifth in the championship standings after barely missing the final four.
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Brad Keselowski Stands Alone With Unique NASCAR Stat After 5 Cup Races