Brad Keselowski issues BRUTAL verdict on Kyle Busch NASCAR rivalry

The Kyle Busch vs Brad Keselowski rivalry is one of the great feuds in NASCAR history - a glorious and enduring dislike cooked on the track and constantly bubbling off it.

For year after year they took that feud to new levels and claimed three Cup Series titles between them in the process. It was terrific stuff - Who could forget Keselowski rallying fans with the simple words “Kyle Busch is an ass” during Bristol intros back in 2010?

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Earlier this year, their ‘Cold War’ seemed to experience a thaw when the pair teamed up for a much-hyped commercial to plug the return of NASCAR's Championship race to Homestead in 2026, the scene of all their title successes.

It seemed to be fun stuff, which clearly had some observers concerned that the beef might be over for good. Wouldn't that be a shame?

Keselowski, now 41, was asked whether he’d like to rekindle that rivalry/beef/hatred with Busch. His response was illuminating, and brutally honest, notably about the fact the pair have just one Cup Series win between them since 2023.

No wins, no rivalry

He admitted: “I think we’re both in a position where it’s hard to have a rivalry. I’ve said this throughout my career, when you’re not competing for wins - and right now neither of us are consistently in a spot where we’re competing for wins - any type of a rivalry is just a distraction where both of us are trying to get our programs better.

“So I would definitely say there’s a back seat to all of that. He’s got things that he’s going through, we got the things we’re going through.

“I would love to rekindle that rivalry because in my eyes that would mean that we’re competing with each other for wins.”

NASCAR needs a rivalry rule

Keselowski even joked that NASCAR should make a rivalry rule, continuing: “I always tell our people, you have disagreements throughout the year, you don’t get in a fight over 15th-place finishes.

“That should be the NASCAR rule. If you get in a fight and you’re not running in the top 10, you’re out of here. I don’t have any room for that.

“But you know when you’re running up front, those are the good rivalries and I don’t think the two of us have seen each other much up front. When he’s up front, I’m not up front, and vice-versa.

“So I’d love to see that rekindled because it would mean we’re both running really well.”

The commercial, the details

So what was it like filming that commercial with Busch after all those years of ‘hating on each other’? Pretty good it seems, after an awkward start.

“It was good. We walked into the suit room very cold and actually once we got filming, it was really good. The film crew was really great and they kind of helped work through it.

“By the end I think we were bouncing things off each other, just having fun with it.”

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