Brad Keselowski Frustrated With Ford, Says Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Brad Keselowski is growing increasingly frustrated with Ford's performance gap to Toyota in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series. The Hall of Famer broke down Keselowski's recent comments on his podcast, saying the RFK Racing co-owner is using the media to pressure Ford leadership into action.

Keselowski told NASCAR.com that Ford and Chevrolet teams are getting outperformed because they treat select teams as favorites instead of sharing resources equally. He pointed to Toyota's approach as more balanced across its organizations.

Toyota teams have won 12 of 19 races this season. Chase Briscoe just won at Chicagoland for Toyota. Ford has only one win: Ryan Blaney at Phoenix Raceway.

On his Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt said Keselowski's comments weren't really about Toyota. They were aimed at Ford.

"Brad isn't trying to change anything about what Toyota does," Earnhardt said. "He's only trying to use the media to say so Ford will hear it and go, maybe we need to do something, you know, to make this better."

Earnhardt added: "I've noticed Brad over the last several weeks get more and more vocal about this. He's getting a little more frustrated with the lack of progress that they've been trying to make to close the gap."

Keselowski became co-owner of RFK Racing in 2022. Since then, the team has recorded seven Cup Series wins. But Ford sits at the bottom of the manufacturer standings with 622 points. Toyota leads Chevrolet by 120 points.

Earnhardt sees Keselowski's strategy as savvy. "If the conversation behind closed doors isn't working, you'll go in that media center and you'll make it known," he said.

Earnhardt admitted he enjoyed Toyota's dominance at first. But now he wants other manufacturers to step up. "Let's see somebody come up here and challenge them," he said.

For Keselowski, the clock is ticking. Ford needs to close the gap fast, or his frustration will only get louder.