Brad Keselowski had the momentum he needed coming to the finish at Talladega Superspeedway but contact with Michael McDowell took the victory from both drivers.

“I was looking high on Michael and he did a good job blocking,” Keselowski said after finishing second in the GEICO 500. “I turned back down and got a good push from Noah [Gragson], and Michael came back down to block that, and by then we were kind of a freight train coming and Newton’s Cradled into the No. 34 car and [it was] just too much of a hit for him to be able to save.

“So it’s unfortunate — I thought we had a really strong day; it looked like we were going to get a Ford 1-2-3 and it didn’t work out. I’m glad to get a good finish but really want the win.”

Keselowski had pushed McDowell clear into the race lead down the backstretch on the final lap. It was a three-driver breakaway, with McDowell leading Keselowski and Noah Gragson through Turns 3 and 4. Off the final corner, Keselowski moved high and McDowell followed.

It was a quick succession of events from there as Keselowski took his momentum to the bottom, which McDowell followed. McDowell ended up going across Keselowski’s nose and turned to the outside lane, collecting multiple drivers through the tri-oval.

After the No. 38 spun and was out of contention, Keselowski briefly had his No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse out front. However, Tyler Reddick’s full head of steam — and Keselowski losing his push as Gragson looked low – propelled the 23XI Racing driver to a charge outside of the No. 6.

“I don’t know that anybody did anything wrong,” Keselowski said of the finish. “I just still hate that Michael didn’t get the solid day that he deserved, and we didn’t get the win. But that’s how it goes.”

It’s been 108 races since Keselowski last went to victory lane — the spring race at Talladega in 2021 with Team Penske. Sunday was his second straight runner-up finish and the fourth time he’s finished second since joining RFK Racing.

And Ford, which had three drivers leading the field on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway, remains winless through 10 races.

“We ran up front and we were in position to [win],” Keselowski said of scoring for the manufacturer, “So [that] was good.”