Brad Keselowski's COTA Status Still Iffy; Joey Hand On Standby

Brad Keselowski is still unsure if he will be able to compete at Circuit of the Americas as he continues to rehabilitate from a broken femur suffered in the offseason. Joey Hand will be on standby as his reserve driver.

Feb 13, 2026; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Brad Keselowski worked incredibly hard in the offseason to recover from a broken femur, suffered during a family ski trip, to be able to return for the season-opening Daytona 500. Keselowski was rewarded for his efforts with a fifth-place result in the Great American Race.

Related: Brad Keselowski Critical Of Riley Herbst After Daytona 500 Finish

While Keselowski, 42, is back this weekend at EchoPark Speedway to drive the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse in Sunday's Autotrader 400, there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding Keselowski's availability for next weekend's event at Circuit of the Americas.

The 2.4-mile road course in Austin, Texas, will be quite a bit more taxing on Keselowski's leg, which is continuing to regain strength following the broken femur. Keselowski says he will undergo a round of rigorous tests next week before ultimately making a decision about whether he will be able to race at COTA physically.

"I'm just going to see how I feel. You know, I've got some more stuff to test next week to get through with a medical test and a physical test. We'll probably just see how those go, and make a decision on what's best for me," Keselowski said in a media scrum at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday morning.

With the NASCAR championship format swapping from the previous "win and you're in Playoff format" to the "Chase" format, which will have the top-16 drivers in the championship standings at the end of the opening 26 races battle for a title over a 10-race Chase, Keselowski's best chance at fighting for a championship is to compete in each event this season.

That being said, Keselowski is considering at least starting the race at COTA and running the opening lap before relinquishing the car to a reserve driver.

"No, it is possible. So, we've kind of run through all of that," Keselowski explained. "We've got a lot of good options."

If Keselowski is unable to compete altogether, or has to exit the car after starting the race for the sake of points, renowned road racer Joey Hand will be set to take over the driving duties of the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

"We're glad to have him. He's the Ford reserve driver for all of the road courses," Keselowski said. "He's won all the big races you can win across the globe, so great guy too. He's been very helpful."

Hand is a two-time Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona race winner, once in the GTLM class (2017), and once in the DP class (2011), and he has two wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring, both wins came in the GT class.

As far as his experience in NASCAR, Hand has competed in eight NASCAR Cup Series events, seven with Rick Ware Racing, and one with RFK Racing.

In his one start with RFK Racing, which came behind the wheel of the then part-time Stage 60 entry, Hand collected his career best finish of fourth in the Chicago Street Race. Hand, who started from the 38th position, led seven of the 58 laps that day en route to the fourth-place run.

If Hand has to step in to assist Keselowski and the No. 6 RFK Racing team next weekend at Circuit of the Americas, the team has to feel confident they have a very capable reserve driver waiting in the wings.