Brad Keselowski called out Riley Herbst for causing the final lap pileup during Sunday’s Daytona 500. Keselowski didn’t hold back in his assessment and called it a ‘pretty stupid’ move on Herbst’s part.

Heading into the final lap, the top-5 consisted of race leader Chase Elliott, eventual winner Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, and Zane Smith. Herbst came to Reddick’s aid and pushed him on the inside lane, while the rest faded on the outside.

When Reddick dropped out of Elliott’s draft, Herbst followed suit and was poised to overtake on the outside. However, the No.35 driver was moving into Keselowski’s path, resulting in a contact that took out every frontrunner on the chase.

Reflecting upon the wreck, Keselowski had some choice words to say.

“Oh, the 35 just wrecked me out of nowhere for no reason. That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. He had no chance of blocking my run. I had a huge run. I don’t know if I could have got the 45 or 47 but I would’ve liked to found out because my run was coming fast and the 35 just wreck us and himself. Pretty stupid,” he said via X/Kelly Crandall.

Brad Keselowski ended up with a fifth-place finish, while Riley Herbst finished three spots behind. The result marks Herbst’s first top-10 result in three years.

Following Tyler Reddick’s maiden Daytona win, former winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was credited with the runner up placing. Meanwhile, Herbst’s misstep derailed Chase Elliott’s chances at the Harley J. Earl trophy.

Brad Keselowski finds positives despite Daytona near miss

During a post-race interview, Brad Keselowski rued a disastrous end to his Daytona bid, but found a silver lining amidst the chaos. Notably, the RFK Racing driver is returning from a leg fracture that sidelined him from the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

“Tore up the 9, tore up the 22, a bunch of cars that didn’t deserve to be wrecked, so that was a big bummer and really stupid. Still a decent day for us to come home with a top 5 and to be competitive and have a shot to win,” Keselowski said while reviewing the final lap footage.

Brad Keselowski’s teammate, Chris Buescher, finished seventh on the final order. The No.17 driver had rallied from a tail end start and even led four laps, further underscoring the team’s momentum. The team hoped to field Corey LaJoie with their No.99 entry, but he got collected in a late-race crash during the duel qualifier.

However, the Clash was a momentus occasion for RFK Racing, as Ryan Preece won his maiden Cup race in a rain-affected event. Preece’s Daytona outing didn’t do him any favors, as he finished as the last driver on the lead lap.