Over NASCAR’s rich 75-year history, only a few independent teams like Furniture Row Racing have left behind quite a legacy. Its sudden rise from a one-car operation to a championship-winning one remains one of the sport’s greatest success stories. However, could such a story be emulated in the new NASCAR era?

In 2017, Furniture Row Racing, which had been in the sport since 2005, stunned the NASCAR garage by winning its maiden championship with Martin Truex Jr before deciding to shut down its operations. Many questions have been raised about whether teams other than the Big 3 can achieve the same level of success, as the new rules have now handed significant engineering responsibility over to OEMs.

During Brad Keselowski’s media availability at Chicagoland on Saturday, he opened up about the shift that has taken place over the last six to seven years.

"Right around 2020, 2021, the sport went through a, you know, I consider a dramatic behind-the-scenes pivot to where, you know, a lot of the engineering was handed or taken from the teams based on rules and procedures and given to the OEMs," he said (via Cup Scene on YouTube). "That created a tremendous dynamic shift in the sport that prevents someone like a Furniture Row from coming back into the sport and having a chance to be successful in my mind."

Since the introduction of the new Next Gen car in 2022, only the Big 3 have been among the champions: Penske has won three, and Hendrick Motorsports has won one.

"I think those rules were targeted exactly at Furniture Row and the fact that they came in and they were successful. They spent a lot of money, and they went away. And you know, kind of the dialogue at that time was, that's not good. There were comments that Furniture Row bought a championship. I didn't feel that way, although I do feel like they spent a lot of money," Keselowski added.

While Keselowski pointed out that the new rules have made it difficult for independent teams to gain success, he has also credited Toyota for adapting to the changing landscape. 

Why Brad Keselowski thinks Toyota has an edge in NASCAR’s new era

While talking in the same press conference, the RFK co-owner further pointed out that the new rules have created a stalemate, and that Toyota as an OEM has recognized  "that stalemate is not good for the sport." This led the Japanese manufacturer to initiate a lot of collaboration among its teams, such as the alliance between JGR and 23XI.

"Toyota is making them pay for that with results on the racetrack. They deserve credit for that. It's a really great behind-the-scenes move that they've taken full advantage of," Keselowski said. 

The Ford driver pointed out that this collaborative approach is something that the other OEMs, like Ford and Chevrolet, have yet to achieve.

Currently, Toyota has 11 wins in the 2026 NASCAR Cup campaign after 18 races. While Chevrolet has earned six, Ford has bagged only one win with Ryan Blaney early in the season in Phoenix.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak