Brad Keselowski’s 2009 Aaron’s 499 win is notable given it was the future Cup champion and team owner’s first win in NASCAR’s highest division. But it represents much more. An underfunded team’s only Cup win. The beginning of a heated rivalry filled with memorable moments. The potential dangers race-attending fans may face, and subsequently, safety updates to one of NASCAR’s most iconic venues.  Not to mention, NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow era and the age of tandem drafting.  

Keselowski’s No. 9 Phoenix Racing Miccosukee Chevrolet CoT represents a panoramic snapshot of NASCAR history, and it’s one of the most sought-after Grails of its era.  

Phoenix Racing’s quest for a first Cup Series win began in nearly 20 years earlier when James Finch’s team entered four races in 1990. The team, consistently a backmarker, ran a part-time schedule until 1996, including a planned stint with Neil Bonnett at the helm for 1994 before he was killed ahead of that year’s Daytona 500. Phoenix returned to action in 2001 before partnering with its future longtime partner, Miccosukee Gaming, in 2002. The team had its first taste of success with Muccosukee as Geoff Bodine finished third in the 2002 Daytona 500. However, plenty of start-and-parks followed in the years ahead with the team fielding Dodge and Ford entries. This previewed the team switching between Dodge and Chevrolets for 2009.   

The team stepped up its efforts in 2009 with a field of drivers — including Keselowski, Sterling Marlin, Aric Almirola, Ron Fellows and David Gilliland — competing in 27 events. Keselowski served as a development driver for Rick Hendrick in 2008 and for two races early in the 2009 season (in which he drove the No. 25 GoDaddy Chevrolet). He made his fifth Cup Series start and first for Phoenix racing at the 2009 Aaron’s 499, the ninth race of the season. He qualified ninth.  

Keselowski’s day nearly came to an early end on Lap 8 when Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon made contact in turn 3 and collected over a dozen more cars. Riding the bottom lane, Keselowski narrowly avoided the brunt of the melee, though he did strike Gordon’s radiator which had come careening off the track and onto the apron.  

Midway through the race Keselowski had another sphincter-clinching moment. Running inside the top-10, Dale Earnhardt Jr had a run coming up behind Keselowski. The then rookie later said he expected Junior to push him, so Keselowski attempted to get in front of the No. 88. However, Junior ran low to the double yellow line, and as Keselowski moved down, the right rear corner of his No. 9 struck the No. 88’s nose, forcing Keselowski to make a save on the apron to avoid a wreck.  

After his second effective survival, Keselowski and Casey Mears began working their way from the mid-pack to the top-10 in the closing laps in a tandem draft. With three laps to go, Keselowski and Carl Edwards linked up, and with a significant run on the front stretch, the duo began passing cars in a hurry. In one lap, the duo charged to the front, with Edwards taking the lead just as the white flag flew. 

Keselowski later said it was not his intention to crash Edwards as the two, with a relatively comfortable lead over Ryan Newman and Earnhardt Jr., began to jostle for the win on the front stretch. However, he had to maintain his line to avoid a likely penalty for passing under the double-yellow. The no-passing-for-position under the double yellow rule was introduced in 2001, and though penalties had been issued before, the previous Talladega race was assuredly a consideration in Keselowski choosing to remain above it at the finish of the Aaron’s 499. In the 2008 fall Talladega race, Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart, who appeared to be attempting to block the move, while dipping below the double yellow line on the last lap. Smith was penalized, erasing what would have been his first career win.  

So when Keselowski was faced with a similar predicament the next spring while gunning for his first Cup victory, he stood steady just above the double yellow as Edwards moved down to block his inside move.  

“There was no option,” Keselowski said in a 2020 NASCAR YouTube video. “It was either be black-flagged or go win the race. I chose to go win the race.”  

The subsequent contact spun Edwards, and the No. 99’s rear tires became airborne as Keselowski drove away. Edwards was then struck by Ryan Newman, sending Edwards’ CoT flying above the wall and into the catch fence in a violent crash.  

“For the sport, it was just a jaw-dropping moment,” Keselowski told NBC Sports in 2023.  

Keselowski secured the race win with Edwards, with “shades of Ricky Bobby,” as Mike Joy called it, climbed from his car and ran across the start-finish line to finish the 500-mile race on foot.  

Keselowski’s trip to victory lane following the last-lap dash was his first, and in it he became the first Cup Series driver to win his first race by only leading the last lap. Of course, it was also Phoenix Racing’s only Cup win of the team’s 250-plus races. Miccosukee ended its partnership with Phoenix Racing in the 2010 season as Aric Almirola became its premier driver. After a DNQ for the 2010 Daytona 500 and several start and parks, Almirola left the team. Over the next several seasons, newcomers like Landon Cassill and NASCAR vets, including Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch, and plenty of others drove the No. 51 car over the next several seasons. The team was sold to Turner Scott Motorsports in 2013. 

The win was also vital for Keselowski’s career, he wrote in 2014, noting he was hearing that he needed to perform better or he was going to be out of a ride.  

Edwards’ flight into the catch fence brought about several reactionary changes to both NASCAR rules and Talladega Superspeedway. Several attendees in the stands were hurt after Edwards struck the catch fence, resulting in the Superspeedway increasing the height of its catch fences by 10 feet and reinforcing them.  

NASCAR reacted to the crash by removing the infamous rear wing from the CoT, which had been found to provide aerodynamic lift when cars spun and negated the roof flaps meant to keep cars from becoming airborne, in 2010. The governing body also disallowed bump drafting in the corners at the track.  

Keselowski’s 2009 Aaron’s 499 raced win diecast is also a reminder of the subsequent rivalry between Edwards and Keselowski — a wreck-filled affair — that was tipped off by that race. Most notably, Edwards and Keselowski tangled at Atlanta in 2010. Early in the race, Keselowski and Edwards grappled on a restart, sending Edwards spinning. With Edwards several laps down and the race coming to a conclusion, Edwards clipped Keselowski’s rear quarter panel, sending him around on the front stretch. The CoT wing, which was still on cars at the time, again created lift and sent Keselowski’s car flying before it hit, upside-down, into the wall and catch fence. NASCAR later black-flagged Edwards, ruling he intentionally crashed Keselowski by Edwards’ comments on the radio. Edwards was placed on a three-race probation. 

The feud again came to a head in 2010 at Gateway in the Nationwide Series Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. In the final lap in turn one, Keselowski, who said he was loose entering the corner, made contact with Edwards on the outside. Edwards took issue with the incident. With the duo battling onto the frontstretch, Edward clipped Keselowski’s rear quarter panel, sending him into the outside wall and across the track where he was violently hit with several other cars wrecked in the incident.  

“We came here to win, and [Keselowski] took it from us in turn one,” Edwards said following the race. “I couldn’t let him take from me. I had to do what I had to do.”  

Brad’s father, Bob Keselowski, told ESPN after the race, “Carl flipped out again like he did at Atlanta, tried to kill the kid. I’m sick and tired of this. I’ll get my own damn uniform back on and take care of this. He ain’t going to kill my boy.”  

The Keselowski-Edwards rivalry eventually fizzled out, notably with the two both joining the Ford ranks and Keselowski earning the 2012 Cup Series championship. Still, Keselowski’s 2009 Miccosukee ride represents its genesis. 

Keselowski’s 2009 Aaron’s 499 raced win had a production run of 1,269 non-autographed units, 1,035 autographed versions and 240 Elite autographed models. Landing any option commands a significant wallet punch. As of this writing, four 1/24 Keselowski Talladega winners, all non-autographed versions, were sold on eBay in the previous three months. All commanded between $200 to $300. Considering the NASCAR history associated with the diecast, it’s no surprise Keselowski’s 2009 Aaron’s 499 raced win 1/24 diecast is a Holy Grail.