After Brad Keselowski ended his winless streak in NASCAR with a win at Darlington, a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. That result was no fluke, as Roush Fenway Keselowski has proven over the past six weeks.
While Keselowski is the only RFK driver with a win this season, Chris Buescher could easily have a few of his own. The driver of the No. 17 Ford came within inches of Kansas in the closest finish in NASCAR history. He appeared to have victory in hand the following week at Darlington, only to be eliminated by Tyler Reddick.
Buescher has a pair of runner-up finishes this season, but he and Keselowski have been on fire lately. In five of the last six races, at least one has finished 1st or 2nd. Brad has four of those five, a feat he hasn’t accomplished since the 2018 season.
It was a brutal start to the year for Keselowski, with a pair of 33rd-place finishes in the Daytona 500 and Atlanta the following week. He bounced back with two top-five finishes at Phoenix and Bristol and earned his third second-place finish last weekend in the May 26 race at Charlotte.
Brad earned eight top-five finishes in his first two full seasons at RFK Racing. He has six of them in the first 14 races this season.
The next two weeks will be revealing for this organization, with races at the World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway) and the Sonoma road course. Neither driver led a lap or finished in the top ten at Gateway. Both have led laps at Sonoma, but have average finishing positions of 14.1 (Buescher) and 16.1 (Keselowski). Buescher has done well the last two years at Sonoma, finishing second and fourth.
In terms of total points scored in the last five races, Keselowski has totaled 181, second only to team owner Denny Hamlin (185). Before this series of results, Keselowski was 18th in the points standings, but he is now in ninth place heading into Gateway.
Ford Dark Horse Mustang Upgrade
One of the key stories this season has been Ford’s lack of performance. The Dark Horse Mustang’s new bodywork was heavily promoted during the offseason, but failed to deliver results. That changed once Keselowski won the Southern 500 at Darlington, the 13th race of the season.
The team also spent some time testing in Iowa, where the series will compete for the first time on June 16.
While RFK Racing has turned things around, other Ford teams have also shown progress. Noah Gragson has been the only bright spot at Stewart Haas Racing, which announced earlier this week that it will close at the end of this season.
Front Row Motorsports, which purchased one of SHR’s four available charters this week, has also shown flashes of potential. The speed of a single car has not been the problem, since they have stood out in the classification. Putting together the right race setup has been the challenge.
Expansion of the RFK racing menu
Cards will continue to be an important topic in the future. NASCAR is still trying to determine what the future will look like. Teams will be limited to a maximum of three cars starting next season. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing will be vested along with their four.
The opportunity for two-car teams to expand is now. Front Row has already done this and Trackhouse, Legacy Motor Club and 23XI Racing are expected to follow suit. Neither of those teams are currently Ford programs, which would seemingly give RFK an advantage when it comes to negotiations with SHR.
Keselowski has always been patient and it looks like he will do the same in this scenario. A third letter might seem like the next step, but he told PRN’s Garage Pass that they’re not close. “We’re certainly always keeping an eye on the ground, but I don’t think we have anything that we’re in a position to talk about or that I would consider close.”
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