Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing has been holding its own in the Cup Series. But the outfit still has a mountain to climb before it can compete with powerhouses like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, or even Team Penske.
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Keselowski was recently asked about how the introduction of the Next Gen cars was supposed to level the playing field, yet only three organizations now appear to receive the lion’s share of factory support. What should RFK do to join that club?
Keselowski’s answer hit the nail on the head. “Get more factory support,” he said.
“That’s the game right now. It’s, you know, you want to be tier one at your OEM, and there’s only room, it seems like, for one of the end of each OEM, and that’s what you’re seeing happen,” added the 41-year-old.
Keselowski further reflected on the possibility of his team becoming Ford’s number one priority. “Oh, you never know how things are going to play out. I would say that we don’t have any active discussions along those lines,” he said
“So, but the sport is about persistence. And I’m out here with our company, and we’re being persistent, [with] driving performance. You ask just about, you know, how I feel about our teams being 17, 18, 19th. You know, I think we’re in line for, and we clearly could demonstrate a case that if we can get more support, we could be a top-tier team,” added the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.
Two seasons ago, RFK made waves when Chris Buescher stole the show by winning three regular-season races at Richmond, Michigan, and Daytona, mostly aided by Keselowski’s teamwork from behind. Last year, Buescher kept the fire burning with a hard-fought win at Watkins Glen after edging out Shane van Gisbergen. But his playoff bid fell short as he finished the season in 17th place.
This year, despite notching five top-five and 16 top-10 finishes, the No. 17 driver again found himself sitting just outside the playoff bubble in 17th place.
Keselowski, on the other hand, had punched his ticket to the postseason last year with a win at Darlington, only to bow out after the Round of 12, finishing in 13th place. This season, victory stayed out of reach, though he has logged five top-five and ten top-10 finishes, which placed him 20th in the standings.
Meanwhile, RFK’s latest addition, Ryan Preece, has hit the ground running. After moving from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, Preece has delivered three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. His best this year was a P3 at Las Vegas.
Judging by the numbers and on-track consistency, an uptick in factory or OEM support could be just what the RFK Racing needs to move up the pecking order. With deeper backing, the team might soon have three drivers capable of running at the sharp end of the field week in and week out.
