When Brad Keselowski joined RFK Racing as a driver-co-owner, a lot of people felt like he was making a mistake. The veteran was running consistently well with Team Penske over the years and RFK was not the team it used to be.
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However, the 2012 Cup Series champion has proven to be a talisman for Jack Roush’s organization. At Darlington earlier this year, Keselowski won his first race in three years and booked his place in the playoffs. The way things are going, his gamble might have paid off.
The first season with RFK was not one to remember. The #6 driver did not win a single race and failed to make the playoffs. He finished P24 on points to cap off a dismal year. The improvements started showing during his second season with the team. He might not have won a race but teammate Chris Buescher won thrice. The team also earned a 1-2 finish at Daytona. Now in his third year, Keselowski is finally an RFK race winner and looks the most competitive in his time with the team.
He snaps a 110-race winless streak at Darlington. Brad Keselowski gets it done for Ford's first victory of 2024.@ReganSmith | #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/J086pcxazi
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 12, 2024
“Now we’re in the third season. We’re having a slightly better year than we had last year in 2023 with having a win, where last year we didn’t have a win. I feel like we’re more competitive in some ways. More importantly, I feel like we’re a lot more prepared for the playoffs than we were last year,” he said in a media interaction.
Both RFK cars made it to the round of 16 in 2023 but could not go too far into the playoffs. Keselowski hopes that this season, at least one of his cars makes it to the championship race in Phoenix. That is a tall order considering the competition but it would be an incredible achievement.
Can Buescher hold on to his playoff spot?
While the #6 car has confirmed its spot in the final 16, the same cannot be said of the #17 Dark Horse Mustang. Buescher currently sits above the playoff cutline but only just. He is 44 points to the good in P15. However, a new race winner in the remainder of the regular season will put his position in jeopardy. There are several racers below him with race-winning potential. However, his boss has faith that both cars will do well in the playoffs.
“I think we’ll have a better playoff run than we did last year. I can’t remember, we finished seventh and eighth in the points with our two cars last year. I think we realistically have a shot at getting both cars in that round of eight and one of the cars in the championship round,” – Brad Keselowski.
It was in this part of the regular season last year that Buescher and RFK Racing hit a purple patch of form and won three races. The #17 driver will be hoping for the same this year to solidify his place in the playoffs for the second straight year.
