04/05/2023
RFK Advance | Bristol Dirt
Bristol Dirt Event Info:
Track Info: Bristol Motor Speedway, 1/2-mile short track
Date: Sunday, April 9
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Bristol, Tennessee
Format: 250 laps, 125.5 miles, Stages: 75-75-100
TV: FOX
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Weekend Schedule:
Friday: 6:35 p.m. ET, Practice (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Friday: 8:32 p.m. ET, Final Practice (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 6 p.m. ET, Qualifying Races Begin (FS2, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 7 p.m. ET, Race (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: King’s Hawaiian
- April is designated as Month of the Military Child (MOMC), a time to celebrate the resiliency and strength of children within military families. Brad Keselowski and the Checkered Flag Foundation (CFF) will recognize MOMC by featuring the name of military children in purple letters – the official color of MOMC – above the passenger side door on the No. 6 Ford.
- Names will appear on the name rail for each of the April races – Richmond, Bristol, Martinsville, Talladega and Dover. Part of CFF’s mission is to honor military members and their families who all make sacrifices.
- This week’s featured names are Kinlee and Saylor Reagan.
17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal
Pace Laps:
- The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Bristol Dirt this weekend for the third time as teams prepare for 250 laps under the lights on Easter Sunday.
- Racing on dirt brings a lot of changes, including format for the weekend. Cup cars will practice a full 50 minutes on Friday, then have a final 15-minute session to cap the evening. Saturday features 15-lap heat races with the field split up amongst four qualifying races that will ultimately determine the starting lineup for Sunday.
- RFK is the most recent organization to win at Bristol as the team dominated the Bristol Night Race last fall and Chris Buescher earned his second Cup series victory.
Keselowski at Bristol Dirt
Starts: 2
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
- Keselowski makes his third start on the Bristol Dirt this weekend, coming off two-straight finishes of 11th in the first two iterations of the dirt event at ‘The World’s Fastest Half Mile.’
- Last season Keselowski started 18th and went on to finish 11th in a race that saw multiple starts and stops due to rain. A year prior he finished 11th after starting 20th.
- Overall at Bristol – not on dirt – Keselowski has three wins in 24 starts with an average finish of 16.7.
Buescher at Bristol Dirt
Starts: 2
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
- Buescher makes his third start on the dirt at Bristol on Sunday, where last year he finished 15th, and in 2021 finished 14th.
- Buescher heads to BMS as the defending winner of the defending Bristol night race winner last fall, where he led 169 laps en route to his second Cup Series victory.
- Overall at Bristol, minus the dirt, Buescher has 13 starts on the concrete with three top-10s.
RFK Historically at Bristol Dirt
Cup Wins: —
- Runner Up: RFK’s storied history at Bristol began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 NCS car earning a second-place finish. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 11 NCS wins at the track, RFK Fords have finished second at Bristol on 15 occasions (7 NCS, 4 NXS, 4 NCTS).
- History and Hot Streaks at “Thunder Valley”: RFK’s history at Bristol has been one of hot streaks, including trips to victory lane in 10 of the last 21 seasons at the famed short track. RFK swept the track in 2003 and put a NCS car in victory lane at least once in every season from 2002-2008.
- Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 219 NCS races at Bristol, recording 12 total wins with 51 top-five and 89 top-10 finishes. RFK Fords have an average finish of 15.9 with 3674 laps led all-time.
RFK Bristol Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-1 Burton NXS
1998-2 Martin Cup
2002-1 Busch Cup
2003-1 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2003-2 Busch Cup
2004-1 Busch Cup
2004 Edwards Truck
2005-2 Kenseth Cup
2006-2 Kenseth Cup
2006 Martin Truck
2006-2 Kenseth NXS
2007-1 Edwards NXS
2007-2 Edwards Cup
2008-2 Edwards Cup
2009-2 Ragan NXS
2014 -1 Edwards Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Richmond: Brad Keselowski drove to his third top-10 of the season Sunday at Richmond, earning a P10 finish in the Solomon Plumbing Ford after starting from the 24th position. Chris Buescher fell behind early and unfortunately couldn’t make up the ground to finish 30th.
Points Standings (6: 10th, 17: 15th): Keselowski remains in the top-10 in points with a decent cushion to those behind him, while Buescher is 15th heading into the second quarter of the season.
By the Numbers at Bristol Dirt
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
4 0 1 1 0 1006 0 14.5 11.3 503
4 0 1 1 0 1006 0 14.5 11.3 503
