02/03/2025
Buescher Leads Strong RFK Effort with Top-10 Finish at Bowman Gray Clash
Buescher Leads Strong RFK Effort with Top-10 Finish at Bowman Gray Clash
Preece Finishes 11th, Keselowski Rounds Out RFK Fords in 21st after late-race accident
WINSTON-SALEM (Feb. 2, 2025) – Highlighted by Chris Buescher’s top-10 finish, all three RFK Racing Fords showed flashes throughout the 200-lap NASCAR Clash. Buescher, who was dominate in Saturday’s heat race, started from the front row and ran with the leaders much of the night, finishing 10th with new teammate Ryan Preece finishing on his bumper in 11th. Brad Keselowski ran inside the top-5 much of the night before being relegated to 21st after a late-race incident.
6 Recap
Amidst an electric atmosphere at the historic Bowman Gray Stadium Sunday night Keselowski rolled off 5th. The Build Submarines Ford ran with the leaders for more than half the race. Close quarters racing though led to contact with Bubba Wallace on lap 120 that dropped him to the back of the field. The No. 6 team ended the night 21st.
“We showed a lot of potential early on, but we got spun there with 75 to go and really never had a chance to recover,” said Keselowski. “We were solid. Just a 5th to 10th place car the whole day. We tried to get a little bit more but overall, a good debut outing for a team that’s had a lot of changes.”
Keselowski began the race with a disciplined veteran approach, remaining glued to the inside line. Chase Briscoe challenged for position to no avail as the Build Submarines Ford held the spot. Keselowski patiently worked the bottom groove the entire first half, maintaining the 5th position until half-time where crew chief Jeremy Bullins called only for minor adjustments.
Keselowski earned his way into Sunday’s feature with a strong qualifying effort. After the posting the fifth overall fastest time in final practice, he started on the outside pole for the first heat race. Determined he worked the outside groove early, eventually rooting his way to the bottom to a finishing second in his heat race.
17 Recap
Chris Buescher finished 10th in Sunday night’s NASCAR season-opening Clash. Buescher started the race second – after dominating his Saturday-night heat race – and ran the bulk of the 200-lap event inside the top four; where the No. 17 Tree Top Ford was running at the race’s halfway point.
“We put ourselves in a good position there at the start of the race by winning our heat yesterday, and overall, I thought the car was solid,” Buescher said. “I’m really proud of our guys and their effort, and we’ll look to carry this momentum into Daytona weekend.”
After a caution on lap 120, Buescher started on the outside and made a strong move for the lead, before getting shuffled back to third on lap 122. Stuck on the outside, his Tree Top Ford continued to lose grip as the race progressed. Unable to carry enough speed through the corner, Buescher would eventually settle for the top-10 finish.
60 Recap
Making his RFK Racing debut this weekend, Ryan Preece started 12th and made a solid first impression. The short-track ace battled through traffic and adversity to post a solid 11th-place finish. This, after recovering from grazing the wall in the race’s first half. Though mostly cosmetic, the incident dropped him to 19th. Determined, Preece drove back through the field and nearly cracked the top-10.
Preece started the race with an aggressive surge to the front, passing two cars on the outside to move into the top-10. The outside was his preferred line much of the first half before being bitten by the safer barrier on lap 28. After scraping the wall, Preece fell to 19th before the mid-race break. Although battle scarred, the Fastenal Ford escaped without any major damage and the team was able to make adjustments to salvage an 11th-place result.
“We definitely made a lot of good adjustments on the stop. We headed in the right direction. We didn’t get it all but certainly made it better,” Preece said.
During Saturday’s practice and qualifying, Preece showed early speed. He posted the second fastest lap-time during the weekend’s first practice. He followed that with a strong run in his heat race, starting sixth and working his way to a solid third place finish.
Up Next
The Daytona 500 officially kicks off the 2025 season on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Daytona International Speedway. Track action begins that Wednesday night (Feb. 12) with a practice session set for 10 a.m. ET, and qualifying later that night at 8 p.m. ET. The duels are set for Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET, along with a pair of practice sessions on Friday and Saturday.
About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 38th season in 2025, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.
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