04/07/2025

Darlington Recap

Buescher’s Solid Darlington Day Paces the Field for RFK Racing

Chris Buescher 6th, Ryan Preece 26th & Brad Keselowski 33rd

Darlington, SC (April 6, 2025) – Chris Buescher continued his consistent 2025 season, once again recording a top-10 finish, leading all Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing teams at the Track Too Tough to Tame. Ryan Preece, who started on the front row, and Brad Keselowski both had extremely fast cars but were faced with obstacles at Darlington on Sunday.

No. 17 – Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher entered Sunday confidently, rolling off from the 14th starting position. Quickly, Buescher established the Fifth Third Bank Ford as one of the field’s strongest race cars. In just ten laps, he picked up 6 spots.

Throughout Stage One, the No. 17 was lightning fast and nimble. Buescher moved to fourth with a three-wide pass, overtaking Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric on lap 33. He ended the first segment with a 4th place Stage One finish.

Stage Two forced Buescher to overcome some misfortune. While running 4th, he made a green flag pit stop. Only a handful of laps later, a caution waved, allowing others to pit under yellow, which trapped the No. 17 a lap down. Buescher, however, was the first car a lap down and received the free pass.

Buescher finished Stage Two in 13th, but his car had plenty of speed left for the final stage. He restarted 10th and, like the early laps, started his way toward the front. He recorded a 6th place finish, his 5th top-10 of the season. He’s currently 11th in the standings.

“We had a lot of speed today,” said Buescher. “Once that caution fell, it just trapped us. We spent the rest of the race trying to get that track position back. We got it at the end. We were able to move forward a little more on that final restart, but overall, a good day.”

No. 60 – Ryan Preece
Riding a streak of three consecutive top-10 finishes, Ryan Preece had momentum heading into Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway. That energy carried into qualifying, where the Kroger / Country Crock Ford was the second fastest overall.

Starting on the outside pole, Preece was confident. Before the green flag flew, he radioed his team, saying, “Let’s be the car that everyone is chasing today.” For much of the race’s first stage, that was practically the case. Preece ran with the leaders for the first 90 laps and completed Stage One with a third-place result, earning valuable stage points.

Stage Two proved to have some challenges. A mid-stage green flag pit stop was followed closely by a caution, trapping the No. 60 a lap down, although only briefly. Soon after, Preece was the free pass recipient and was back on the lead lap.

However, lost track position proved difficult to regain. Preece battled and got as high as 9th before the car developed a tight condition. He finished 26th, allowing him to move up one position in the standings to 13th.

No. 6 – Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski entered Sunday aiming to do what he did one year ago: win at Darlington. The defending race winner rolled off 20th and immediately displayed long-run speed. Steadily, the Castrol Seven Critical Areas Ford climbed through the field. By the end of Stage One, he had become an obvious contender, gaining 14 positions to finish that segment 6th.

With one of the fastest cars he has had this year, Keselowski opened Stage Two strong, continuing to run with the top-10. At lap 132, green flag pit stops occurred. Shortly after that 4-tire stop, the right rear wheel began to vibrate, leading to a spin and flat tire. Keselowski was forced to battle from two laps down.

As the race wore on, the No. 6 team raced hard, seeking opportunities to get laps back. The team continued to adjust on the car, and Keselowski kept running fast laps, but the rhythm of the race did not provide chances to get free passes, and Keselowski was forced to settle for a 33rd place finish. He now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway, where he is a three-time winner.