09/01/2023

Rejuvenated – RFK Racing Rides Wave of Momentum into NASCAR Playoffs  

Rejuvenated – RFK Racing Rides Wave of Momentum into NASCAR Playoffs  
RFK Enters 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Having Won Three of the Last Five Races  

CONCORD, N.C. (Aug. 29, 2023) – RFK Racing enters the 2023 playoffs as the hottest team in NASCAR and with both its Ford Mustangs in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that kick off this weekend at Darlington Raceway (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, USA).  

Both cars in the playoffs was always the expectation though, at least within the walls of RFK’s shop. It’s been now nearly two years since Brad Keselowski joined the fold as co-owner and driver for one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. If you ask Keselowski, the road to the return has has not always been smooth, even with highlights of success along the way.  

“No doubt, 2022 was taxing,” Keselowski said. “It was frustrating mentally and everybody gets down on themselves, but that’s just part of the deal, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Of course, we were not happy that we didn’t make the playoffs last year, but we knew we had a lot of work to do.  

“There’s only so long you can cry in your own milk,” added Keselowski. “You have to pick yourself up and get going eventually. We’ve made a lot of changes to our people and to our processes, and we’ve added resources, and all of those things came together collectively for 2023 to get us to this point where we have both cars in the playoffs.”  

Through the regular season – a 26-race stretch – RFK finished fifth (Keselowski) and sixth (Buescher) in the points standings. Pair that with the fact that RFK is the top team across its Ford Performance competitors, and that adds to the success story.  

Chris Buescher has won four times in the past 12 months – on four unique types of tracks – the most recent coming at Daytona in the regular-season finale.   

It marked the third win in five weeks for Buescher, who is now tied for the second-most wins of any driver. All season long, RFK has been in the mix and heads into the playoffs with solid seeding as Buescher is fourth in the re-seeded standings, with the No. 6 team ninth.  

Keselowski’s consistency all season earned him the top position among drivers without a regular-season win. He improved his average finish by six spots alone, and out-ranks all of his 2022 statistics with still 10 races remaining.  

For Buescher, in addition to the three wins, he has surpassed career highs in every statistical category, including top fives (six), top-10s (12), laps led (231) and a stellar average finish of 12.2. It is Buescher’s second-career playoffs appearance, and the ninth for Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Champion.  

If the season to date thus far is any indication, buckle up, because RFK is not just in the playoffs. The team looks to be a relevant player for the championship; continuing to build on the current wave of momentum.    

“Being relevant is great, and we want to get into that contender status, and we want to be in a spot where both cars are a threat to win the championship – that elite status,” Keselowski added. “The progress we’ve seen has been very pleasing, but we’re not satisfied. We know we have more potential than this, we know that to keep making runs for the championship, we have to keep growing, but you have to like the progress.”  

About RFK Racing 
RFK Racing, in its 36th season in 2023, 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, brings to the team a championship mindset himself having won the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Championship. 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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