09/04/2023
RFK Racing Kicks off NASCAR Playoffs with Strong Showing at Darlington
RFK Racing Kicks off NASCAR Playoffs with Strong Showing at Darlington
Buescher, Keselowski finish 3rd and 6th at Track Too Tough to Tame
Darlington, S.C. (September 3, 2023) – RFK Racing scored a pair of top-10 finishes to kick off the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs in grand fashion during Sunday Night’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Chris Buescher continued to ride his recent wave of speed and momentum, collecting his fifth finish of 7th or better in the last six races with a strong 3rd place effort.
RFK Racing driver/co-owner Brad Keselowski brought his Solomon Plumbing Ford home in the 6th position – his 12th top-10 finish of the season. The finishes marked the seventh time this season both RFK Fords have finished top-10, with both finishes placing Buescher and Keselowski in solid position to advance to the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs.
“It was really good,” said Buescher who ran just behind the top two finishers as the laps wound down in the 500-mile event. “This BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang was strong. I’m really proud of everybody on this team. This is the first time we’ve had BuildSubmarines.com on board. I know Brad has had it several times, but I’m proud to have a bunch of them out here with us and to get a good, solid day. It just goes to show that what we’ve been doing at RFK the last several months is doing a good job, working hard and getting the results.”
“It was a solid day for us,” said Keselowski, who powered his way through the field after pitting late in the race. “We scored a lot of points and showed some strength from 3rd to 6th with our two cars. We got up to I think 4th there with 30 to go when that yellow came out and we pitted and we thought a whole bunch of cars would pit and they didn’t. That dropped us back to 17th or 18th and we were able to get back up to sixth.”
Yesterday night also marked a career-high finish for Chris Buescher at Darlington, and his second straight top-10 at the famed track. Keselowski secured his 11th career top-10 finish at the Track Too Tough to Tame.
“We worked hard and our team did a great job,” added Buescher. “The pit crew really stepped up in the final half of this race and got us a bunch of spots that put us up front and put us in a great spot to fight for it at least. It hurts just a little bit to be that close and not be able to get it.”
With two races left in the first round of the playoffs (Kansas, Sept. 10th and Bristol, Sept. 16th), both RFK Racing cars currently sit above the cutoff line to advance into the Round of 12. Chris Buescher sits 4th in the playoff standings with a 27-point advantage over the cutoff line, while Brad Keselowski holds the 8th position, 18 points above.
Kansas Raceway plays host to the second race of the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs next weekend. Race coverage Sunday is set for 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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