RFK Racing pushes to put both cars in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs

LEBANON, Tenn. — With cars ranked 11th (Chris Buescher) and 12th (Brad Keselowski) in the championship standings, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team co-owner Keselowski said he was optimistic about the pair‘s chances of qualifying for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. But he acknowledges it‘s a big step for the team.

Although both drivers and their teams are still looking for that first trophy of 2023, they have combined for six top fives (three each) and 13 top-10 finishes (Buescher, seven and Keselowski, six) — a huge improvement over last season leading up to this 10-race push to the postseason.

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Keselowski has already equaled his top-10 total of a year ago — with 20 races remaining. And his three top fives exceed the lone top five he posted in 2022. Similarly, Buescher‘s three top-five finishes equal his 2022 season total, and his seven top 10s are well within the 10 top 10s he had a year ago.

“We‘ve got some good vibes going,‘‘ said the 2012 series champion Keselowski, who will start Sunday‘s race 24th. “Chris is on a really big hot streak. He‘s run really well here the last three or four races and been in contention to win. He won a stage in the Coke 600, won part of the All-Star Race and ran really good at Sonoma, just really good energy there, making their way up in the points. A lot of excitement there.

“Been up and down with my car, the 6 car and felt like we were really strong at Charlotte and not as good as I‘d like to be a couple other places. But either way, it‘s better to be in than to be out, looking in. But we‘re not as comfortable as we‘d like to be. We‘d like to have wins. That‘s really what the sport is about.

“We‘ve done a great job elevating ourselves from irrelevant to relevant, but I don‘t want to stop there. We‘ve got another step to take.‘‘