Last year, both RFK Racing drivers missed the playoffs and ended the season outside of the top-20 points.
2023 has been a huge step in the right direction, with both Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher making the cut. They each advanced into the Round of 12 before Keselowski was ultimately eliminated, but Buescher remains in contention.
The driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang went on a hot streak towards the end of the regular season, winning three races in six weeks. Previously, he had just two wins throughout his entire career.
Once in the playoffs, he's been quiet but consistent. The only real blemish was a tire failure late in the race at Kansas.
He's now closer to a Cup title than he has ever been before, so does anything change about the approach as he enters Race #33 of the 36-race season?
“No, nothing really different," he said in a media availability this week. "I’ve gotten a lot of congratulations and a lot of keep it ups. That’s pretty much been it. I think for us we’ve been in a good spot through every single round that if we can keep that up, we’re gonna be right there at the opportunity to make that final cut. Nothing really new. I think at this point we’ve probably worn out our welcome from a lot of people that would have given advice before now probably aren’t going to at this point as we’ve been able to get this far, so in a lot of ways we’re keeping with the status quo. What we know has gotten us to this point. Again, we’ve been in a good spot through every cut off through to the playoffs thus far and I think we’re very capable of making it into this next one. We certainly have that long shot ability to go to Phoenix and be a contender for this thing.”
He later added: "To me, I think we’re not a point where we can be ignored anymore. We’ve made it a long way this season. We’ve outrun a lot of what were considered favorites from the get-go on the year and we’ve done that and outrun them very consistently through the second half of the season and even a little more so, so, to me, like I said I don’t know what everyone else is feeling, but I would say you’re gonna have a hard time finding somebody that’s not aware that we’re in this round and that we have an opportunity to make it to the next one.”
Four former Cup champions and three of last year's Championship 4 drivers are already out of title contention. Buescher and Team Penske's Ryan Blaney are the only Ford drivers left in the hunt.
This is uncharted territory for Buescher. He's made the playoffs only once before in 2016, and was eliminated in the very first round. He's won a championship in both the NASCAR Xfinity and ARCA Menard's Series, but neither of those were with a playoff format.
He could be champion at the top level of the sport in just over a month, the first for RFK in nearly two decades. However, he could just as easily be eighth — or worse — in the final standings.
"There’s a lot riding on them," said Buescher, speaking on the final four races. "I’ve not been a part of a championship run with a playoff scenario. Both the ARCA and Xfinity championships were a traditional run through the end of the year, which meant that we were able to have strong years, win races, build up a big points gap and get to that final race and really had it pretty easy, knowing that it was mid-teens was all we had to finish. There were no stages at that time. It was a much simpler form – just as hard, but a much simpler form of understanding when you got down to the last couple of races, so, yeah, in that regard I am very new to this.
"I’ve watched it unfold year over year and we’re glad to be a part of it this go-round. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing to say it right now, but we’re driving off the hood pin. I’ve talked about that being very bad for a lot of different scenarios through the years and I’ve criticized drivers that I’ve watched run straight into accidents because they were doing it during a race, but what I mean by that is we’re very focused on what’s immediately ahead of us. I have not thought about Phoenix whatsoever at this point. I’ve thought about Vegas and I’ve given a little bit of thought to Homestead, but it’s very much what’s immediately out front of us, how do we make this weekend the best to set us up for the next one because whatever happens this weekend can dictate what needs to happen next. It’s a little different in that sense that you wouldn’t look at that.
"In 2015 when we raced for the Xfinity championship it was ‘all right, where are we at now and where do we need to be when we get to Homestead.’ So it’s a lot different, but, for us, it’s not changing our approach to the weeks. I understand there’s a lot more on the line, but it’s not changing what we need to accomplish during a race weekend.”
