The fight for a place in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is heating up, and RFK Racing is right at the center of the storm.
Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece are scrapping for the 16th and final spot on the playoff grid. Brad Keselowski, a former champion and co-owner of the team, is still on the outside looking in — but his near-win Sunday at Iowa Speedway might be the clearest sign yet that a breakthrough is imminent.
Keselowski swept the first two stages at Iowa and had the No. 6 Ford in prime position to win before fuel strategy and a flurry of cautions swung the race in William Byron’s favor. Byron managed to stretch his fuel an incredible 144 laps and held on to win, while Keselowski had to settle for third.
“We had an opportunity today, but yeah, it’s disappointing to not be able to get the win,” said Keselowski. “We put ourselves in position. We can’t control what we can’t control, and we need to focus on what we can. We couldn’t control all the yellows that shifted the dynamics of the race today away from us. It’s unfortunate, but I love the position we were in and the speed that we had.”
The pivotal moment came during Stage 2. As Byron, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott pitted under green, Keselowski stayed out hoping for a caution. That caution came on Lap 171 when Shane van Gisbergen spun, catching the pitting drivers a lap down and giving Keselowski a temporary edge.
But the floodgates opened after SVG’s incident. Ten more yellows followed between Laps 181 and 282, shaking up the field and ultimately helping Byron recover and take control.
“He did a great job,” Keselowski said of Byron. “He caught all the breaks and he took the opportunity and maximized it. He deserves credit for that. That’s what this sport’s about. You got to be fast, you got to execute, and you got to have some luck, and they did all three today.”
Ryan Preece also benefited from the SVG caution. After running outside the top 25 early, the driver of the No. 60 car charged through the field on restarts, using the high line to maximum effect.
“We were struggling in dirty air, and I think Derrick knew the easiest way to make up spots is on restarts,” Preece said, referring to his crew chief Derrick Finley. “We had a pretty badass one there when I think we went from 26th to 12th in about two corners. I don’t really know what the actual number was, but we did our job there. He gave me a great car to stick it where I needed to, and that was fun.”
Preece eventually climbed to third with a shot at the win. But the car faded during the long green-flag run to the finish, and he crossed the line in fifth.
“Once we settled in and we got about 20 laps into that run, I just started getting really loose,” Preece said. “Brad caught me. Figured, even though I hate losing another spot in the points, I knew it was the right thing to do with how fast he was at the time and how many laps he led. Ultimately, still a good finish from how it started. I thought we were going to run in 28th to 30th, and had a little bit of luck. Got a break on that caution, and then some good adjustments gave us the opportunity to have a solid day.”
Preece made it clear that giving up a spot to Keselowski was not something he would have done lightly.
“I want to do the best thing I can for him and do what’s right for the company,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do for the situation we were in. If I didn’t get as loose as I did and I felt like I could challenge the 19 or the 24 for the win, yeah, I would’ve raced the shit out of him. But at that point in time, it was damage control and try to not lose more time to anybody behind us.”
Buescher, meanwhile, had a rough day. He finished 22nd and saw his cushion over Preece for the final playoff spot shrink to just 23 points.
Watkins Glen is up next, and Buescher heads there as the defending race winner. The pressure will only increase as the playoff field begins to solidify.
Keselowski, once buried outside the top 30 in points, has clawed his way back into contention. He now sits 21st in the standings and has three more chances to lock in a win.
“I just feel like we can win any of these next three races, and that’s a good feeling,” Keselowski said. “Can’t take anything for granted. Ultimately, we need to get wins, and I think we all know that.”
For Preece, Iowa marked his 10th top 10 of the year and another building block in his best Cup season yet. But until he wins or clinches his playoff spot on points, it’s all just potential.
“I think if we continue to do what we did at the end of this race and throughout the race, we’ll have our day,” Preece said.
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