RFK Racing Shows Speed, Buescher Leads Team with 18th at Texas
Chris Buescher 18th, Brad Keselowski 28th, & Ryan Preece 29th
FORT WORTH, TX (May 4, 2025) – Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing showed strong speed throughout Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, with all three cars running near the front at the high-banked 1.5-mile track. However, a late string of cautions led to a chaotic finish, cutting short the days of both Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece. Chris Buescher, despite suffering a flat tire at the end of Stage Two, battled back to lead the RFK trio with a resilient 18th-place finish.
No. 17 – Chris Buescher
The No. 17 team, as they’ve done all season, unloaded a fast Fifth Third Ford Mustang, pacing the first group in 15- and 20-lap averages during practice. Despite being one of the first cars to roll off in qualifying, Buescher laid down a quick lap and secured the 12th starting position for Sunday’s race.
After picking up a few spots on the opening restart, a caution on lap 20 forced crew chief Scott Graves to make the first strategic call of the race. He opted for a two-tire stop, which placed Buescher in third for the ensuing restart. The call paid off, as he finished the stage in fifth place, earning five valuable stage points.
Buescher continued posting some of the fastest laps of the race, keeping pace with Josh Berry and Tyler Reddick as the event neared the halfway point. However, with just five laps remaining in the stage, the No. 17 car blew a right-rear tire coming off Turn 4, which put them a lap down and forced unscheduled repairs on pit road.
He finished the second stage in 34th, but the team never quit. They made consistent adjustments during the final stage, allowing Buescher to work his way into the lucky dog position. He gained 11 spots over the final 50 laps to salvage a gritty 18th-place finish.
“Our Fifth Third Ford Mustang was insanely fast today, and it was unfortunate to lose a tire there at the end of stage two,” Buescher said. “The third stage to me, isn’t really indicative of our day overall, because I thought we had a really strong showing.”
No. 6 – Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski had one of his strongest cars of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, showing encouraging speed for the No. 6 team before a late-race incident derailed what had been a solid performance.
Starting 30th, Keselowski and the No. 6 Consumer Cellular Ford made quick progress, gaining 10 spots during the opening stage. He reported over the radio that the car improved on long runs, and it showed as he worked his way up to a 20th-place finish in Stage One.
By lap 115, Keselowski had climbed as high as 17th in Stage Two. A caution for Berry’s spin allowed crew chief Jeremy Bullins to call for a two-tire stop, a move that paid off as Keselowski restarted eighth and maintained position to finish the stage in 17th.
He took four tires to start the final stage and continued to charge forward, eventually cracking the top 10 with 40 laps to go. But on lap 247, Keselowski made contact with the outside wall and spun back into traffic, ending what had been a promising run.
“Really proud of everyone’s effort today, and I thought our Consumer Cellular Ford was really strong today,” Keselowski said. “I was just trying too hard there and really trying to put us in a good position, and unfortunately it didn’t work out for us today.”
No. 60 – Ryan Preece
Ryan Preece showed impressive speed and determination at Texas Motor Speedway, running inside the top 10 for much of the day and continuing a strong campaign for the No. 60 team. Although a late-race incident cut his day short, Preece proved once again that he’s a contender on 1.5-mile tracks.
Starting deep in the field, Preece was the biggest mover in Stage One, charging from 33rd to 14th in the opening 80 laps behind the wheel of his No. 60 Sara Lee/Kraft Singles Ford. His pace was strong from the outset, steadily working his way through the pack.
Quick work on pit road gained him two more positions at the start of Stage Two. Then, following a caution on lap 125, crew chief adjustments and a two-tire strategy paid off, vaulting Preece up 10 spots. He held strong to finish the stage in fourth, adding seven key stage points to his season tally.
He restarted 12th for the final stage and climbed to sixth with just under 60 laps remaining, positioning himself for a potential top-10 finish. However, a caution fell just as he entered pit road for a scheduled stop, which unfortunately trapped the No. 60 car a lap down. Although he was able to take the wave-around, Preece was later involved in a multi-car incident on lap 237 that ended his race early.
“Our team gave me a really strong car today, and it was really unfortunate to have that caution fall when it did in the second stage,” Preece said. “We’ll look forward to next week, and hopefully bring another fast Ford Mustang to Kansas.”
Up Next
Kansas Speedway (Kansas City, KS): Sunday, May 11, 2025, at 3:00 PM ET on FS1
