RFK RACING
KANSAS SPEEDWAY – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Date: September 27, 2026
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway (1.5 mile D-shaped oval) – Kansas City, KS
Format: 400.5 miles / 267 laps with three stages. Stage 1: Ends at lap 80, Stage 2: Ends at lap 165, Stage 3: Ends at lap 267
**NOTES: Qualifying was canceled due to weather. The starting order was established by the rule book.
RFK RACING RACE SUMMARY: Ryan Preece has been nearly a perfect ten during the 2026 Chase. His tenth place finish at Kansas, led the Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing group, and continued his strong Championship drive which has now consisted of tenth place finishes in all but one of the four Chase races thus far. Brad Keselowski, overcame a close call as he avoided getting collected in a multi-car incident to score a stage points with a tenth place finish in Stage Two. In his first race with newly appointed crew chief, Mike Skarbowski, Keselowski finished 12th. Chris Buescher’s day took a tough turn when he suffered front end damage in the Stage Two incident. Repairs were made and Buescher rallied for a 23rd place finish.
DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS
Ryan Preece – No. 60 Dillon’s / Celsius Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finish: 10th
Start: 9th
Laps Led: —
Stage Results: S1-13th, S2-14th
Headline takeaway: Long runs and effective adjustments were the key to another strong day for Ryan Preece. Crew Chief Derrick Finley consistently found ways to give Preece the feel he needed and as long runs wore on the car improved. His tenth place finish was his tenth top-10 this season.
Preece Quote: “I thought Derrick Finley executed really well at the end and was able to get us a few spots on the pit cycle and the Celsius Ford Mustang was about 10th place today,” said Preece. “We trying to manage tires the way we could to make sure we got to the end of a run was important and all you do is count the laps and understand who you’re racing behind to capitalize on the finish.”
Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finish: 12th
Start: 16th
Laps Led: —
Stage Results: S1-17, S2-10
Headline takeaway: Brad Keselowski and new crew chief Mike Skarbowski had a strong first outing. Showing veteran poise, Keselowski took evasive action, diving to the inside lane to avoid a Stage Two multicar accident directly in front of him. Avoiding damage, he went on to finish 12th.
Keselowski Quote: (On the Stage Two incident) “I don’t know. The cars in front of me got together and I really didn’t see it,” said Keselowski. “Overall, we were really pleased with our speed today. We ran really strong. It was a great start to a new era with crew chief Mike Skarbowski. He made good calls and it was a solid day.”
Chris Buescher – No. 17 Castrol / Heathwood Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Finish: 23rd
Start: 12th
Laps Led: —
Stage Results: S1-14th, S2-24th
Headline takeaway: Chris Buescher was caught up in an unavoidable multi-car incident in Stage Two, suffering front end damage. Despite that impacting handling, Buescher fought through it, continuing to race hard, finishing 23rd.
Buescher Quote: “The damage from the mid race incident put us behind a good amount so we tried to take this Castrol Ford Mustang and worked on it. But we kind of found ourselves trapped in the mid twenties so it was hard to get going,” said Buescher. “We didn’t have the Kansas that we wanted. We’ve been so good here in the past, today it didn’t quite come together.”
Point Standings:
Preece: 14th
Buescher: 15th
Keselowski:18th
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is October 4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5 Mile D-shaped oval – Las Vegas, NV). The race begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA Sports and the Performance Racing Network.
About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 39th season in 2026, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit https://www.rfkracing.com/ and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.
