RFK Racing Puts Two Cars in Top 10 During Rain-Filled Dover Weekend
Buescher 9th; Keselowski 10th; Preece 19th

Dover, DE (July 20, 2025) – After a rain-soaked weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing made a strong late-race push following a 90-minute rain delay with just 14 laps to go. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski drove their way into the top 10, capitalizing on restarts and strategy in the closing laps. Despite being involved in a late incident, Ryan Preece rebounded to finish 19th, capping off a gritty effort by the RFK Racing team.

17 Chris Buescher

Buescher entered Sunday’s race looking to build on past success at the track where he earned his only career Cup Series pole in 2022. Starting in 12th, he slipped to 16th early after reporting cool-suit issues in the pace laps of the 400-mile race. Despite the setback, Buescher stayed focused. After a pit stop during the lap 35 competition caution to address tight handling, he held steady and finished Stage One in 18th.

He gained two spots on pit road but lost four shortly after, stuck on the bottom groove early in Stage Two. Dirty air continued to be a factor, and the cool-suit issue persisted, but still Buescher pressed on. A routine stop and chassis adjustment on lap 184 benefited the No. 17 team some, and he ended the stage in 17th with the hopes of a strong final stage.

In the final segment, Buescher adjusted his line in his Trimble Ford, running a groove higher in the corners to find cleaner air. A caution for rain followed his lap 329 stop while he ran 20th, but he fired off strong on the restart, climbing to 18th. After a red flag due to rain with 14 laps to go Buescher charged forward, taking advantage of multiple race restarts to earn a ninth-place finish, his 11th top-10 this season.

“We got a decent finish out here today with this No. 17 Trimble Ford Mustang and I’m proud of everyone for that,” Buescher said. “We stayed with it all the way until the end. We were really great at the end of the day, and we definitely have a lot to look at and try to get better for next time here.”

6 Brad Keselowski

Keselowski rolled off 15th on Sunday after rain canceled both practice and qualifying, setting the starting lineup by the adjusted metric. He quickly showed speed early in the race, gaining a couple of spots and running inside the top 15 by the competition caution on lap 35. The No. 6 team made adjustments for better front turn on exit, but a pit road shuffle cost him track position, and he restarted 17th, where he finished Stage One.

Stage Two went caution-free, putting an emphasis on long-run speed and pit strategy. Keselowski restarted 21st and fought a loose-handling car throughout the run. However, the team made a wedge adjustment during green-flag stops to help stabilize the balance. Though still battling grip issues, Keselowski stayed consistent and finished the stage in 20th.

In the final stage, he restarted 18th with just over 100 laps to go. As the run progressed, the No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford came to life. Keselowski committed to the bottom lane and steadily worked forward, climbing up to 16th while posting some of the best lap times on track. With 14 laps remaining the race, Keselowski picked up six positions following the red flag and earned his fifth top-10 result of the season.

60 Ryan Preece

Preece started strongest among the RFK trio, rolling off 11th in his No. 60 Castrol Ford. He held steady throughout the opening run but reported to crew chief Derrick Finley that the car needed better front turn through the center of the corners. As dirty air became a factor during the long green-flag stretch, Preece gradually slipped back, losing two positions over the final 70 laps of the stage to finish 14th.

Struggling with grip, the team added four tires and fuel during the stage break, restarting 15th. Preece dropped to 19th on the restart and maintained that position through a pit cycle on lap 184, eventually ending the segment in 18th. However, a longer stop at the stage break allowed the team to make additional adjustments to improve the car’s handling up front.

Restarting as the last car on the lead lap after a longer stop, Preece quickly worked his way forward, climbing to 17th by lap 305 and briefly passing his teammate Buescher. A scheduled stop on lap 326 brought four tires and fuel, but a brief caution for rain just 10 laps later trapped the No. 60 team a lap down. After taking the wave around, Preece fought through a late-race incident and salvaged a hard-earned 19th-place finish.

“We had a solid No. 60 Castrol Ford today, but unfortunately the end didn’t really reflect the speed we had in the car all day,” Preece said. “I’m proud of my guys for continuing to put in the work to make us better, and next weekend should be fun in Indianapolis.”

Up Next:
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indianapolis, Indiana) Sunday July 27, 2025, on TNT Sports @ 2 p.m. ET.

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 38th season in 2025, 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 300 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 rfkracing.com and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

RICK WARE RACING
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Date: July 20, 2025
Event: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 400 laps, broken into three stages (120 laps/130 laps/150 laps)

Note: Race extended seven laps past its scheduled 400-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

RWR Finish:

● Cody Ware (Started 35th, Finished 36th / Handling, completed 232 of 407 laps)

RWR Points:

● Cody Ware (36th with 148 points)

Race Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 to score his 58th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his series-leading fourth of the season, and his third at Dover. His margin over second-place Chase Briscoe was .310 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 50 laps.
● Only 20 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Chase Elliott leaves Dover as the new championship leader with a 16-point advantage over second-place William Byron.

Sound Bites:

“A long day for us at Dover. We did everything we could to work on our car and get it fixed but, unfortunately, after a trip to the garage, we just couldn’t fix it and had to end our day. Ready to head to Indianapolis and reset.” – Cody Ware, driver of the No. 51 Mighty Fire Breaker Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Creed Claims Third Straight Top-10 as Weather Cuts Dover Short; Mayer 12th
Custer Finishes 29th in Cup Series on Sunday

Xfinity Series

Sheldon Creed continued his strong stretch with a third consecutive top-10 finish in Saturday’s rain-shortened NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover Motor Speedway. The race was halted at lap 134 of 200 due to severe weather, with Creed scored in eighth and teammate Sam Mayer in 12th at the time of the red flag.

“I thought we brought a lot of speed in our Friends of Jaclyn Ford today, and came home with a decent enough finish out of it,” Creed said. “Obviously bummed we couldn’t finish the race, but we have a lot to build on for next week in Indy.”

After making significant adjustments in practice, Haas Factory Team (HFT) showed solid pace in qualifying. Creed lined up 11th, with Mayer close behind in 13th. However, rain between qualifying and the race washed away the rubber on the track, creating slick conditions and forcing drivers to adapt quickly.

Creed charged into the top 10 within the first 20 laps, while Mayer slipped back to 17th early on. Creed earned one stage point by finishing 10th in Stage 1, continuing a streak of collecting stage points for the No. 00 team. Mayer, dealing with a loose car and limited grip, finished 20th in the stage.

After both cars pitted for four tires and fuel, Creed restarted ninth and held his ground through Stage Two, finishing eighth and adding three more stage points. Mayer struggled in dirty air and again came across the line in 20th for the second segment.

The final stage began with just over 100 laps to go and weather looming. Both drivers responded with urgency, picking up positions quickly. Creed ran solidly in eighth when the caution came out for weather, while Mayer worked his way up to 12th before the race was ultimately called due to worsening conditions.

“Overall, we had a really solid a day and I feel like we got better and better throughout the race,” Mayer said. “I’m really proud of my team for all their work and effort that they put in, and the wins are coming soon.”

Mayer sits eighth in the Xfinity points standings with 652 total points on the season, behind the seven winners, while Creed is in 10th place with 551 points.

Cup Series

After both practice and qualifying were rained out on Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway faced additional weather challenges on Sunday, including a red flag with just 14 laps remaining. Despite the disruptions, Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang battled through the adversity to bring home a 29th-place finish.

Custer took the green flag from the 29th position but was shuffled back to 33rd in the opening laps. A competition caution on lap 35 allowed the team to make their first adjustments, taking four tires and fuel. However, Custer reported a loose-handling condition in the No. 41 Ford and struggled with overall grip. He lost a lap to the leaders on lap 83 and ended Stage One in 30th.

When Stage Two began, Custer restarted 31st, but the entire 130-lap segment ran caution-free. As the long green-flag run unfolded, he fell a second lap down by lap 173. The No. 41 team opted to split the stage with a green-flag pit stop on lap 188, taking four tires and fuel. Custer managed to maintain his track position through the cycle and crossed the line 31st at the conclusion of Stage Two.

The final stage was interrupted by two separate cautions for rain before the race was ultimately red-flagged on lap 386. After a delay, the field returned to green-flag conditions with just 14 laps remaining. Custer held steady through the sprint to the finish crossing the line in 29th-place, wrapping up a challenging, weather-impacted day for HFT at the “Monster Mile”.

“Not the day we wanted here at Dover, but I’m proud of the guys for all the work they put in throughout the week,” Custer said. “We’ve run well on the intermediate package over the last couple of weeks, and we’re looking forward to the challenge Indianapolis will bring next weekend.”

Up Next
NASCAR heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend, with race coverage for the Xfinity series set for 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the CW, and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT for the Cup Series.

About Haas Factory Team
The Haas Factory Team is a NASCAR Cup and Xfinity program owned by Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation. Beginning in 2025, the team will feature Cole Custer driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer take on the Xfinity Series in the No. 00 and No. 41 Ford Mustangs, respectively. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the Haas Factory Team reflects a commitment to performance and engineering excellence, carrying forward Gene Haas’s commitment to motorsports.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
DOVER MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JULY 20, 2025

Bowman Leads Chevrolet with Podium Finish in the Late-Race Shoot-Out at Dover Motor Speedway

•  With a mix of pit strategy setting up for a shoot-out to the finish, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team led the Bowtie brigade with a third-place result – the team’s fifth top-five finish of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
• Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team were one of just two cars that had yet to hit pit road for the green flag pit cycle when the caution flew for rain at Lap 337. With a clutch call from atop the pit box by crew chief Richard Boswell, Dillon capitalized on a massive gain in track position – ultimately taking home a top-15 finish.
• Hendrick Motorsports’ mastery at taming the “Monster Mile” struck once again with three of the organization’s entries earning top-six results. Among those included Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet team, who turned in an impressive run through the field from the 25th starting position en route to a pair of top-10 stage finishes and the team’s 10th top-five finish of the season.
• With Saturday afternoon’s rain showers wiping out all on-track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series, the division hit the high banks of Dover Motor Speedway for the first time at the drop of the green flag for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
• With the lineup set by the rule book, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team earned the pole position for the 400-mile race. A side-by-side battle with fellow front-row starter, Chase Briscoe, ended early at the Lap 14 marker when the Dawsonville, Georgia, native drove his Chevrolet-powered machine to the top position and paced the field for the duration of the 120-lap opening stage – collecting his first stage win of the 2025 season.
• On the tail of back-to-back strong points races, Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team lined up in the 10th position to take on the “Monster Mile”. The three-time Dover winner climbed his way up to the seventh position when the competition caution came at Lap 36. Coming down pit road for the first scheduled stop of the day, the No. 8 pit crew fired off a strong stop to make the team the biggest movers among the top-10 – gaining three positions in the race off pit road to put Busch fourth for the restart. Remaining a consistent figure in the top-10 during the opening stage, Busch took the first green-white checkered flag collecting eighth-place stage points.
• Winning the race off pit road, Elliott led the field back to the green flag for the 130-lap Stage Two. Continuing to pace the field until the first green flag pit cycle of the day, Elliott gave up the lead to come down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel, but an issue on the left side found the No. 9 Chevrolet team in the sixth position as the field cycled through. The speed of the Hendrick Motorsports camp prevailed in Stage Two, with Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Chevrolet team taking the second green-white checkered flag in the runner-up position – leading his trio of teammates to top-six finishes in the stage.
• Ty Dillon’s storybook run in NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge continues, with the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet team earning top-20 finish – edging out his matchup, John H. Nemechek, by just one position to earn a spot in the championship round and a shot at the one-million-dollar grand prize.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
3rd – Alex Bowman
4th – Kyle Larson
6th – Chase Elliott

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 21 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 9
Poles: 10
Top-Fives: 42
Top 10s: 84
Stage Wins: 20

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG on Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on TNT and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 15th

“We probably should have run about 20th all day so pretty decent finish at Dover Motor Speedway in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Chevrolet considering that. We started 23rd and ran right around there until crew chief Richard Boswell made a call mid race to stay out during a pit stop cycle to earn us some track position. It’s amazing how much better our Chevy’s handling was in clean air. After the rain delay, we decided to stay out again and took a gamble that we would be able to hang onto the top-10 and maybe even leave with a top-five finish. We just didn’t have enough at the end on old tires and ended up 15th. We have to get more out of our race cars. We all want more. We’ll keep at it.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

“We had a good No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet today. It was just tough starting in the back, and we just kind of had to work slowly at it all day long. On the long runs here (at Dover Motor Speedway), you just have to be really patient, and that’s how we were today. It’s good to get a top-five finish and get back on the horse there. Hopefully we can string together some good runs now.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 11th

“Strong start to the race for our Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen team today at Dover Motor Speedway. We just needed more at the end of the race. We were pretty neutral to start. By Stage 2, it was easy for the right rear to push through the right front when rubber built. Our balance switched to wrecking loose and our Chevy wasn’t in the track. It was way different from the start of the race. We salvaged what we could. We’ll regroup and continue to push for a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs.”

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 20th

YOU ARE THE GUY THAT NOBODY THOUGHT WOULD GET OUT OF THE FIRST ROUND, NEVERMIND BEING IN THE FINAL ROUND TO RUN FOR A MILLION DOLLARS. HOW DOES THAT SIT WITH YOU?

“It feels good. You know, I have been the underdog for a long time now, just battling my way to try to get opportunity. Eventually you get comfortable in fighting from behind and people underestimating you. It’s hard to say that we lucked into it this far in, and I am proud of the way we have run. We haven’t been a dominating car, but we have been a pain to everyone around us. That is all we can do — put pressure on them and execute at the right time and that is what we have done.

I am so grateful to Matt Kaulig and everyone at Kaulig Racing — Chris Rice, Ty Norris, my sponsors Sea Best and Grizzly Nicotine Pouches. They are the ones that allow us to do this and allow us to have fun. I don’t take it for granted. I have been out of this sport and got good perspective and have so much gratitude just to get to race these cars. When things are coming together in a season like this, it’s not everything we want, it hasn’t been everything, but we are having fun. And when you can leave the racetrack smiling, you are already winning.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 3rd

“I feel like we were better than where we ended up, but with a poor day at Sonoma (Raceway), I had to start deep in the field. I couldn’t get clean air, and then we got shuffled around a little bit on some of the short runs. But overall, we had a really good No. 48 Ally Chevrolet all day. Proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. I’ve been a little bit sick and my cool shirt decided it wanted a Sunday off, so I’m really hot and really tire, but certainly, it was a really good day for our team.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Autotrader EchoPark 400 — Dover Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 20, 2025

Ford Unofficial Finishing Order

8th – Ryan Blaney
9th – Chris Buescher
10th – Brad Keselowski
14th – Joey Logano
16th – Austin Cindric
19th – Ryan Preece
22nd – Zane Smith
25th – Todd Gilliland
28th – Josh Berry
29th – Cole Custer
31st – Noah Gragson
36th – Cody Ware

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “With where we had to start I’m definitely proud of the effort from everybody here on this No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang. We kind of just clawed our way up and we had one restart where the field got split up under green flag cycles and I got parked and pretty much lost all of the progress I had made throughout the entirety of the day. We clawed back a few there on those late restarts, but, overall, I’m happy to finish one of these a little better than we have the last few weeks, but we definitely want more.”

NOAH GRAGSON, No. 4 MillerTech Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU SEE? “The 20 wrecking. I got on the brakes and then somebody hit me in the back. It was over at that point. I checked up for the wreck and somebody hit me from behind and wrecked us, so that’s what it’s been every race this year. It’s gotten to the point where you just expect it.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Libman Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a fun day. I thought on long runs we were really good. I would have personally like to have seen it go to the end before the rain caution came out because we had a really good long run car and I thought I might have been able to get up to fifth. We came in and got two tires, and I didn’t pick a good lane on the restart and gave a lot of track position away, but, overall, it was a good day from where we started.” HOW DID THE NEW TIRE REACT? “I thought it put a decent amount of rubber on the racetrack, but I don’t know if that’s the temps or the tire. I thought we were able to move around a little bit more than before.”

CHRIS BUESCHER, No. 17 Trimble Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We got a decent finish out here today with this No. 17 Trimble Mustang and I’m proud of everyone for that. We stayed with it all the way until the end. We were really great at the end of the day, and we definitely have a lot to look at and try to get better for next time here.”