Brad Keselowski’s Star Driver Rubbishes ‘Outperforming’ Claims With a Bitter Reality Check Amidst RFK Racing’s Concerning Slump

The #17 driver for Brad Keselowski’s co-owned RFK Racing, Chris Buescher won his second NCS race in his debut season in 2022 with the Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines-backed race team, after almost half a decade. This win sparked a new beginning for the #17 driver, as he reclaimed his form the following year picking up three wins and capping off his hot streak with an impressive display at Daytona. 

Since then the 31-year-old Texan has gone on a 17-race winless streak and only finished in the Top-5 four times. His teammate, Keselowski on the other hand, stands second on the active winless drivers list, after 105 races without tasting the victory champagne since his Talladega victory in 2021. RFK is in desperate need of a win, and although both drivers have contributed to this recent “slump”. Buescher discouraged all claims of “outperforming” the “speeds” of the RFK stable, before his Richmond advance this Easter.

Chris Buescher rejects “outperformance” talk before Richmond Advance

In recent disclosures to Speedway Digest, the #17 driver opened up on the question of “outperforming his speed.” Buescher declared for the public, “I would probably argue the opposite. We were able to lead in four of the first five races and the one we didn’t lead any laps we finished second in Phoenix. When I look at that, our speed was certainly there. The finishes were not.” 

Having secured a podium finish, six races into 2024, Buescher has also managed to rack up four top-10s this season. His most recent COTA run from P20 in qualifying saw the #17 car climb twelve spots to claim back-to-back P8 finishes at the Austin road course. 

He examined this “recent run” as he went on to support his initial statements, “Then you take in and look at the last two weeks, we didn’t qualify good in COTA and then obviously had to start in the back and that put us way behind with no cautions to really find ourselves with much opportunity to work up… but realistically I would call COTA a good day for us running eighth. We did not have race-winning speed there, so we want more and have some ideas.”

RFK Racing has not looked short of ideas this season, as they were on a back-to-back dual top-10 streak, till Keselowski’s #6 finished in the 33rd position at the Texas Grand Prix last Sunday. The duo even managed to pick up a top-5 sweep at the Phoenix race a couple of weeks ago. Nevertheless, wins make icons, and with a hefty winless streak lurking in the background, Buescher explained one of the setbacks that have plagued RFK in the last 6 weeks.

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“If you look at Bristol, we were able to get to the point where we led laps there. It was obviously a very strange race for all of us, but both of our cars finished very well in Bristol.” Buescher then went on to argue that, “the speed was there,” and how RFK Racing “had the possibility to run even better,” if not for the demanding tire conservation strategies at Bristol’s repaved concrete.

The #17 car’s first win came at Bristol and that victory was resounding when the driver made his thoughts clear over any sort of “outperformance”. He stated candidly, “It’s a tough one, but we always know we’ve been fast at Bristol, so, honestly, I’m gonna argue the opposite.” 

Nevertheless, with Richmond on the horizon, it is important to note, that the first of Buescher’s three sophomore-year wins with RFK came at the iconic 0.75-mile oval in the heart of Virginia in July of 2023. Even Brad Keselowski has claimed two Richmond victories in his lengthy 16-year Cup Series career, albeit not as a co-owner, but as the driver of the #2 Ford for Team Penske instead. Will either RFK driver be able to repeat their feats at Richmond this weekend? We await for the Toyota Owners 400 on March 31st.

Read More: Has Time Come for Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing to Start Panicking?