The track was filled with smoke, as the tires made an everlasting mark not only on the asphalt but also in the mind of every skeptic. As the race came to an end, the NBC track reporter rushed to the car to record an exclusive interview of the victor of the race. The driver gradually unstrapped himself and tried to glance at his surroundings as the audience cheered their lungs out.

The 30-year-old driver had punched his ticket to the playoffs for the second time in his Cup Series career. The driver being none other than RFK Racing’s emerging prodigy Chris Buescher. He seized an emphatic win after outlasting veteran driver Denny Hamlin on the track of Richmond. He seized a victory that was long awaited and much needed to bring the underdog team back on its feet. 

While emotions and ecstasy burst out inside the camp of the newly rebranded team, miles away from the track, in Michigan, another set of individuals let out a sigh of relief. It was Ford Performance, as they witnessed their third clinical victory of the season.

Nonetheless, with the 2023 season Cup Series marching towards its twilight zone, and with the growing influence of Chevrolet and Toyota, will Brad Keselowski’s team and his prodigy be able to steer the Blue Oval from its year-long despair?

Brad Keselowski’s team leads the way for the underdog teams

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was Roush Fenway Racing. Being one of the stalwarts in the world of NASCAR, the team’s owner has been one of the celebrated engine makers in the world of motorsports. This unconditional love for cars and their technologies eventually led to the creation of the NASCAR team, which has been able to carve its own niche in the sands of time. However, with the sport constantly shedding its old form, and new teams’ manufacturers making their headway in NASCAR, the team eventually lost its pertinence. 

Speaking about the organization coming down a slippery slope, one of the employees expressed to Racing America, that the garage had taken the shape of a mere skeleton. It was gradually traveling towards oblivion, and only to be remembered in the pages of history. However, the team was not to sit idle to witness the downfall of one such great NASCAR team.

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It was not late, before opportunities presented themselves, back in 2021. The 2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski became a free agent after leaving Team Penske. As a result, the team’s owner, Jack Roush, and the team President Steve Newmark offered what was the biggest gamble of their life: a partial ownership. As a veteran driver, with years of experience, Keselowski did not fail to identify the golden opportunity. 

While the NASCAR community raised their inquisitive eyebrows in skepticism, Keselowski was ready to take the leap of faith. Apart from steering his stock car on the tracks of NASCAR, Keselowski was ready to take the reins of the team and drive it from being irrelevant to relevant. 

Ford bites the dust after a despairing season

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However, one has to eat numerous humble pies in order to find his way on the road to victory. As a re-branded team, RFK Racing had to overcome endless obstacles in order to finally park Chris Buescher in the victory lane back in Bristol. Amongst the plethora of obstacles, one such being the losing momentum of their manufacturer Ford Performance. 

Apart from the winningest manufacturer Chevrolet, the Blue Oval manufacturing organization hosts the second-highest number of cars in NASCAR. However, unlike the other two manufacturers, Ford has struggled desperately to find results. While Chevrolet and Toyota bagged victories, week in and week out, Ford, till the Richmond race, had only 2 victories thanks to the Penske boys.

Moreover, the 2014 Cup Series champion and the retiring driver, Kevin Harvick, had failed to find his way into the victory lane. However, the dark horse was one of the few drivers to deliver top 10 finishes for the Ford. 

In a FOX broadcasting interview, Jamie McMurray while conversing with Tony Stewart, talked about Ford’s lackluster year, “The ones that I’m worried about, and Tony’s not going to want to hear this — I just am worried about the Fords. I know that SHR has had some good runs. Logano has had a couple of good runs. Ryan Blaney has been somewhat there. But it just seems like Ford is really good at the superspeedways and struggling with a lot of these other tracks, guys.”

Even Stewart retorted, “Yeah, I mean sad, but true. Unfortunately, it’s something that we obviously do every week at the shop; we go and, in the team debriefs in competition meetings, try to figure out how do we resolve this.”

Will RFK Racing be the next re-surging team for Blue Oval?

Nonetheless, the tidings changed for the Ford Performance, with RFK’s emergent prodigy bagging two consecutive victories and also on the road course of Indianapolis with Michael McDowell winning for Front Row Motorsports at Brickyard. 

Moreover, RFK Racing has been one of the few handful teams that has been able to qualify for the playoffs. Even teams like Stewart-Haas Racing and Roger Penske’s dominant team failed to do so. 

Overshadowing established teams of Ford, NASCAR insiders have termed RFK Racing as the next best Ford team. In an episode of J.C’s podcast, David Styles expressed, “I think that our point to be said is that Chris Buscher and Brad Keselowski in the RFK group have probably been the best Fords all year round win. They have a driver with two wins in a driver with none, but they have been so consistent compared to Penske, and I think Penske’s have been the best for the team, the leading team for the past forever since they ever switched.”

He continued, “I think RFK kind of reeling them back in there pretty even now with Roger Penske team uh… is a big thing to talk about, and fords just overall haven’t been great, but this past month we could say they’ve been solid they’ve been in the mix uh… a couple wins, but you know get those wins, and then there’s not a forward until you get to 12th or 13th place.”

Although Brad Keselowski failed to make it to the Round of 8, after being eliminated, Chris Buescher has still kept the hopes of winning the championship high for RFK Racing. It will be interesting to see if the team is able to hold on to their momentum and be able to usurp the other teams from Ford’s hierarchy. 

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