In the last decade and a half the name Roush has faded mostly from competitive racing in NASCAR, whether that be the NASCAR Cup Series or even the lower series. But in the last two years the team is different in many ways. For starters the name changed from Roush-Fenway Racing to Roush-Fenway-Keselowski racing or RFK Racing as it is now better known as. With the change there has been a slow change in performance as well. It begs asking, is RFK Racing good again?
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38 comments
Do you think RFK is on their way to being back? Or are they just above more faltering teams so far in 2023?
Not quite yet till they start winning races but there making progress
Their making process but I think for them to really be a good team again Ford needs to get their act together. Very impressive that they and Todd Gilliland have seen improvement this season despite Ford easily being the slowest manufacturer
I would be surprised if Brad Keselowski doesn’t win a race this year.
I’m just wondering if Bad Brad will get to victory lane. It’s been a long time for that #6 being victorious.
I think they’re on a gradual resurgence, seems like Brad will win a race maybe this year and Chris buescher will likey keep that top ten consistency going and if he does hey maybe he might compete for wins this is just a sign that RFK is slowly making a comeback
Definitely on the rise. We’ll see if they can keep this momentum up and pull a 2022 Trackhouse playoff run.
As a Brad fan please don’t jinx us lmao.
@YouTubeuserlolz Dude’s 9th in points tbh (not like it matters or anything)
Don’t worry he’s not Josh Revell
@YouTubeuserlolz No wheel knowledge
Me too
EDIT: Honestly, I’d be lying if I said my boys are going to win a championship this year but I can easily see both Kes and Buescher get at least a win each. The process was there last year even though it was a slow start and I’d rather that than odd flashes but stagnating mid-pack.
What helps with the team is Brad’s previous experience owning a team and he’s one of the smartest blokes in the garage too, as we all know about his talent. With Buescher, the team are in good hands with him, hopefully if the team continue this trend in 2024, they can upscale to possibly a 3-4 car team.
Would be surprised if neither Brad Keselowski or Chris Buescher gets a win.
For the time being at least, I think RFK should remain a 2 car team so they can focus and growing and developing the program and once they’ve got it to a point where they can support a 3rd car while consistently maintaining speed in the 2 existing cars, then they think about expanding, but I’m thinking multi win seasons for both cars before they should pull the trigger.
I’d love to one day see their Xfinity and possibly Truck teams return too.
@Beast Rover Oh I don’t disagree. One can only dream though.
Brad has done such a great job in such a small time. As a long time Roush fan I can’t wait to see what they can do do long term.
Brad has had a great week. Both cars run top 10 and qualify top 5 in Dover, named one of the top 75 drivers, and goofed around with some F1 drivers in Charlotte. And he has that amazing kings Hawaiian/GOTG scheme. The kings Hawaiian sponsorship is amazing in general and it needs to stay
I saw someone brought a pack of Kings Hawaiian rolls to the track for Brad to sign one time. If that doesn’t convince a sponsor to stay, I don’t know what will
Despite being a couple of races into the season and while trying not to keep my hopes too high I do think that this year could be a turn around year for RFK and if they keep up this pace could start moving forward to having that 3 or 4 car team they want to bring back. Keselowskis past team owning experience might also be a factor in their year turn around as well as prioritizing Buescher. Really hope this the norm for them this year and after watching the bristol win last year and watching the speed they have had I certainly think they are in route to a playoff run.
I think this is a genuine improvement, but I don’t think it will last more than another season or tow. By 2026, I expect we’ll see regression from Keselowski, who just isn’t in his prime, and I don’t think Buescher will ever be more than just an adequate seat filler. All in all, I think 2023 is closer to what they will be than 2022. Those growing pains won’t be seen for a while. Really, we have no idea how this will work out until Brad starts scaling back, which is the real test of a team. How much passion can he maintain once his own driving career is no longer a factor?
Seat filler? Pfft Chris Buescher is likely to be an RFK Racing long term commitment unless some other team is willing to snatch him from RFK.
I feel like Brad has a lot more recent success. It may be due to internal personnel moves? Some of those older teams became stangnent over time. Not bringing in new talent that has new ideas to try. The front running teams never seem to be nervous, outwardly, to making changes to keep on top of the game. We didn’t hear that too much about Roush. I hope this is a sign of change for the long run.
It started when mark Martin left. He was the leader of that whole team. He molded all those drivers.
Keselowski is the best thing that could’ve happened here with this race team. He can organize and maximize any situation from the ground up which this team was lacking. He’ll get the most out of the resources afforded to him through sponsorship and ownership. RFK is on an upturn, it may be gradual but it will happen. Interesting on a related note is how Stenhouse left Roush and has helped JTG Daughtery become a viable Cup team. I think he’s happy and ownership is very satisfied with him. Stenhouse seems like he’s content and even help JTG build a better team with a smaller budget and relatively no manufacturer support from Chevrolet. I wish him well.
2022 was a building year for RFK, and I think they’re becoming the team they are capable of this year. Brad had improved every team he’s been with the longer he’s driven for them. JR Motorsports hadn’t won anything before Brad, Penske was barely making the Chase and Brad made them champions, and now Roush is back in the Top 10.
i feel like jack roush was too old-school for his own good and having brad k go to the team and basically reset everything and literally clean up shop was the best thing for the team, and i think and hope jack roush understands that, and so far they had great results, off the top of my head the 17 had 2 top 5s last year and of course the win at bristol, so whatever brad k is doing is helping immensely
I think it’s gonna be a slow rise back to the front. Once the team gets settled in Cup, they really should look at bringing back the Xfinity program. They’re gonna have to start looking at someone who’ll take over for Brad when he retires from racing, and more young talents to fill the future expansions.
They shouldn’t bring back the Xfinity program though they should focus on Arca and Trucks.
@Run Rafa Run #THEBESTINTHEWORLD ARCA doesn’t make a team money
Roush made the right move with the money the Fenway group brings, combined with the intellect of Brad. I thought from the beginning that if they can work well together, over time, that team will compete (again) at the front regularly.
It’s too soon to tell. Keslowski needs to keep the momentum up from Atlanta to prove itself as a competitor to Trackhouse and 23XI, both on the rise at a faster rate
Roush in my opinion is the Ferrari of nascar. They are one of the most famous teams in their own sport. They had once had great eras where they we’re the dominant team all the time. But shitty bureaucracy and internal struggles made them to decline and made notable drivers either leave or severely decline. But both teams nowadays are rebuilding to relive their glory days. It’s just a matter of time if they’ll ever succeed.
A fan of Brad. The consistency is there… let’s get the wins
I would be surprised if Brad Keselowski doesn’t win a race this year.
Glad to see the 6 and the 17 running up front again, hopefully they can maintain it, maybe even expand to a 3rd car in the next few years
I’d like to see them run number 26 or 29 if they add a third car.