When Brad Keselowski took over as a driver-owner at RFK Racing, he had the goal of turning the historic organization back into a championship contender. So how does he rate the team's progress five years into this journey?
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"We're not everywhere I want us to be, but we are inching closer to that goal, and I'm just thrilled to see that growth," Keselowski said in response to a question from FanBuzz.
"It never comes fast enough. It certainly doesn't come in the way that you would want it to come all the time. But there has been a lot of progress."
Keselowski joined RFK Racing as a driver-owner at the start of the Next Gen era, 2022. He made the move from Team Penske and replaced Ryan Newman in the No. 6 Ford Mustang. He has remained in this entry ever since while simultaneously working behind the scenes at the organization.
The difference is noticeable. The 2021 season, the last featuring Newman and Chris Buescher as the primary drivers, had a few bright moments. Buescher scored eight top-10 finishes and one top-five. Newman had five top-10s and two top-fives.
This version of the organization was not very competitive in 2021. Obviously, this was in a different era of NASCAR when teams were making their own parts instead of ordering from a single-source supplier.
Still, the change since Keselowski joined the fold has been noticeable. Buescher has won five races while Keselowski has won one. The 2012 Cup Series champion nearly scored another last weekend at Darlington Raceway.
Granted, Keselowski and Buescher only have three playoff appearances between them in this stretch, but the organization has been more competitive overall. RFK Racing has also expanded with Ryan Preece joining the fold as a third driver.
"There's some bright spots and some dark spots for sure," Keselowski said. "You know, last year was the only year since I've been at RFK (that) we didn't win a race, but we did a lot of other things really, really well. So it was disappointing to not push through with a category that means the most.
"Off the track, last year was the best year we've ever had. On the track, it was not anything remarkable. We have to do both. You know, we have to perform well as a business, and then you have to perform well on the race track, and I think this year, we're poised to do that at the highest level that we have since I've been part of RFK."
Bold, Aggressive, Committed. 😤
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Keselowski has optimism about his team's chances to succeed this season. He has proclaimed that he believes they can win five races across the organization. Preece and Buescher have said that they share this belief.
The returns are positive early this season. All three drivers are above the cutline for the Chase, and they have an opportunity to ride this momentum into the postseason. They just have to break through and get those all-important wins.
"I'm really pleased at that (progress), but ultimately, to be judged as successful in this sport, you have to win, and you have to win and be a contender to win regularly," Keselowski added. "I sense that we're not far off of that, but we're also not there.
"So we're somewhere in this ambiguous spot between the two. I'm hopeful that we can push through with some kind of stellar performance here early in the season and kind of assert ourselves in that way. We were close last week. This weekend will be another one of those opportunities that I feel really good about."
