Getty Brad Keselowski (left) showed his support of Chris Buescher (right).
Brad Keselowski has been vocal in his support of Chris Buescher since joining RFK Racing, but he has provided some interesting new details. He revealed that he joined the Cup Series organization and immediately gave Buescher a contract extension.
Keselowski provided the revelation during a post-race press conference at Bristol Motor Speedway. He explained that he had previously campaigned for Team Penske/Wood Brothers Racing to give Buescher an opportunity but that he was not successful. He then continued and discussed why this contract extension was a priority.
Wow…What a night! Definitely experienced a roller coaster of emotions, but I’m really proud of @Chris_Buescher and everyone at @rfkracing. It’s a big deal for us as a company to win races, here’s to many more!
“You know, I wanted Chris Buescher to drive the 21 Cup car about five years ago,” Keselowski said. “I thought that highly of him. There was a number of reasons why it didn’t come over — timing and so forth — but I thought that was a natural fit for him. I thought a lot of his talent then.
“…I kind of felt like he was a hidden free agent gem that wasn’t being scouted properly and felt that way for a handful of years,” Keselowski continued. “So yeah, the first thing — it was literally the first thing I did when I signed the papers at RFK. The next step after signing my papers was putting an offer in front of him to give him a contract extension. I thought he was somebody we could build around and get results, and today clearly shows that that was the case.”
Buescher Remains Secure in the No. 17 for Multiple Seasons
GettyChris Buescher celebrates a win with the No. 17 team.
With Keselowski confirming that Buescher signed a contract extension, there were immediate questions about the length. The driver-owner was specifically asked if his teammate is under contract through the 2024 season.
Keselowski didn’t provide specific details, but he confirmed that Buescher still has multiple years remaining on his deal. This guarantees that he and RFK Racing won’t have to worry about any Silly Season rumors during the 2023 season. Instead, they can try to win races during the regular season and reach the playoffs.
Keselowski announced prior to the 2022 season that one of his goals was to get both RFK Racing cars in the playoffs. The organization did not accomplish this, but it made strides with laps led and a win. These were part of the larger quest to get RFK Racing back to championship form.
“Yeah, I mean, we want to get back to being at least a four-car team,” Keselowski said. “That’s been our goal all along. Before you can get to a four-car team, you’ve got to get to a three-car team. Before you can get to a three-car team, you have to be relevant as a two-car team.
“For us, again, relevancy is winning races, multiple races a year with both of your cars, and competing for playoffs. Obviously, we’re not in the playoffs with either of our cars, so we have more work to do. But our stated goal internally is to get back to being a four-car team. That’s not going to happen if you’re not winning races and you’re not relevant as a two-car team.”
Buescher Has Made Moves in 2022
GettyChris Buescher races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The race at Bristol Motor Speedway marked the first time since 2016 that Buescher won, and it snapped a winless streak lasting more than 220 races. It also continued a season that has featured some big moments.
Buescher has started all but one of the Cup Series races in 2022; he missed the trip to World Wide Technology Raceway after testing positive for COVID-19. The Texas native has still delivered on Keselowski’s show of faith by setting career-high marks with nine top-10 finishes, three top-fives, and his second career win. He has also improved his average start to 15.5.
“For Brad to come over in the ownership role and have that faith in me early on meant a lot to me,” Buescher said during his post-race availability. “A guy that’s won so many races, championship and at the top level of motorsports in the country, that’s a pretty big pat on the back when we haven’t always had the results to show for it.
“I think it goes to me to say that people have been paying attention when we make the most of situations that we’ve been in, and do our best to have a 10th-place day and make it a seventh, or whatever it may be, and always do that and always put in 110%.”