Keselowski Wins Pole and Heat Race at North Wilkesboro
Keselowski Wins Pole and Heat Race at North Wilkesboro
Buescher 10th, Keselowski 22nd in All-Star Race; Preece Ninth in Open
North Wilkesboro, NC (May 18, 2025) – Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing entered All-Star weekend at North Wilkesboro with high expectations and delivered flashes of speed across all three of its entries. Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Preece each showed competitive pace in qualifying and early race segments, with Keselowski capturing his first career All-Star pole and dominating his heat.
No. 17 – Chris Buescher
Coming off a third-place finish at North Wilkesboro in last year’s All-Star Race, Buescher and the No. 17 Korger/Tylenol Ford team aimed to start the weekend strong. They recorded a 13.309-second pit stop—13th fastest in the field—but a pit road speeding penalty during the run offset their efforts. As a result, Buescher was set to start eighth in the second heat race, despite showing promising speed in the opening sessions.
Buescher delivered a strong run in Heat 2, climbing from eighth to fifth by lap 10 with smooth, decisive moves. He maintained his position through the competition caution on lap 30, then executed a clean four-tire stop to restart on the third row. Holding steady in the closing laps, Buescher finished fifth, showing solid speed and control throughout the race before the main event.
In the All-Star race, Buescher made an early move into ninth place after the initial restart, showing strong pace before a caution on lap 57. His team opted for four fresh tires, which dropped him to 14th, and he soon fell to 17th as dirty air made passing difficult. He remained in that position through the competition caution at lap 101, struggling to gain ground amid the traffic.
Buescher continued to run around 17th until a key caution on lap 175 allowed his team to pit for a fresh set of tires. The strategy paid off, as he used the improved grip to work his way back into the top 10 in the closing laps. He ultimately finished 10th, salvaging a solid result through smart pit strategy and consistent driving.
“It’s good to be in the All-Star event, but we weren’t where we wanted to be for the day obviously,” Buescher said. “We fought back and made some adjustments there at the end, and we’ll be better off on the next go around.”
No. 6 – Brad Keselowski
Keselowski kicked off All-Star weekend on a high note by capturing his first career pole position in what marked his 17th appearance in the NASCAR All-Star Race. Driving the No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, Keselowski earned the top spot through an impressive performance in the qualifying session, beating out the rest of the field by nearly nine-tenths of a second in the final qualifying metric.
In the opening heat race, Keselowski started on the front row and dominated from the drop of the green flag, leading 74 of the 75 laps. With smart defensive driving, he effectively blocked both lanes and never relinquished control. Hitting his marks lap after lap, Keselowski powered to a convincing victory, claiming the heat race win for the second consecutive year.
Keselowski and the No. 6 team opened the All-Star Race with dominance, leading 61 of the first 63 laps and building nearly a one-second gap over Joey Logano. A caution on lap 63 forced the team to take two tires to maintain track position, keeping Keselowski on the front row. However, the reduced grip became a factor, and he steadily fell back to eighth by lap 101 as handling worsened in traffic.
After a four-tire stop under caution, Keselowski restarted seventh and quickly showed strong pace, turning some of the fastest laps on the track. He remained competitive for the next 50 laps and appeared poised for a late-race charge. Unfortunately, his night took a turn when he brushed the wall in turn three, breaking the right front shock and ending the team’s hopes.
“I was just driving up towards the wall and stepped over the cushion,” Keselowski said. “We’re connecting things for sure, we just haven’t connected everything and when we do that we’ll be dangerous.”
No. 60 – Ryan Preece
Looking to build off a seventh-place run at Kansas, Preece and the No. 60 Boston Common Golf Ford team impressed in qualifying at North Wilkesboro. The crew logged a 13.066-second stop—ninth fastest overall—which helped Preece secure the fifth starting spot for Sunday night’s All-Star Open race.
Preece wasted no time moving to the front in the Open race, breaking into the top three by lap 30 with a strong, consistent run. At the lap 50 competition caution, he pitted for four tires and fuel, dropping to seventh as others opted for a two-tire strategy to gain track position.
Back under green, Preece used his short-track experience to climb back up, passing Michael McDowell and Bubba Wallace to reclaim third. He then engaged in a tight battle with Ty Gibbs, eventually clearing him off turn four to take second—enough to advance to the main event.
However, a caution on lap 78 changed everything. NASCAR ruled Preece had committed a choose-cone violation under yellow, forcing him to restart at the rear. Despite the setback, he fought back to finish 11th, showing resilience in one of the fastest cars on track.
“I’m just really disappointed, because we brought a really fast Boston Common Golf Ford to the track this weekend,” Preece said. “I hate it for our team, but we’ll move on to next week and look forward to the Coke 600.”
Up Next
Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, NC): Sunday, May 25, 2025, at 6 PM ET on Prime