RFK Recap | Bristol II
Keselowski Nearly Clinches Victory with Strong Second-Place Finish at Bristol
Keselowski 2nd; Buescher 11th; Preece 21st
BRISTOL, TN (September 13, 2025) – Brad Keselowski led 33 laps and nearly captured RFK Racing’s first victory of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing second with a chance at victory on the final lap. Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece both showed resilience and competitive speed throughout the night—Buescher running near the front before late pit stops shuffled the field to an 11th-place finish, while Preece battled back from early setbacks but ultimately finished 21st after late cautions affected his track position.
6 Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 Castrol / TravelCenters of America Ford delivered a standout performance Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing second after leading late in a wild 500-lap battle. Starting 18th, Keselowski methodically worked his way through the field and became a serious contender in the final stage, ultimately leading 33 laps and nearly securing his first win of the season.
After running solidly inside the top 10 through the opening two stages—finishing eighth and fourth—Keselowski restarted 11th to begin the final segment. A key caution on lap 357 gave the team a chance to reset, and just laps later, Keselowski was gaining ground on the leaders. He reported the car had improved handling and balance, and by lap 395 he had cracked the top five.
Keselowski took his first lead with 62 laps to go in the race after a round of green-flag pit stops had cycled through. Though briefly overtaken by Carson Hocevar, he regained the top spot on lap 475 and began to pull away, poised to close out a dominant run. However, a caution with 13 laps remaining erased his lead and forced one final decision on pit road by crew chief Jeremy Bullins.
The team opted for right-side tires only, giving Keselowski track position for the restart. Lining up fourth with 10 laps to go, he quickly jumped to second behind Christopher Bell and stayed close through the final run. Despite a strong effort in the closing laps, he crossed the line in second, securing another strong result for the No. 6 team during the final stretch of the season.
“That’s the story of our season, just a 50/50 shot on the restart and I got the lane that couldn’t launch. Just frustrating. We had a great car, great strategy, put ourselves in position to, if not win, at least have a really, really solid day, and on that last restart and just rolled the dice and didn’t get anything good.”
17 Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher and the No. 17 BodyGuard Ford showed top-five speed for much of the night at Bristol, ultimately finishing 11th after a late-race pit cycle and caution set the team back in the closing laps. Buescher was a regular contender near the front of the field in the second half of the 500-lap event, at one point climbing as high as second before a flurry of cautions and pit stops in the final 75 laps shuffled the running order.
After starting 21st, Buescher steadily moved forward while conserving tires through the opening stint. A pit stop on lap 45 and strategic driving helped him cycle up to eighth by a lap-80 caution. He restarted seventh and jumped to fifth shortly after, eventually finishing sixth in Stage One. The team made minor adjustments at the stage break, and Buescher restarted sixth to begin Stage Two, again running solidly inside the top 10. A scheduled stop on lap 198 kept him in the hunt, and he ended the second stage in seventh.
In the final stage, Buescher stayed out under the stage break and lined up fourth on the restart. He immediately surged to second behind Chase Briscoe and held that spot through a pair of early cautions. After pitting under yellow on lap 324, he restarted ninth but quickly charged back to second by lap 335. Another stop under caution on lap 357 set him up to restart seventh, and by lap 395, Buescher was once again up to second, continuing to show strong pace on short runs.
Buescher pitted from third on lap 427 and again on lap 471 during green-flag stops, just before a late caution trapped him outside the top 10. He earned the free pass to return to the lead lap but had little time to recover in the closing laps. Despite running inside the top five for much of the night and leading several charges through the field, Buescher had to settle for an 11th-place finish
60 Ryan Preece
Ryan Preece battled through a challenging night in his No. 60 Kroger/SToK Ford, showing strong speed and resilience but ultimately finishing 21st after late-race pit stops and cautions impacted track position. Despite falling two laps down early in the race, Preece made multiple recoveries and ran as high as sixth during the event.
Starting 20th, Preece dropped to 24th early and pitted under caution on lap 26 for a possible tire issue. He worked his way back up, reaching sixth before another stop on lap 69. A caution on lap 80 trapped him two laps down, but the team took the wave-around and restarted 33rd, charging hard to finish 17th in Stage One.
During Stage Two, Preece continued his aggressive approach, taking another wave-around late in the stage to get back on the lead lap and finishing 17th again. He restarted the final stage 18th and steadily moved forward, breaking into the top 10 by lap 350 and showing strong long-run speed.
Running ninth before a lap 357 caution, Preece pitted and restarted 14th, climbing back to 10th by lap 375. He reached sixth with just over 100 laps to go but lost track position after late green-flag stops followed by a caution, ultimately cycling back to finish 21st. Despite the final result, the No. 60 team showed speed and determination throughout the demanding Bristol race.