NASCAR Cup Series

Brad Keselowski is ready to make RFK Racing a winner

Published Nov. 18, 2021 1:42 p.m. ET

By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer

Brad Keselowski now has his name on a NASCAR Cup Series team.

What’s in a name? It is a long one: Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

The shorter version: RFK Racing.

Roush Fenway Racing changed the name, as Keselowski has bought a minority stake in the organization, which is co-owned by Jack Roush and the Fenway Sports Group. Over time, Keselowski’s investment will increase, and 79-year-old Roush’s involvement likely will decrease over the coming years.

Keselowski owned a team that competed in the truck series before he shuttered it a few years ago, and Brad Keselowski Racing helped produce several drivers — Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain among them — who now compete at the Cup level.

But this will be different, beyond competing at the sport’s highest level. His name isn’t the sole one on the building.

So why even have it in the name of the team? Several organizations have minority owners who aren’t necessarily in the team name.

"Not for ego reasons," said Keselowski, the new driver of the famed No. 6 car that has been a staple in the Roush stable.

"Having my name on the car and in the brand shows that I’m here — I’m not just an owner in the corner but an active owner, and this is a serious commitment to overhauling the company and finding the next level that we have inside ourselves," he said Tuesday at the unveiling of the team name and logo just a little more than a week into his new role.

The overhaul is certainly needed. The organization has gone winless five of the past six years, with the only victories coming in 2017 at Talladega and Daytona with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the 136th and 137th victories for an organization Roush started in 1988.

Those years of struggle could have dissuaded someone such as Keselowski from investing in the organization. He could have followed the path of driver Denny Hamlin, who convinced NBA great Michael Jordan to start a team almost from scratch. They hired some personnel from Leavine Family Racing and obviously have a strong alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, and their driver, Bubba Wallace, finished higher in the standings this year than Roush Fenway veteran Ryan Newman.

As such, Keselowski might've been better off finding a partner and starting a new team, rather than trying to turn around Roush Fenway. But he said that what people can’t see at Roush Fenway is the strength of the organization.

"I see a lot of opportunity here that maybe some other people don’t see: established charters, legacy with Ford and the fans that is a strong brand," Keselowski said.

"The Fenway relationship — a heck of an anchor to have as a partner. There are a lot of strengths here that I’m not sure people understand."

But what people have seen is driver struggle. Chris Buescher, considered a talent as a former Xfinity Series champion, finished 19th in the standings in 2021. He will have crew chief Scott Graves, who was paired with Newman last year, in 2022. Graves and Buescher won an Xfinity title together at Roush in 2015.

"Everything, quite frankly, but the competition side is very strong," Keselowski said. "So I feel like I can bring the things to improve the competition side.

"It would have been a lot harder for me to improve the other facets of the company. I view [this organization] as a strength and not a weakness."

Keselowski also doesn’t seem to have a lot of patience as far as his goals.

"A good season in 2022 is probably winning a lot of races — at least between the two cars, three or more — and I’d say, of course, being in the playoffs," he said. "That’s pretty much a no-brainer."

That seems quite lofty, but Keselowski thinks he has added about 20 new people to the organization who can make a difference. Much of his crew worked with Kurt Busch last season and made the playoffs in the final year of Chip Ganassi Racing.

With the new Next Gen car in 2022, Keselowski believes they will start at a more even playing field because the car is new for all teams.

"I see a lot of things happening behind the scenes," he said. "We brought in a lot of talent. There is more talent inside the company than even I knew. There is a lot of processes we’ve been able to implement with the management system.

"Awesome new tools from Ford combined with the Next Gen car. All of these things combined, I have a high reason for optimism."

Also seeing a high reason for optimism? Another big name in the team name.

"We look favorably going forward with what we can do, and certainly the enthusiasm that I’ve felt when we were a young race team, I feel again and look forward to helping the people that have not won their championships and not won their races and not won Daytona," Roush said.

"I look forward to celebrating those with the rest of the team that has yet to build their legacy as we go forward."

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Thinking out loud

Thinking back to the truck championship, the Ben Rhodes news conference was one to behold. The 24-year-old champion was more than a little tipsy.

Most fans seemed to enjoy it, though there were a few who thought it wasn’t becoming of a champion.

This was harmless fun. Rhodes had just won a championship. He also was probably dehydrated from the race, so the beer and champagne had a bigger impact than expected. He wasn’t driving. He didn’t say anything malicious. This was a young person having a good time, soaking in what he had worked years to accomplish.

It was fun.

Next Up: Next Gen

Teams tested the Charlotte oval Wednesday and are doing so again Thursday, and they have not experienced the heat (it is much cooler outside) or steering rack issues faced in previous tests.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said the steering rack issue possibly had to do with fluid in the racks. NASCAR added a restrictor to the line that leads to the steering fluid reservoir, which eliminated the pressure on the steering rack and thus the vibration.

Austin Dillon crashed in the opening few minutes of the test, hitting the wall hard after spinning in Turn 2. Many drivers reported a lack of grip in that area, attributing it to either cool temperatures or dew on the track. NASCAR Senior Vice President John Probst said the Dillon car was a heavier-than-average impact than what NASCAR would see over the course of a race weekend, and the car reacted as expected.

Dillon indicated on his first lap through Turn 2 that he thought maybe the lack of grip was because of low air pressure, but after talking to other drivers, it was likely dew.

Social spotlight

They said it

"Billy Scott is a winner in the Cup Series. We won together. I feel like our time at SHR was cut short a few years back." — Kurt Busch on crew chief Billy Scott

Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!