[ad_1]
Brad Keselowski’s goal entering the season was to have both RFK Racing drivers, including himself, qualified for the Cup Series playoffs by the middle of June.
Well, it’s the middle of June and only Keselowski, by way of his win at Darlington, is officially locked into the Field of 16. Chris Buescher is not, though he’s had numerous close calls this season in looking to get his first checkered flag.
With just 10 races remaining until the playoffs begin, Keselowski still believes there’s time, even if he just realized maybe not as much as he originally thought.
“That’s less than I thought,” Keselowski said Friday when told it was already June 14, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “But we’re really happy with how competitive the cars are. How well the teams are clicking, and there is some happenstance involved in winning races and some performance. I think we have solid cars right now.
“Were we as fast as [Kyle Larson] last week? No, no, we weren’t. We weren’t anywhere close to that with either of our two cars. But I expect we’ll be very competitive over the next three weeks and have shots to compete for wins.”
RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher having solid seasons
Other than Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, which have largely dominated to this point, RFK Racing has arguably been the most consistent team through 16 races. Keselowski sits seventh in the points standings and has five top-three finishes in his last eight starts.
Buescher, meanwhile, is back in 13th. His season has been defined by heartbreak, with finishes of P3 at Sonoma, P2 at Kansas and P2 at Phoenix. Buescher knows the clock is ticking and capitalizing on opportunities is paramount.
“We’ve got to capitalize and conclude one of these things,” Buescher said. “The bigger goal at the start of the season was how… we make sure that we’re locked in with a chance to win a championship [and] not just participate. We’re in a good spot, but we’re not in a great spot yet. We’ve got to go through these next handful of races and make all the pieces fit together and click right. And, certainly, there has been some frustration on a lot of parts of it. But we’re doing our best to not let that continuously build up and get worse.”
[ad_2]
