RFK places three cars in top 11 at Las Vegas, Buescher ninth in points

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing emerged from the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as an under-the-radar contender after the Race, with Denny Hamlin winning and Chase Elliott and William Byron completing the podium. RFK’s three cars all finished inside the top 11 — Chris Buescher a season-best sixth, Brad Keselowski 10th and Ryan Preece 11th — underscoring the team’s race-day consistency; Buescher was the only non-Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports entry in the top eight and ran in the top five late after starting 10th.

After FP1 and Q3 sessions, RFK’s clean execution, strong pit work and steady in-race adjustments paid off on race day. Crew chief Scott Graves’ Stage Two adjustments put Buescher consistently among the leaders, a late pass on Tyler Reddick secured sixth and he briefly climbed to fourth on a lap-210 restart. Keselowski rallied from a 28th-place start, made a late two-lap pass for 10th and credited RFK’s pit work and mechanical reliability while acknowledging the team still needs more raw short-term speed to reach his internal goal of five wins. Preece, who qualified eighth, battled tire wear and dirty air to finish 11th.

The results had immediate championship implications: all three RFK drivers occupied Chase-eligible positions under the revised top-16 format. Chris Buescher sits ninth in points, 109 behind leader Tyler Reddick and 48 behind Bubba Wallace, and sources agree the team sits inside the playoff picture, though reports vary slightly on Preece’s exact postrace ranking (11th or 13th). Across five races RFK had led 22 laps, a modest total that team leaders say heightens the focus on converting reliable execution into more outright pace.