Joey Hand leads RFK Racing at Chicago with Top-5 effort
In his one-off NASCAR Cup Series start with RFK Racing, Joey Hand posted a Top-5 Sunday at the Chicago Street Course, a career-high finish for the road racing specialist.
“Awesome race for me,” Hand said. “This team welcomed me like I had been driving it for 10 years, and we had a great time.”
Hand, who started 38th, elected to stay on the race track with wet tires when the race resumed on lap 25 after a delay for inclement weather, as opposed to drivers who pitted for slicks.
Hand’s No. 60 inherited the lead on lap 44, staying out front for seven laps and scoring the Stage 2 victory.
Hand was ultimately passed by race winner Alex Bowman on lap 50, or with eight laps to go.
Hand led the trio of RFK Racing drivers, ultimately finishing fourth.
“I thought there was a chance was going to win another one which was going to be huge,” Hand said. “To run fourth, starting 38th, with this car, it was a ton of fun.”
Prior to Sunday, Hand made seven career NASCAR Cup Series starts, all with Rick Ware Racing in 2021 and 2022. Hand’s prior highest finish was at Sonoma in 2022 (20th).
Team owner and teammate Brad Keselowski, who was on the same strategy and raced inside the Top-5 during the final stage, finished 18th.
The other RFK Racing driver, Chris Buescher, finished 20th.
Additionally, the finish is the highest yet for RRK Racing’s Stage 60 entry. David Ragan finished 20th in the Daytona 500 and Cameron Waters finished 35th at Sonoma.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.