NASCAR: RFK Racing’s Bowers, Keselowski address split

LAS VEGAS — Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing president Chip Bowers, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece addressed Keselowski’s season-ending departure during separate media availabilities Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Keselowski, the 2012 series champ, joined as a minority owner and driver for the rebranded RFK Racing (formerly Roush Fenway Racing) in 2022.

On Tuesday (Sept. 29) the announcement that he would vacate the No. 6 at the end of the year sent shockwaves throughout the NASCAR Cup Series garage.

In the fallout, both Buescher and Preece, who qualified for the 2026 Chase and are under contract with the team in 2027, spoke with the media Saturday morning before practice and qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday.

“I wasn’t completely in the dark, but it’s not like I knew something was coming down the line,” Buescher said. “We’ve had some conversations, not to the pinpoint knowledge part of it, but from both sides – from Brad and right before letting me know, and from Chip’s side as well.”

Ryan Preece is the team’s most recent addition, having raced with RFK Racing since 2025. In the second season in their third-entry he has had a breakout season, qualifying for this year’s Chase and winning a race for the first time in his Cup Series career.

The committed Preece didn’t overstep his position and remained future focused in his thoughts.

“I think there’s just a lot of questions that we’re working on answering,” Preece said. “What I’ll say is this is an opportunity to keep building the house. It’s not gonna get torn down.

Keselowski, who was not required to meet with the media at the track this weekend, made himself available inside the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Media Center and fielded questions from reporters.

“There’s a lot I can’t talk about at this time,” a reserved Keselowski said in his opening remark. “It’s got to play out, but it’s been a hell of a ride. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve gotten to do with RFK and my career is not over by any means.”

Then, RFK Racing president Chip Bowers spoke to the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon in a scheduled availability in the media center on behalf of the RFK Racing organization.

“He’s been a great friend and someone who has really helped modernize our business on the track over the last five years,” Bowers said. “I think it’s fair to say that it’ll be an important chapter in our organization’s history.”

During the media session, Bowers mentioned the team wanted Keselowski to focus “more on his role in competition” three years from now and beyond, but mentioned Brad may want to continue driving beyond that.

“We just wanted to make the competition side more of a focus, he wanted to focus more on the driving side,” Bowers said.

Bowers also confirmed the team will continue to pursue a third charter, but will field three entries regardless.

Finally, at the end of the press conference, Bowers confirmed Preece would be in a chartered car in 2027.

There is still more details to come in the coming days and weeks regarding the shocking split. Brad Keselowski and the organization each have major decisions for their respective 2027 plans to work through but the partnership still has six more races to end on a positive note.

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