Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing refuses to think small despite looming charter crisis

RFK Racing has locked in Chris Buescher on a multi-year contract extension but has not yet found a third charter for 2027. According to team president Chip Bowers, the team will run three cars next season and it is also prepared to enter races as an open team until a permanent solution is found.

The team, co-owned by Brad Keselowski, is staring at a major charter problem for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season. It owns Keselowski’s No. 6 and Buescher’s No. 17 charters, but leased the No. 60 Ford, driven by Ryan Preece, from Rick Ware Racing. And since NASCAR allows charters to be leased for one year at a time, RFK and RWR alternated between Ware’s two charters in 2025 and 2026. That arrangement is set to end after the 2026 season.

Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Bowers responded to questions about the team’s charter plans and detailed what was non-negotiable inside the company.

“We’re going to be a tier one team, and you can’t do that running a two-car operation, so we will find a third charter. If we have to run open next season, we will do that. We’ve already communicated that to our staff and organisation and to our partners, and we have wholesale support from our ownership all the way down to the interns in the organisation.”

One of Rick Ware Racing’s charters has been sold to Legacy Motor Club, which will expand its Cup Series program to three full-time entries in 2027. Once that charter moves to Legacy, RFK Racing will lose access to the leased entry.

Brad Keselowski also addressed the charter hunt recently. He said that no charters were available for sale despite the team’s active search.

“He wanted to be here” – RFK Racing president on Chris Buescher’s loyalty after contract extension shuts down rumors

Chip Bowers also commented on RFK Racing’s recent contract renewal with Chris Buescher, who has been part of the team since joining its development program in 2009.

“Our organization is excited that Chris has been with us half of his life at this juncture. He’s been a stalwart within the RFK racing family. He’s just an exceptional human being,” Chip Bowers said.

“From day one, we’ve made it clear to him that he was a priority to us. And Brad and the entire organization wanted to make sure that he felt that from the very start of our conversations. And he wanted to be here. He’s excited about the future.”

Chris Buescher’s contract extension ended rumors about his future and interest from other Ford teams, including Penske.

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old is ranked seventh in the NASCAR Cup points standings ahead of this week’s street race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.