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RFK Racing makes appeal decision on Chris Buescher Kansas penalty

JHby: Jonathan Howard05/19/25Jondean25
Brad Keselowski Chris Buescher NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Ahead of the deadline, RFK Racing has decided to appeal the penalty levied against Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team. NASCAR docked Buescher 60 points and fined the team $75,000 after finding a front bumper issue on his car at the R&D Center.

Chris Buescher dropped all the way to 24th in the points. The penalty was a massive one, and should it hold up, Buescher will remain there. Likely making him a must-win driver to make the playoffs.

RFK Racing released a statement today about the appeal. They will now undergo the process and see if they can get the penalties overturned.

“After a thorough review of the penalties issued to the No. 17 Ford Mustang, RFK Racing has decided to appeal NASCAR’s decision. We respect NASCAR’s commitment to fair competition and appreciate the opportunity to engage in the appeals process.”

RFK Racing can’t afford too many more setbacks. Brad Keselowski this season is floundering to find speed and his footing this season. Even when he won the All-Star Race pole, his night ended with him unable to finish the race.

Right now, RFK Racing has yet to ask for a penalty deferral in regard to crew chief Scott Graves. He sat out the All-Star Race, and should the penalty be upheld, Graves will have to sit out at least one more race. He may sit out of Charlotte if the appeal decision doesn’t happen this week.

The idea behind making Graves sit out before the appeal is heard is that in case the appeal fails, they won’t have to serve that suspension afterward. Chris Buescher could pick up a win in one of these summer races coming up at Charlotte, Nashville, or Michigan. They wan that team to be full strength for those races.

RFK Racing will appeal Chris Buescher’s penalty

This season, Chris Buescher has been pretty solid. He has to lock in on his consistency. He has only had back-to-back top-10 finishes once this season, COTA and Phoenix. However, he has top-10 finishes in half of the races so far this year.

Buescher had put himself in the playoff picture on points prior to the penalty. It is going to be a long way back up the standings if he wants to make that a reality again. I’m not so sure that he can do that, but with 14 races let in the regular season, there is theoretically enough time to do it.

Of course, with a win, Buescher makes all of the headaches go away. We know that he can win races. That 2023 season was a special one with Buescher grabbing the checkered flag three times in a span of five races at the end of the regular season.

Michigan is the race I’m looking at. Buescher has won that race before and it is a track that he feels comfortable at. RFK Racing also brings speed to these tracks with the Roush Yates Engines thriving on the large, high-speed ovals. RFK Racing hopes that they get those 60 points back in the meantime.