RFK Racing withdraws Chris Buescher appeal, crew members suspended for next two races

Following the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix, RFK Racing has withdrawn its appeal regarding the Chris Buescher penalty from Las Vegas. So, jackman Nicholas Patterson and front tire changer Jackob Prall are going to be suspended for the next two races.

Chris Buescher’s team was hit with a loose wheel penalty after his right front wheel came off at Las Vegas during the race. That comes with a two-race suspension for two crew members. Usually, it is the jackman and the tire changer on whichever wheel comes off.

RFK Racing appealed the decision and the suspensions were deferred for Phoenix. So, Buescher was able to keep his pit crew for the weekend. However, Patterson and Prall will miss out on Bristol and COTA.

Here is Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports with the news of the appeal withdrawal.

RFK Racing has withdrawn its appeal to the suspensions on the Chris Buescher car so their suspensions will start this week at Bristol (and then COTA).

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 11, 2024

By appealing, RFK Racing ensured that Chris Buescher had his full pit crew this week. It makes sense to want the full crew together at the championship track. With Bristol coming up, the pit crew changes could be tough to deal with. However, going to COTA, there really shouldn’t be a concern.

To their credit, it worked. Buescher was able to finish P2 at Phoenix, a little more than five seconds behind winner Christopher Bell. Brad Keselowski finished P4 to give RFK their best collective performance of the season.

Chris Buescher was ‘close’ but needed more

After finishing P2, Chris Buescher was happy to finish a race strong this season. Last season, winning three races in five weeks, Buescher tapped into the potential of RFK Racing. This year, he is going to try and do it again.

A tough going in the early season, but this might be the beginning of a solid run for Buescher. He had a shaky start in 2023 as well but eventually hit his groove and made a lot of noise.

With the race behind him on Sunday, Buescher talked about the progress his team has made early to get to this point already.

“Really proud of everybody. This is a good try. We had a rough go last week,” Buescher said after the Sunday race. “This was good to get everybody back to prove that we’re in this together and we’re going to win one of these things as a team. That was almost a win today. We were close in a way, but like we were just talking, I couldn’t even see the 20.

“That was going to be a tough one to battle for a win. But really impressed with everybody today, did a heck of a job, worked hard to get back up where we needed to be at the end. Was able to save just enough fuel to go 100% at the end. Got to second. Really proud with that.”

A strong effort comes up just short for Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing organization has some great momentum going into Bristol and beyond, though.