08/26/2025
RFK Advance | Darlington II
Darlington II Event Info:
Date: Sunday, August 31
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Format: 367 Laps, 501.32 Miles, Stages: 115-230-367
TV: USA
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 9 a.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 10:10 a.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 6 p.m. ET, Cup Race (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin this weekend with the annual running of the Southern 500, marking the 75th Anniversary of historic Darlington Raceway.
- Buescher holds the third highest average starting position (11.7) in the Cup Series this season, anchored by 11 starts inside the top 10.
- Buescher is also one of eight drivers with 13+ top-10 results this season, and has an average finish of 14.1 which is the seventh highest among Cup drivers.
- Brad Keselowski has posted four top-10 finishes over his last six races, including two in the top five, with an average finish of 12.7.
- Keselowski is a two-time winner at Darlington Raceway, finding victory lane in last season’s spring race after starting on the front row and leading 37 laps.
- Preece has set Cup Series career highs this season in top-fives (3) and top-10s (10), and has finished inside the top-20 in 11 of his last 12 starts.
- Earlier this season, Preece started on the front row at Darlington despite finishing 26th.
6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
- Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation’s Tribute to Veterans program returned this year presented by BuildSubmarines.com. For its seventh consecutive year, and fourth with RFK Racing, the program will honor America’s heroes with a special scheme on the No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang piloted by NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski at Darlington Raceway.
- This year 641 names will be featured on the car. The Tribute to Veterans program gives friends and family the opportunity to honor and recognize their heroes, including veterans, active military, military family members and their caregivers—acknowledging the ongoing commitment to the well-being of veterans and those who play a role in veterans’ lives daily.
- The proceeds of the program benefit the Checkered Flag Foundation in its mission to honor and assist those who have sacrificed greatly for our country and our communities.
17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Kroger / Tree Top
60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Trimble
Keselowski at Darlington
Starts: 23
Wins: 2 (2018 & 2024)
Top-10s: 12
Poles: 3 (2015, 2020, 2021)
- Keselowski makes his 24th Cup start this weekend at Darlington, and has finished inside the top-10 in four of his last six starts at the track. He owns a 12.0 average finish at Darlington.
- Keselowski won the fall race back in 2018, one of his seven top-5s overall at the track Too Tough to Tame. Overall, he’s finished 15th or better in 14 out of the last 17 Darlington races.
- Keselowski does have three poles at Darlington – 2015, 2020, 2021 – with an average starting position of 10.8 and 14 starts inside the top-10.
- He also made seven Xfinity Series starts with one win (2018) and three top-10s.
Buescher at Darlington
Starts: 16
Wins: —
Top-10s: 6
Poles: —
- Buescher makes his 17th start at Darlington this weekend where he has five top-10 finishes in his last six starts. Earlier this season Buescher finished sixth after starting 14th.
- He led 21 laps in the spring race last season, before following it up with a 6th-place result in the fall.
- He carries a 19.8 average starting position and posted his career-best qualifying effort of P3 last spring. He’s started inside the top-10 in three of the last four Darlington races.
- Buescher also made four Xfinity starts at Darlington with a 5th-place run in 2015.
Preece at Darlington
Starts: 11
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —
- Preece makes his 12th start at Darlington this weekend and posted his best career finish at the track last season (12th). He has finished inside the top-20 six times at Darlington, and has an average finish of 21.2.
- He holds a 22.9 average starting position and started on the front row (2nd) earlier this season.
- Preece also made one NXS starts at Darlington with a 10th-place finish in 2016. He placed 7th in his lone truck start at the track three years ago.
RFK Historically at Darlington
Cup Wins: 6 (Mark Martin, 1993; Jeff Burton, 1999, 1999; Greg Biffle, 2005, 2006: Brad Keselowski, 2024)
- Darlington Two-Step: RFK has twice won consecutive NCS races at Darlington, including a season sweep in 1999 with former driver Jeff Burton. RFK also earned victories in consecutive seasons at the egg-shaped oval in 2005 and 2006 with Biffle.
- First for Brad: Brad Keselowski snapped a 110-race winless streak Sunday at Darlington a year ago, winning his first race as co-owner/driver at RFK. He led 37 laps and earned the first win for the No. 6 car since David Ragan won at Daytona in 2011 (July 2).
- Kickin’ it Old School: Legendary RFK drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five of the six Cup wins for Jack Roush at Darlington. Martin earned Roush’s first Cup win back in 1993 after leading 178 laps. Burton swept the 1999 events as the dominant car, and Biffle earned back-to-back victories in 2005 and 2006.
- Tale of the Tape: In 269 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 21 wins, 72 top-five and 127 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFK has led 4,600+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 95,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFK has finished top-10 in 43.7 percent (80-of-183) of the races with 38 top-five results and six wins.
- Most All Time: It’s no secret that Roush has dominated in the Xfinity Series at Darlington. In 79 starts, the organization has 15 wins, 33 top-five and 44 top-10s. Mark Martin is responsible for eight of the victories, second-most for him among any track, after winning five of the first seven races at the track for Roush from 1993-96. He also went on to win in 1999 and swept again in 2000. Jeff Burton got in on the fun with wins in 1997, 2001 and 2002, while Biffle earned a win in 2004. Most recently, Kenseth drove to victory lane in 2005 and 2009.
RFK Darlington Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1999-1 Burton Cup
1999-2 Burton Cup
2005 Biffle Cup
2006 Biffle Cup
1993-2 Martin NXS
1994-1 Martin NXS
1994-2 Martin NXS
1995-2 Martin NXS
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-2 Burton NXS
1999-2 Martin NXS
2000-1 Martin NXS
2000-2 Martin NXS
2001-2 Burton NXS
2002-1 Burton NXS
2002-2 Burton NXS
2004-1 Biffle NXS
2005 Kenseth NXS
2009 Kenseth NXS
2024 Keselowski Cup
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Daytona II: Buescher 6th; Preece 14th; Keselowski 18th.
Points Standings (17: 17th, 60: 18th, 6: 22nd): Buescher and Preece sit 17th and 18th in points, respectively, after the reseeding at the start of the playoffs. Keselowski is 22nd in the standings after an 18th-place run at Daytona.
