08/29/2023
RFK Advance | Darlington II
Darlington II Event Info:
Track Info: Darlington Raceway, 1.366-mile
Date: Sunday, Sept. 3
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Format: 367 laps, 501.3 miles, Stages: 115-115-137
TV: USA
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 12:35 p.m. ET, Practice (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:20 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 6 p.m. ET, Race (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- Round one of the NASCAR Playoffs begins this weekend at the track ‘Too Tough to Tame’ as RFK takes both of its Ford Mustangs into the postseason with waves of momentum.
- Chris Buescher is coming off his third win of the season after winning Daytona as both he and Brad Keselowski solidified even better playoff positioning.
- Buescher is one of six drivers this season with multiple wins, and is tied for second in total wins with two other drivers (Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch).
- He ranks second among all drivers in average finish (12.2), while Keselowski is eighth (13.8).
- This marks Buescher’s second playoffs appearance (qualified in 2016), and the ninth for Keselowski.
- It’s the first playoffs appearance for the No. 6 car since 2019, and first for the No. 17 since 2017.
6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: Solomon Plumbing
17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
Keselowski at Darlington
Starts: 19
Wins: 1 (2018)
Top-10s: 10
Poles: 3 (2015, 2020, 2021)
- Keselowski makes his 20th Cup start at Darlington on Sunday. He’s coming off a fourth-place finish this spring and has 10 top-10s and five top-five finishes with an 11.7 average finish.
- Keselowski won the fall race back in 2018, one of his six top fives overall at the track Too Tough to Tame. He’s coming off two-straight P7 finishes in the last two fall races, and has finishes seventh or better in four of the last seven Darlington races.
- Keselowski does have three poles at Darlington – 2015, 2020, 2021 – with an average starting position of 11th and 12 starts inside the top-10.
- He also made seven Xfinity Series starts with one win (2018) and three top-10s.
Buescher at Darlington
Starts: 12
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —
- Buescher, coming off his third win in five weeks, is set for his 13th Cup start from Darlington where he’s coming off a P10 finish this spring.
- Overall at Darlington he has a 17.5 average finish with three top-10s in the last five races.
- He carries a 23.5 average starting position with a best starting spot of 11th which came in the 2021 spring race.
- Buescher also made four Xfinity starts at Darlington with a fifth-place run in 2015.
RFK Historically at Darlington
Cup Wins: 5 (Mark Martin, 1993; Jeff Burton, 1999, 1999; Greg Biffle, 2005, 2006)
- 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.
- Tale of the Tape: In 260 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 20 wins, 70 top-five and 122 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFK has led 4,500+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 91,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFK has finished top-10 in 43 percent (75-of-174) of the races with 36 top-five results and five wins.
- Kickin’ it Old School: Legendary RFK drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five 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 the two most recent victories in 2005 and 2006.
- Most All Time: It’s no secret that when 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
Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Daytona: Keselowski pushed Buescher to the win in Saturday night’s regular-season finale, the third win in the last five weeks for the No. 17 team. It marked RFK’s first 1-2 finish since the 2014 season.
Points Standings (17: 4th, 6: 9th): With the points standings re-seeded entering the playoffs, Buescher is fourth among all drivers, while Keselowski is ninth.
By the Numbers at Darlington
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
174 5 36 75 7 55379 2735 17.1 16.1 75647.7
79 15 33 44 12 10616 1856 9.9 12.9 14501.4
7 0 1 3 1 944 9 16.0 15.9 1289.50
260 20 70 122 20 66939 4600 14.8 15.1 91438.6
