RFK Racing Still Mulling Whether to Appeal Buescher Penalties

RFK Racing issued a statement on Thursday that the team would weigh whether or not to appeal an L1-Level penalty issued to Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team after the group's Ford Mustang Dark Horse was found to have issues with the front bumper cover of its race car from last Sunday's AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway this week in a randomized teardown at the NASCAR R&D Center.

As of Friday afternoon, the team is still undecided on whether it will appeal the 60-point penalties assessed to Buescher and the No. 17 team in the NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner standings. NASCAR has imposed a deadline of the end of the day on Monday for the team to file an appeal, and team co-owner Brad Keselowski indicated in a media scrum on Friday at North Wilkesboro Speedway that the team will likely take the call to the final buzzer.

"Yeah, there's been a lot going on. I mean, obviously, I was traveling most of the week with media appearances and sponsor stuff. I haven't gotten all of it dialed in yet to fully understand," Keselowski explained. "We have until Monday to do so, and we're going to exhaust that time period and evaluate everything by then."

With the penalties in place, Buescher dropped from 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship standings to 24th. It's a massive hit, but Buescher says he is focused on the positive which is the fact that he has had some really fast race cars this season.

"You know what, we've had some really great speed here at RFK, and we're certainly proud of that and what we've been able to do at race tracks. And nothing is going to change that for us, right now," Buescher said in a media bullpen at North Wilkesboro Speedway. "We've had a lot of potential in these race cars, and ultimately, we'll take this one step at a time right now. We're focused on the All-Star here, and the [Coca-Cola] 600 is coming up. We've been really good on mile-and-a-halfs in the last several weeks. You know, that's a big one circled as well. One of my favorite races. Just trying to really look ahead at the moment."

Buescher admits that when his No. 17 car was one of the two randomly selected cars to go back to the NASCAR R&D Center after last Sunday's race, he didn't expect anything to come from it. As the penalties were announced for his team, Buescher was busy spending a previously planned day off with his family.

"No, I didn't expect anything," Buescher said of the penalties. "I guess I don't know all of those answers, right? I don't know everything that happens. But I've been a little intentionally out of the loop. Yesterday, just had a day planned with my dad and my daughter for several months to take off and enjoy some time. So, haven't really gotten into the weeds of it. Ultimately, it's a surprise, but obviously we've got things to think about, and you know, obviously, a timeline to file an appeal. We'll internally make those decisions and see where we go."

If RFK Racing decides to not appeal the penalties, or if the penalties stand following an appeal, Buescher says it won't change the mindset at all as he and the No. 17 RFK Racing team go into each season expecting to have to win a race to make it into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

"It's always a must-win. We thought a few times that we could be really good in points and make our way in, and there are one or two cars that make it in on points," Buescher stated. "It's been a must-win since Daytona, since we always have that mindset here, so, really, it's not going to change that."

Will RFK Racing appeal the penalties or not? We'll have to await the final decision by the team, which is expected to come on Monday.

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