Same song, different verse: RFK Racing dealt NASCAR playoff heartbreak once again

RFK Racing knows what it's like to miss the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in heartbreaking fashion. 

Despite a very consistent 2024 campaign, Chris Buescher missed the playoffs a season ago. That was the case for Buescher again on Saturday evening — but it wasn't just the Prosper, Texas, native who came up shy. 

RFK Racing drivers Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski also missed the playoffs by failing to win on Saturday at Daytona. Like Buescher, Pr eece was a steady presence in the top 15 in the standings all season, but winners from below the cut line hindered his playoff chances. 

Keselowski started the 2025 season off incredibly slow but made great strides throughout the summer. He, too, missed the playoffs after he was unable to stage a late-race charge. 

Preece is still yet to make the Cup Series playoffs. Buescher missed the postseason for the fifth time in six seasons at RFK Racing, while Keselowski has missed twice in his four seasons as an owner-driver. 

RFK's season is a perfect encapsulation of modern NASCAR. Consistency can pay off, but only to a certain extent. At the end of the day, winning, and doing so at the right time, is all that matters. 

Unfortunately for the whole of RFK Racing, being pretty good wasn't good enough.