BROOKLYN, MI – August 8, 2023 – Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines won their ninth straight NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher in the FireKeepers Casino 400. This victory marked 724 all-time wins for Ford Performance and back-to-back wins for Chris Buescher and RFK Racing. Ford retained the Michigan Heritage Trophy, presented to the winning manufacturer at the 2-mile track.
“Congratulations to Ford Performance, Jack, Brad, Scott, Chris, and everyone at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing on back-to-back wins and Ford’s continued success at Michigan,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “We are thankful for the continued leadership and commitment from Ford Motor Company. To win at their home track is monumental.”
“I am so proud of everyone at RFK and what we have been able to accomplish these last few years. To get it here at Ford’s home track, this one is always big. It is Jack’s home track and Brad’s home track and this is where we needed one. To fight for it and have such a clean race there with Truex at the end, he was really close to getting us at one point. We had to keep digging on it. I am really proud of everybody. That was awesome to put our Castrol Edge Mustang in victory lane here at Michigan and we have road courses coming up, I am really excited for those,” commented Buescher.
The FireKeepers Casino 400 was originally scheduled for Sunday but postponed to Monday due to persistent delays for inclement weather. Throughout the race, there were a total of nine cautions for 43 laps, 25 lead changes and 16 different race leaders. Chris Buescher, who started the race in 4th, took the lead for the first time on lap 133 and didn’t back down. After the last round of pitstops, the race came down to a battle between Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. Buescher capped the day by leading a race-high 52 of 200 laps and winning over Truex Jr. by 0.152 seconds. Buescher’s win marks Ford’s 44th Cup win at Michigan International Speedway and extended the longest winning streak by a manufacturer at a track.
Roush Fenway Keselowski teammates Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski finished in P1 and P4 while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick finished in P8 and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney finished in P9.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Michigan on Saturday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst finished in P6.
Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to the Indy Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana this weekend.
35 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 452 WINS – 417 POLES
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – August 14, 2023 – Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell won Sunday’s Verizon 200 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, becoming the 13th different full-time driver to win this year while securing a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. This weekend’s victory marked Ford’s 725th all-time win in NASCAR Cup Series competition and McDowell’s second win of his career. This was three consecutive wins for Ford Performance in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Congratulations to Michael, Travis, Bob, Jerry, and everyone at Front Row Motorsports on the victory at Indianapolis,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Michael and Travis executed throughout the long green flag run to stay up front and secure a well-deserved race win.”
“It was a total team effort. Our car was so fast. I just knew I had to execute and not make any mistakes. We lost the lead there in that first cycle but got it back on the second. We did everything we needed to do to have a fast Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang. So thankful, man. Such a grind – to finally be in victory lane. To do it at Indy, on a road course – it’s so special,” commented McDowell.
Sunday’s race on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis road course started with an incident on the second lap, causing a 4-lap caution period to repair the tire barrier. Michael McDowell started from P4 and quickly took the lead, winning the first stage and earning 10 playoff points. Since there were no cautions for stage breaks, the rest of the race was under green flag conditions. The race came down to a battle between McDowell and fellow playoff bubble drivers Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez. McDowell was able to score 19 playoff points, lead a race-high 54 laps, and win over Chase Elliott by 0.937 seconds.
Ford Performance teammate Chase Briscoe with Stewart-Haas Racing finished in P6 while RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher finished in P11 and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric finished in P13 and P15.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer finished in P6 while AM Racing’s Brett Moffitt finished in P10.
Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York this weekend.
35 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 453 WINS – 417 POLES
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images
DAYTONA, FL – August 28, 2023 – Chris Buescher won Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway as Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing finished 1-2 with co-owner/teammate Brad Keselowski finishing second. This race marked the end of the regular NASCAR Cup Series season and set the field for the 2023 playoffs. Six Ford Performance drivers advanced to the playoffs including Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski from RFK Racing, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney from Team Penske, Kevin Harvick from Stewart-Haas Racing, and Michael McDowell from Front Row Motorsports.
“Congratulations to Jack, Brad, Scott, Chris, and everyone at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing on the race win at Daytona,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Chris and Brad raced well together throughout the race to secure the win and are carrying momentum into the playoffs.”
“It’s so awesome. So proud to get Fifth Third Bank in Victory Lane here with this Ford Mustang. What a heck of a push from Brad in those closing laps for that entire restart. We lined up and worked to get connected. We hardly came disconnected those last couple of laps and it was a little squirrely at times, but that’s what we work so hard to execute superspeedway racing for two years now. We’ve been so close. We’ve been within the last five laps of so many of these things to finally get it done here tonight is special,” commented Buescher.
Saturday’s 400-mile race started with seven Ford Performance drivers in the top-10 including Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Aric Almirola that started on the front row. Pole-winner Chase Briscoe led a race-high 67 of 163 laps. A large wreck on the last lap of Stage 2 collected 16 cars but Brad Keselowski was able to drive through to take the stage win. Another wreck on lap 156 forced the scheduled 160 lap race into overtime with RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski out front. Brad Keselowski locked bumpers and provided a push to his teammate to secure the win for the #17 team.
A total of five Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10: RFK Racing teammates Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski in P1 and P2, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola in P3, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P5, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in P9.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series also raced at Daytona on Friday night. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer finished in P5 while RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg finished in P6.
Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina this weekend.
35 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 454 WINS – 417 POLES
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media & Getty Images