RFK Racing doesn’t have a charter secured for next year, and they have a stacked driver lineup with owner Keselowski and Ryan Preece making it a dynamic trio. While they are yet to secure a third charter, the rumors about which driver they will lose are being heavily discussed by insiders. 

Journalist Jordan Bianchi said that teams are already chasing Chris Buescher. Speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Bianchi said, “He’s definitely had a lot of interest from teams. And Chris, for a long time, is regarded as one of the most underrated drivers in the Cup series garage, where if you put him in an upper echelon organization that gives a Hendrick, a Gibbs, a Penske, he’s gonna go win races for you and contend for the championship.

"He’s the kind of elite talent.”

While RFK is losing a charter, there are teams that are looking for more competitive drivers. Penske for one is definitely looking to make their team more competitive. They have just renewed Ryan Blaney’s deal and he is the highest ranked Ford driver so he’s definitely not moving. 

Joey Logano is a three-time Cup series winner, you cannot buy pedigree like that and there is an air about his relation to Team Penske where he is considered protected and untouchable. That leaves Austin Cindric who is in a contract year. Cindric is currently 17th one position out of the Chase. 

Although he is currently performing better than Joey Logano in 18th, Cindric remains the driver at risk. 

Bianchi said, “There are teams that are certainly interested in him. I know two organizations.” He hinted that one was a Ford(Penske) and the other a Toyota.

Solution coming for RFK charter worries?

Bianchi hinted that the other team interested in Chris Buescher could be Joe Gibbs Racing, because Denny Hamlin’s #11 Toyota frees up at the end of 2027, which Hamlin has confirmed will be his last full-time Cup season.

But Buescher wouldn’t want to sit out in 2027 without a driver waiting to pick up again in 2028. For him, if Penske is offering a deal, it makes sense both ways. He’s able to extract more out of a Ford that hasn’t been as competitive, and that is exactly what Penske wants.

But Bianchi suggested that a solution may be in the works for RFK’s charter problem. Team owner Brad Keselowski has often said that RFK wants to run three cars no matter what, and the team wants to continue growing. Buescher has a strong working relationship with RFK, and given the choice, he would stay. 

Bianchi said, “There is potential that a charter could be sold and there are conversations ongoing about a team that could sell a charter.”

While it isn’t clear which team is looking to sell a charter currently, the last one in the rumor mill was Hyak Motorsports, but they have just renewed Ricky Stenhouse Jr., committing their long-term future to NASCAR.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason