Brad Keselowski’s Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team was on fire at Watkins Glen. All three cars showed some real speed in the race. Brad Keselowski looked formidable throughout the race, starting 16th and managing to lead five laps of the 90-lap race. Unfortunately, a flat rear tire caused his car to smoke heavily, forcing him to drop back from a promising position. His efforts highlighted the urgency of his playoff situation as the pressure mounted to secure his spot in the postseason. But it was his teammate, Ryan Preece, who wasn’t satisfied with his performance either.

Despite a solid run and leading a lap, Ryan expressed frustration after the race, recognizing the narrow margin that separates him from advancing to the postseason. With the playoff cut-off approaching, Ryan admitted the team needs to raise their game at Richmond Raceway; it’s a must-win scenario for him and the RFK racing team to keep their championship hopes alive.

“We need to be elite,” says Ryan Preece as Richmond becomes a must-win

Ryan Preece faced a challenging race at the Go Bowling at The Glen, starting from 17th position. Throughout the 90-lap race, he maintained a steady pace, ultimately finishing 13th, just 33 seconds behind race winner Shane Van Gisbergen. He even led a lap of the race, maintaining a strong pace and taking advantage of pit strategy. Throughout the race, Ryan focused on preserving track position and optimizing pit stops.

His deep executive strategic call to keep him on fresh tires at key points allowed him to fend off challengers and move up a few spots from his starting position. Despite the lack of laps led, Ryan showed resilience by staying close to the leaders’ pace and avoiding major incidents, which helped them secure valuable points as the regular season drew to a close.

Speaking to Frontstretch, Ryan Preece couldn’t help but express his frustration. He said, “I felt like we did a great job on strategy. Yeah, just that last bit of stuff didn’t go to where we needed it to. Details, man, details are what it takes. When you’re in this position, Chris isn’t going to screw up. He’s not somebody that’s just going to make a mistake. So, ultimately, we got to go to Richmond, and we got to win. We got to qualify well, get a bunch of stage points, and win, or damn near come close to it. So, that’s what it’s going to take. Brian, obviously taking the point situation out of it, it was a pretty good day for RFK as a whole.”

It is clear that Ryan Preece‘s main aim isn’t just to get a playoff spot but also to beat his teammate to it. Despite the back-to-back top-five finishes, Ryan remains firmly in the playoff hunt, trailing his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher by just 23 points for the final playoff spot. Given Preece’s past struggles on these tracks, it would seem that Chris has the advantage on the track. Chris Buescher managed to round up a nice P3 at the Glen, at least 10 positions ahead of Ryan.

He added, “Yeah, I mean, we’ve had a great deal. We’ve had a great team, and it’s just been really good. So, ultimately, it’s going to be tough. It’s not going to be easy to make it and beat Chris, but we have the car. We have the restarts. We got the speed. We do all those things right. It was a first-year team. We’re executing like a team that’s been together for a long time, and now we just need to be elite right now. This isn’t just going and checking the boxes isn’t going to get it done. We need to be elite.”

Ryan Preece believes that his shot at winning will come at Richmond Raceway next weekend. His 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season demonstrated his growing competitiveness on short tracks. Starting from 16th position at Richmond, he finished 28th, which was below expectations in the March race. However, his subsequent race at Richmond in August saw an improvement. Starting from 26th, he finished 25th, indicating a slight gain in position. Despite these results, Ryan’s consistency and staying on the lead lap and accessibility to navigate the challenges of short-track racing suggest a foundation for future success at Richmond.

“Yeah, I think, you know, for us, you can definitely manage those expectations, but I f—— hate losing, so it’s hard to do that. Yeah, I don’t know. I guess I don’t really have a real good answer for you, other than I want to go to Richmond, and I want to do everything it takes to win. A lot of passion with racing, so it’s nice to be in the position where I’m racing again.”

But his 2025 season has been different; with growing momentum and speed on his side, despite Ryan Preece confessing to his honest misstep that sabotaged RFK Racing at one point, he could actually clinch a win at Richmond. However, beating Chris Buescher will be equally hard.

Points or win? Buescher’s playoff path narrows

Chris Buescher is a driver who despises points racing; his focus is always on going for the win. Yet, with less than two weeks left before the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs field is finalized, Buescher found himself battling for crucial points at Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. His crew chief, Scott Graves, called for an alternate pit strategy that put Buescher in a strong position to rack up valuable points.

After overtaking Alex Bowman, another competitor fighting for points, late in the opening stage, Chris secured his second stage win of the season. Graves chose to keep the No. 17 Ford out on track at the end of the stage, aiming to stretch their run deep into the second stage and reduce the number of pit stops from three to two compared to the majority of the field. However, Buescher’s pace dropped off early in Stage 2, and when a caution came out on lap 28, he took the chance to pit for fresh Goodyear tires.

Despite the strategy, many drivers opted not to contest Stage 2, leaving Buescher without stage points during that segment. He stayed on track until lap 54 before making his second and final stop. Exiting the pits in a fierce battle with William Byron and Ryan Blaney, Chris passed both drivers to secure a runner-up position, far behind the dominant Shane Van Gisbergen. Christopher Bell made a late charge, overtaking Chris on the last lap and pushing him back to third.

Graves admitted the team faced a tough balancing act between chasing a win and managing points. Speaking to NASCAR, Chris said, “At the end of the day, the next two weeks need to be solid weeks. We need to go there, bring fast Mustangs, and we need to win. I keep spewing the same line because I certainly hate points racing. While it didn’t give us a bad result by any means today, you have to think it hinders your best opportunity to win. It’s the situation we’re in; we get it.”

Buescher’s 44 points were second-best on the day behind Blaney’s 45, leaving him precariously on the playoff bubble with two races remaining and 34 points ahead of teammate Ryan Preece. With wildcard opportunities at Richmond and Daytona looming, every point will matter as Chris chases a spot to advance.