THE ATHLETIC
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — RFK Racing is progressing toward expanding to three full-time NASCAR Cup Series teams in 2025, a move that would likely include bringing aboard big-ticket sponsor Kroger as a team-wide sponsor for all three cars, and signing driver Ryan Preece, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic. The team, whose ownership group includes Cup champion Brad Keselowski, is expected to make an official announcement in the coming weeks.
RFK under its previous name, Roush Fenway Racing, had as many as five full-time Cup teams before gradually downsizing to its current two-car configuration for drivers Keselowski and Chris Buescher. Keselowski, who joined the renamed team in a driver-owner capacity in 2022, has stated publicly that he’d like to see RFK expand — provided the timing was right, the appropriate sponsorship was secured and the team’s overall performance was on the upswing.
“We don’t have any announcements that we’re ready to make, but hopefully we’ll have something to share with everybody here in the next month or so,” Keselowski told The Athletic on Wednesday during NASCAR playoff media day. “But nothing publicly that I’m ready to talk about.”
The timing is now right with RFK having sufficient sponsorship in place and the team is competitive enough to justify making this move. Keselowski made the playoffs this season and won the spring race at Darlington, while Buescher won three races in 2023 and narrowly missed the 2024 playoffs.
Kroger, one of the biggest supermarket chains in the United States, is considered one of the biggest sponsors within NASCAR to the extent that for four years it funded two full-time teams at JTG Daugherty Racing. That stint included serving as primary sponsor for two years with Buescher and three years with Preece when each drove for the team.
Kroger and JTG are separating after a sponsorship partnership that dates back to 2010. The pending dissolution of the deal at the end of this year has made Kroger one of the more sought-after sponsors with several teams trying to solicit its backing. That RFK is likely securing Kroger is a big win for the company.
Preece would join RFK after spending the 2023 and 2024 seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing. The 33-year-old has a best finish of third in 177 Cup starts.
Whether RFK is actually acquiring or leasing a charter is unclear, but the new third team will not operate as an “open” car due to the financial hit that would entail as it would cost an additional several million dollars to run full-time without a charter.
NASCAR and its teams are currently negotiating an extension to the charter agreement that is set to expire after the 2024 season. It is expected that NASCAR will increase the money paid to the teams, though the exact terms are still to be determined.
Negotiations between NASCAR and the teams on a new charter agreement are ongoing. There is no definitive date on when a new charter agreement will be reached, but many within the industry believe a deal could be finalized in the coming weeks.
(Photo Courtesy NASCAR)
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