NASCAR heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend for its first Cup Series points race at the historic venue in 30 years. Ryan Blaney will lead the field to green after claiming yet another pole this season (thanks to some good luck), continuing his role as Ford’s standard-bearer in 2026. Ahead of the race, however, fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski made a bold claim, suggesting RFK Racing has been the Blue Oval’s strongest team outside of Blaney himself.
“Well, if you took Ryan Blaney outside of the Ford camp, I’d argue we’re the best Fords,” Brad Keselowski said. “But Ryan Blaney is part of the Ford camp, and he’s earned a spot at the top of the totem pole and so our job out there is to compete.”
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Ryan Blaney has emerged as the manufacturer’s clear benchmark this season. Through 20 races, the Team Penske driver sits third in the Cup Series standings with two victories, four top-five finishes, and 15 top-10s. Week after week, Blaney has been the Ford driver everyone else has been chasing. Behind him, though, the picture becomes much tighter.
Chris Buescher is currently Ford’s next-best driver in seventh place, while Team Penske teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano sit 14th and 17th, respectively. RFK Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski are close behind in 18th and 19th. On paper, those standings may not immediately support Keselowski’s claim. But the veteran believes they don’t tell the full story.
RFK Racing has shown competitive speed throughout the season. Keselowski came within touching distance of victory with a runner-up finish at Darlington and followed it with a sixth-place run at Kansas. Preece has also delivered strong performances, finishing eighth at Bristol and ninth at Atlanta, while putting together several other competitive races that hinted at more potential than the results ultimately showed. The biggest obstacle hasn’t necessarily been speed. It’s been finishing races.
Before Sonoma, Brad Keselowski endured a miserable stretch of four consecutive finishes of 34th or worse after being caught up in crashes and mechanical problems. Preece has faced similar frustration with setbacks at Nashville, Michigan, and Pocono, costing him valuable points just as he appeared to be building momentum.
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Those missed opportunities have left both RFK drivers fighting to stay in playoff contention despite regularly showing race-winning pace. With only six races remaining before the playoffs begin, time is running short to turn that speed into results.
North Wilkesboro presents another opportunity to do exactly that. If RFK Racing can finally put together clean weekends, Keselowski’s confidence in his organization may not sound nearly as bold by the time the regular season comes to a close.
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