Overshadowed by Tyler Reddick's historic fourth win in six races to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, one of the top storylines at Darlington Raceway over the weekend was the speed of the Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing Fords.
At one point in Sunday's Goodyear 400, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece were running 1-2-3. They finished second, ninth, and 13th, respectively, after combining to lead 183 of the event's 293 laps.
Such is the theme far too often for RFK Racing. They're fast enough to win, but they don't have the superstar power to take them over the top. Thankfully, there may soon be a solution for that, if both sides are interested enough.
Ross Chastain can be the guy who takes RFK Racing to the next level
One driver who was not very present on Sunday was Ross Chastain. He finished an invisible 16th, which is somehow his best finish this year on the three non-drafting ovals. For a team that's constantly touted as a future powerhouse, Trackhouse Racing continues to take steps backward in the speed department.
We all know what Chastain is capable of when his equipment is good enough. He was the story of the 2022 season, when he finished second in the championship in an electrifying breakout campaign. And given how much more under control he's become in the time since, he's arguably a better driver now than he was then. But he is being wasted.
At RFK Racing, it's the opposite story. The organization has six wins ever since Keselowski bought into the team in 2022, and three of them came in three consecutive oval races. They are always consistent, but when consistency comes at any level below excellence, the correct word for that term is in fact "mediocrity".
Only five drivers have finished on the lead lap all season.
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) March 23, 2026
We've got three of them. 💪 https://t.co/1hdRJ2FYi1 pic.twitter.com/HI6fl3YXZH
Finishing on the lead lap is great. But with all three drivers in contract years, Keselowski and company need to be thinking about the team's long-term goals. He is 42 years old, and Buescher and Preece are what they are. Neither one is very likely going to compete for a title in the future.
Chastain can. The length of his current deal with Trackhouse Racing is unknown, but if he becomes available, RFK Racing needs to be beating down his door. Whether that's as a replacement for Buescher or Preece (more likely the latter) or for Keselowski if he retires, he would be an immediate upgrade over any of the three.
RFK Racing is a championship-level team that lacks a championship-level driver. Chastain is a championship-level driver who needs to be on a championship-level team. And he has history with both Keselowski and Roush, running part-time for the owner-driver's former Craftsman Truck Series team in 2013 and driving three races in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Cup car early in the 2020 season.
It just makes too much sense. Both sides should be working to make this happen as soon as possible.