TALLADEGA, Ala. — RFK Racing remains winless in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season but not without a strong effort by Chris Buescher at Talladega Superspeedway.

Photo: Dominic Aragon/TRE

Buescher carried the banner late in the going but he didn’t get to trade that in for a checkered flag — or even a white flag. A lap after surging from eighth to first on the backstretch with three laps to go, Byron bumped Buescher, sending him into the inside wall.

Buescher ended up 30th — in the garage — when the checkered flag flew in overtime. He failed to finish for just the second time this season.

“We had a really fast Ford and we were up there where we needed to be and just took a bad push down the back there. It ended up being a hard hit,” Buescher said. “The car was really fast and the RFK guys did a great job today. Just the way these things keep going. Ultimately, it was another fast Ford Mustang here. I appreciate the team doing such a good job, and we’ll just try again.”

It’s no wonder why Buescher described Talladega as “a little madness” leading up to Sunday’s race. The madness ultimately kept him winless this season as he said his team is searching for a little more speed.

“We’ve been very consistent but we have a step to take to be very consistently fighting for wins and that’s the big thing,” Buescher said. “We had a big goal this season to fire off and win a race in the first eight. We weren’t able to do that, obviously, but also I think what was good for us was the first eight races were way more competitive than we had been in the past… which put us in a place where we were so close to being able to win.”

Buescher pointed out Michigan, Pocono and Texas. Now, he can add Talladega to that.

“We certainly, along with anybody in the field, have had our share of bad luck. But it’s been a good year. It’s just not been absolutely everything we wanted it to be,” he said.

Buescher sits 17th in points, a solid 56 points ahead of teammate Ryan Preece, to be “best of the rest.”

Still, two races remain for Buescher to win — Oct. 26 at Martinsville Speedway and the Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.

Dominic Aragon /TRE

Two years ago, Buescher contended for the win in the championship race at Phoenix. If he is going to win anywhere, that will likely be the place.

“I’ve wanted to burn Phoenix down for most of my career. I’ve hated that place with a fairly decent passion and it was really tough for a long time. The Next Gen car, something definitely got better in a little way. But the last probably two years at Phoenix now – three or four races – we’ve just made incredible strides to be more competitive there,” Buescher said. “We’ve figured out a lot on the car side. I’ve figured out some stuff from my side of things and it’s made it a much more enjoyable weekend.

“For two years now, I’ve been able to truthfully say I’m looking forward to heading to Phoenix. Whereas, I basically just straight-up lied for a long time.”

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com