Cup | NASCAR

Buescher, Keselowski Blow Tires in Phoenix Practice

Image Provided by: RFK Racing

Two RFK Racing Fords suffered blown tires during NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. Chris Buescher’s No. 17 and Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 cars both sustained damage after having a tire go down unexpectedly.

Keselowski’s impact appeared to be the more significant of the session’s issues. His No. 6 team rolled out a backup car and skipped qualifying later in the day. They were scored 34th on the practice leaderboard, compared to an 11th-place showing for Buescher. Keselowski will be starting at the rear of the field on Sunday.

The two RFK Racing cars weren’t the only ones to experiences issues in Saturday’s practice. 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst also had a tire go down, and his teammate Tyler Reddick spun out during his run.

Not a good start for @Chris_Buescher.

He returns to pit road with early issues in practice. pic.twitter.com/2pwNjsfTgm

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 7, 2026

“I just blew a tire entering Turn 3 and destroyed the car, but we’ll bring out the backup and be ready for Sunday,” Keselowski told FOX’s Bob Pockrass. “I’d be a fool to not say we were really concerned after just blowing a tire out. We saw my teammate Chris Buescher blow a tire out, and we went super conservative with everything and still blew out.”

Despite his issues Saturday, Chris Buescher is among the most consistent drivers at Phoenix. His 8.0 average finish over the last six races there is third-best among current NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Keselowski is also strong; his average finish of 14.5 of 14th best in the current field. Both drivers have multiple top-fives finishes over that same span.

Still, both RFK Racing drivers will have to overcome their practice woes if either hopes to earn their first career victory at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Keselowski has 33 starts at Phoenix in his career, the most of any current driver who hasn’t won there. Buescher’s 20 starts have netted him three top-fives but no wins yet.