RFK Racing committed to three Cup Series entries in ’27, with or without charter

RFK Racing President Chip Bowers said Thursday that the organization will continue to field three NASCAR Cup Series entries next season, regardless of its charter situation.

“We’re not going to go backward as an organization,” Bowers told reporter Jeff Gluck on his podcast. “We will run three cars; that’s unequivocally our focus moving forward.”

RFK Racing has two permanent charters: the No. 6 Ford of co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski and the No. 17 Ford of Chris Buescher. The No. 60 charter for Ryan Preece has been leased from Rick Ware Racing. It can only be leased for one year.

“We want to purchase a charter – we see great value in the charters, both short and long term, so that’s our No. 1 priority,” Bowers said. “Short of being able to access one or acquire one, we’ll run Open, and that’s a decision we’ve already made as an organization. We’ve shared that with our staff.

“It’s important for our partners to understand that we’re committed to that, it’s important that our staff understands that, everybody is leaning in, and everyone is fully supportive of that decision. What happens between now and the start of the year, we hope we can acquire one, but if not, we’re going to continue to run three cars.”

Preece was hired ahead of the 2025 season when the company expanded to three full-time teams. Although at one time Jack Roush ran upward of five cars, the organization shifted to two full-time teams beginning with the 2016 season, and that remained when Keselowski joined the ownership fold while competing alongside Buescher.

The commitment of a third team has been there from the beginning, with resources and partners, helping to drive the company's overall growth and performance. It is why there will be no downsizing, and instead a focus on taking a further step forward from what Bowers described as a Tier 1 organization to a Tier 1A organization.

Keselowski admitted earlier this month that he was unaware of a charter for sale, although the garage is aware of the organization’s interest. But he expects the price tag could be between $40 and $80 million now that they are permanent following settlement of the antitrust lawsuit. Bowers agreed the charters are more valuable now, but it’s a stretch to say they would be upward of $100m, as some rumors have suggested.

Bowers didn’t go into specifics of the team line-up for 2027, but did correct one silly season rumor.

“We don’t talk a lot about that part of our business; that’s proprietary information,” he said. “But I’ll also say that’s not an accurate assessment – all three of our drivers are not up in their contract.”