RFK Racing’s playoff ticket rests on Daytona’s regular-season finale

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Brad Keselowski cracked on social media just days ago that he was aiming to make this a two-sticker week. His first came midweek, declaring "It's a boy!" as the Keselowskis welcomed their fourth child to the family. The second sticker reads "Winner" and it could come Saturday night if he can claim victory at Daytona International Speedway. The only issues: Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, his teammates at RFK Racing, are also chasing the same sticker and the berth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that goes with it. So is the rest of the field. "It has been a good week," Keselowski said. "I'd like to finish it strong." Victory in Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock) would be the winning ticket for the regular-season finale, where the 16-driver field in the Cup Series' postseason will be settled. Two open spots are available, but only one of the RFK Racing drivers can funnel their way onto the grid. Buescher and Preece (in that order) are the top two drivers on the outside of the postseason picture, but neither can advance on the basis of points. Keselowski is slotted 22nd on the playoff pecking order and also resides in must-win territory. RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Daytona Team co-owner/driver Keselowski is seeking his third consecutive playoff appearance, but his teammates are striving to end postseason droughts. Buescher is aiming to score his second playoff berth in the last three years, which would make up for last season's miss with the No. 17 Ford group, and Preece is hoping to find postseason pay dirt in what's been the best campaign of his journeyman career for the new-this-year No. 60 team. Buescher and Preece appeared together in a joint press conference Friday at Daytona, and though the pressures of the playoff pursuit are present, the two were loose and trading quips about how hard they might race each other to reach their mutual goal. Until that time comes, both made the commitment to help each other get in that position. "To be honest with you, Chris has always been somebody that I’ve found myself trying to work with, whether I was teammates with him or not, so that makes it that much easier," Preece said. "Brad has always been, statistically, when you look at these races, even when he gets wrecked or something happens, he’s racing for the win, so the way I look at this race is our jobs are to get up in the first few rows and work with each other to get there, but if Brad and Chris are in the first two rows, it’s my job to find myself there to work with them and put RFK or one of us in position coming to the line winning. Whether that be Chris out front or Brad or myself, you want to be selfish as a driver, but understanding the main goal for the company and the employees and everybody there it’s very important that one of these cars gets into the playoffs because our speed, we’ve shown it throughout this year." MORE: What to Watch: Daytona Buescher said that recent conversations in-house at RFK have touched on the team dynamic to this race and how the final laps might play out. He initially described the rules of engagement among their group as "all bets are off" before softening his tone with a laugh to say, "Thou shalt not wreck their teammate." Keselowski says he believes that commandment will hold up. "Those guys have good heads on their shoulders, and I don't think they need a lot of coaching, which is one of the things I really appreciate about both of them," Keselowski said. "High-character guys. I'm not expecting any surprises."