DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 26: Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, crosses the finish line ahead of Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 King's Hawaiian Ford,  to win the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 26, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - AUGUST 26: Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, crosses the finish line ahead of Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 King's Hawaiian Ford, to win the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 26, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) | Getty Images

RFK Racing expected to expand to three teams, hire Ryan Preece

RFK Racing is progressing toward expanding to three full-time NASCAR Cup Series teams in 2025, a move that would likely include bringing aboard big-ticket sponsor Kroger as a team-wide sponsor for all three cars, and signing driver Ryan Preece, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic. The team, whose ownership group includes Cup champion Brad Keselowski, is expected to make an official announcement in the coming weeks.

“We don’t have any announcements that we’re ready to make, but hopefully we’ll have something to share with everybody here in the next month or so,” Keselowski told The Athletic on Wednesday during NASCAR playoff media day. “But nothing publicly that I’m ready to talk about.”

Whether RFK is actually acquiring or leasing a charter is unclear, but the new third team will not operate as an “open” car due to the financial hit that would entail as it would cost an additional several million dollars to run full-time without a charter.

The Athletic