Chris Buescher and RFK Racing’s No. 17 team in the NASCAR Cup Series were assessed L1-level penalties following last weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway, NASCAR announced May 15.
Among them: Buescher was docked 60 season points plus five playoff points, while the team received the same penalty toward its own championship standings.
The team was given a $75,000 fine, and crew chief Scott Graves has been suspended for two races.
The penalties stem from a postrace inspection issue in which Buescher’s No. 17 was found to have exceeded the maximum reinforcement allowed for Cup cars’ front bumper covers.
As a result, Buescher falls out of the top 16 in points; after an eighth-place finish at Kansas, he was 12th in the standings.
The team addressed the penalty later on May 15, saying it acknowledged the argument and that “we remain committed to full compliance with NASCAR’s rules. At this time, we are carefully reviewing the details of the situation to determine if we will file an appeal within the timeframe allotted.”
Doug Randolph will be Buescher’s crew chief this weekend in the All-Star Race.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.