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RFK vs RCR vs 23XI vs LMC: Grading the NASCAR Team Rebuilds

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A few NASCAR teams have been rebuilding in recent years. This year, some of these rebuilding teams have had a resurgence, but not all have. How have NASCAR’s team rebuilds gone?

RFK Racing

Driver performances

  • Chris Buescher: 2 Wins; 5 Top-5s; 10 Top-10s; 11th in Points; 1 DNF
  • Brad Keselowski: 0 Wins; 5 Top-5s; 10 Top-10s; 8th in Points (+168 in Playoffs); 2 DNFs

Breakdown: Roush-Fenway Racing was in a tough spot as they dropped from a five-car team to a two-car team. Brad Keselowski joined the fray as an owner-driver in 2022, and the team struggled for a large part of 2022. Now, both drivers are in the Playoffs, and Chris Buescher is in the midst of back-to-back wins. It is set to be the first time since 2014 that Roush had two drivers qualify for the Playoffs.

Grade: B+

Richard Childress Racing

Driver Performances

  • Kyle Busch: 3 Wins; 8 Top-5s; 13 Top-10s; 9th in Points; 5 DNFs
  • Austin Dillon: 0 Wins; 1 Top-5; 6 Top-10s; 29th in Points (-145); 7 DNFs

Breakdown: Kyle Busch was on fire to start the season by winning three of the first 15 races, but he has struggled the last few weeks. Austin Dillon has had some good races, but he also leads the series in DNFs. Overall, it has been an up-and-down season for Richard Childress Racing. There has been a lot of good to take from this season, but there also has been a lot of bad to take from the season.

Grade: C+

23XI Racing

Driver Performances

  • Bubba Wallace: 0 Wins; 4 Top-5s; 6 Top-10s; 14th in Points (+58); 5 DNFs
  • Tyler Reddick: 1 Win; 6 Top-5s; 9 Top-10s; 13th in Points; 3 DNFs

Breakdown: 23XI Racing has improved slightly from their performance last season, but there have been some missteps along the way as well. Tyler Reddick won his fourth career race at COTA earlier this year, and Bubba Wallace is in a comfortable position to make the Playoffs for the first time in his career. However, pit road trouble has plagued both drivers this year, and particularly Tyler Reddick last weekend at Michigan. With that being said, this has been a small, yet important step forward.

Grade: B-

Legacy Motor Club

Driver Performances

  • Erik Jones: 0 Wins; 0 Top-5s; 5 Top-10s; 28th in Points (-121); 2 DNFs
  • Noah Gragson: 0 Wins; 0 Top-5s; 0 Top-10s; 33rd in Points; 6 DNFs

Breakdown: Where do we start with Legacy Motor Club? This season has been an unmitigated disaster. From major penalties to having to suspend Noah Gragson over a social media post. Legacy Motor Club is set to bring Toyota in next year, and that’s about the only positive thing to come out of this season. There’s always next year.

Grade: F

There is still time left this season for these teams to turn it around, either in a good or bad way. The bottom line is that the success of some of these teams shows that teams that are struggling always have hope for the future.

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Picture of Joshua Lipowski

Joshua Lipowski

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