Teams learning 'how low can you go?' after Kansas tire issues

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | May 10, 2025 6:27 PM ET

A rash of flat tires headlined NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday at Kansas Speedway as teams found the limit of low air pressure.

Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Chase Briscoe experienced left-side tires going down. The first three all happened within laps of each other when practice for the first group of drivers began. Briscoe was in the second group of drivers when his failure occurred, but he was the only one in the group who had one.

Keselowski said he had “a little bit” of a warning before the tire went down.

“I was going through [Turns] 3 and 4, and it felt a little soft. Thankfully it did give me a warning, so I didn’t spin out and crash,” the RFK Racing driver said. “We’re just all pushing the cars to the limit. I didn’t think we were going to be that close, but we’ll work on it and get it better for Sunday.”

Goodyear brought a different left rear tire than Cup Series teams ran at Kansas last year, but the combination of left and right-side tires has been run at four other tracks this season — Las Vegas, Homestead, Darlington, and Texas. The right-side tires are the same as what was run in both Kansas races last year.
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It was recommended to Cup Series teams that they run 22 psi in the left rear tires.
If it was IMSA they would have disqualified us all for "unapproved tire pressure" like they did at an IMSA races earlier,
or sent all 43 cars to the back in the same order they were to begin with. (Depending on who they bet on in Vegas.....)
.....If that makes any sense whatsoever to some MF'ing crack head IMSA butt head official

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Zane Smith, meanwhile, had a right-side tire go down, which resulted in him hitting the wall off Turn 4. Smith was in the second group of drivers in practice.

“We saw the issues in the first group, and then I thought we were safe on the pressures we were running, and then, out of nowhere, blew a right rear in the middle of [Turns] 3 and 4, and it unfortunately tagged the fence,” Smith said. “Just a spot bad for that to happen. Before that happened, though, an unbelievably fast Horizon Hobby Ford. I feel really good about our car; I felt our long run pace was as strong as anybody’s.

“Hopefully we get it back to the way it was … everyone at FRM is going to be working hard to get this thing back right, but all the confidence in the world in them.”

 

Jamie Squire/Getty Images



By Kelly Crandall - May 15, 2025, 10:10 AM EDT

Buescher, RFK hit with significant penalty after post-Kansas inspection.

You can go kiss my Kansass. We ain't admitten anything.

Chris Buescher and RFK Racing have been penalized for a front bumper cover infraction after the No. 17 Ford Mustang was inspected at the NASCAR R&D Center this week.

Buescher’s car was one of two taken by NASCAR after Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway. He finished eighth in the AdventHealth 400.

The infraction was sections 14.1.C and 14.5.4.G of the NASCAR rule book, which states that the front fascia may be strengthened on the inner surface with bonded on non-metallic materials in the area contacting the bumper foam and up to 2 inches further in all directions. Buescher’s team went over the allowed bonded area for the front bumper cover spilling it all over the floor and the car.

The team was fined $75,000 and docked 60 points and five playoff points. Buescher was also docked 60 points and five playoff points. Scott Graves, Buescher’s crew chief, has been suspended from the next two Cup Series races.

The penalty drops Buescher from 12th in the overall championship standings to 24th. Buescher was 30 points above the playoff grid cutline before the penalty but is now 27 points out of a playoff spot.

RFK Racing has the option to appeal the penalty....if he is a dumass...