“One HFT car will be faster”: NASCAR influencer makes his case on the ‘effective’ alliance with Brad Keselowski’s team after SHR’s closure

Renowned NASCAR influencer, Eric Estepp shared his take on Haas Factory Team's technical alliance with Brad Keselowski's Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. According to the popular YouTuber, HFT can bank on RFK's superiority and field a car faster than what Stewart-Haas Racing had been doing in the last couple of years.

Stewart-Haas Racing dissolved at the end of the 2024 season after Tony Stewart decided to withdraw from the sport. His departure left Gene Haas alone with the team. He then rebranded the team to HFT, reduced it from four chartered cars to one, and agreed to have a technical alliance with RFK (both teams run Ford cars).

RFK, on the other hand, has grown considerably stronger since bringing Brad Keselowski on the team. The #6 driver joined Roush Fenway as a co-owner alongside Jack Roush and brought significant changes to the team. So much so, that the team has continued to win races every year.

Banking on its superior turnaround, and SHR's struggles, Estepp believes that HFT can turn its fortunes around with this partnership. Speaking about this, here's what he said on his YouTube video recently:

"Since the generation seven cars were introduced RFK Racing has six wins as an organization. Stewart-Haas with twice as many opportunities, twice the size, has only four wins. So when I hear Aaron Kramer, Joe Custer say 'Hey, we're close with RFK. This is a fourth RFK car, that tells me they will be faster."

"Because the way Stewart-Haas has been doing things, was not as effective as the way Roush Fenway Keselowski has been doing things. It still sucks that Stewart-Haas Racing dissolved and now Haas Factory Team, a single car team is all that stands in its place. But hopefully these comments are all correct and that one Haas Factory Team (HFT) car will be faster than what Stewart-Haas had been putting on the track the past couple of seasons." (13:15-14:03)

In 2024, both RFK Racing drivers qualified for the playoffs and had one race win each. On the other hand, SHR had only one victory (through Chase Briscoe), whereas three other drivers (Josh Berry, Noah Gragson, and Ryan Preece) remained winless.

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Haas Factory Team's crew chief noted Cole Custer's car as 'fourth' Brad Keselowski-owned RFK car

Aaron Kramer, the crew chief of Cole Custer, recently stated that Haas Factory Team's single car "will be" Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing's pseudo-fourth car. RFK Racing will operate three charters next season and carry on its technical alliance with HFT.

"I have the benefit of knowing how RFK operated for a long time,” Kramer said. “I have that experience, but I have not asked for something and been told no yet, and it’s been explained to us, this is a pseudo fourth car in terms of the support that we’re going to get.”

NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski (6) during the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Credit-Imagn Images

Cole Custer has signed up to race for the Haas Factory Team next season. Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Preece will drive the three RFK cars in 2025.