Brad Keselowski-led RFK Racing brings Golden State Warriors veteran Chip Bowers into front office

NASCAR team RFK Racing, co-owned by Brad Keselowski, has made a major front-office hire in Chip Bowers. On Thursday (September 18), the team announced that Bowers, who is a veteran sports and venue executive, will fill the role left by Steve Newmark and join as its new team president.

Newmark served as RFK president from 2010 through this summer but accepted an executive athletics role at the University of North Carolina in August. NASCAR reporter Toby Christie wrote on X:

"[RFK Racing] has named a new team president. Chip Bowers, a longtime sports executive, will serve as the successor to Steve Newmark, who stepped down from the role in August to pursue an opportunity with UNC Athletics which began in September."

Toby Christie

@Toby_Christie

.@RFKracing has named a new team president. Chip Bowers, a longtime sports executive, will serve as the successor to Steve Newmark, who stepped down from the role in August to pursue an opportunity with UNC Athletics which began in September.

Bowers has nearly three decades of leadership experience. He worked in sponsorship sales and marketing for teams like the Golden State Warriors, Marlins, Magic, SuperSonics and Padres. The North Carolina native also led commercial work at Elevate Sports Ventures and other firms.

RFK hopes his track record will boost sponsorship partnerships for the team.

"His extensive sales and marketing background will be a tremendous asset. He understands how to build meaningful partnerships and enhance fan experiences and that will help RFK Racing's growth long term," Brad Keselowski said in a statement.

RFK currently fields three full-time entries in the Cup Series with Keselowski, who purchased part-ownership in 2022, in the No. 6 Ford. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece pilot the No. 17 and No. 60 cars. However, none of the three teams could make it to the playoffs this season.

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How RFK Racing failed to make the 2025 Cup playoffs

The regular-season run did not land RFK Racing a strong playoff footprint. Chris Buescher was inside the final playoff position with three races to go but with only a small margin. He missed the playoff cut by 30 points after he could not beat Alex Bowman to the last spot in the NASCAR Cup post season.

Ryan Preece, who joined RFK this season, was also in a must-win scenario at Daytona. He was just outside the playoff line in a good position late in the race to win. However, two Hendrick Motorsports cars blocked and split him on the final laps, which ended his shot at the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski nearly scored his first win of the 2025 season at the Bristol Night Race last week, after finishing 0.343 seconds below race-winner Christopher Bell.