‘That was the plan!’ Chris Buescher holds off NASCAR title contender for Michigan win
It was admittedly hard to imagine that Chris Buescher could be considered a NASCAR Cup Series champion contender a few weeks ago — and in many ways, it’s still not quite conceivable.
But don’t tell that to the driver of the 17 car.
When asked if he thought going back-to-back was possible on Monday, Buescher shrugged and flashed some understated Texas charm: “That was our plan, right?!”
He added: “This Castrol Mustang was so good in practice, qualifying. Gave me a great car again. Had to work for that one too, hard racing at the end. (Runner-up) Martin (Truex Jr.) was very clean with me. I appreciate that. Get to go to Victory Lane two weeks in a row. That’s pretty awesome.”
Buescher, the underrated talent for RFK Racing, has now won two races in a row after taking a trip down Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway. His crowning ultimately came on Monday around 2:15 p.m. — about 21 hours after the race first went green thanks to some unrelenting rain.
His win also came after he outdueled Martin Truex Jr. — the Cup championship contender who won Stage 1 with ease and took a Stage 2 win despite starting the stage at the rear of the field.
It was Truex’s race to lose, it seemed. Buescher and Truex faced off with one another with about 16 laps to go. Buescher had the lead after tire/fuel strategy fell his way in Stage 3 — he was holding on by a proverbial thread.
But Buescher somehow held off Truex down the stretch anyway — refusing to make a mistake, using the clean air and the fresh tires to his triumphant advantage.
“I think we needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more,” Truex said. “I feel like we were a little better. It’s hard to pass the leader on equal tires. We had an unbelievable car today. ... It was a rocket.
“The leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. Just didn’t quite have enough. All in all, a good day.”
The race spanned Sunday and Monday because of weather and saw nine cautions for 43 laps, 25 lead changes and 16 different leaders. Buescher led a race-high 52 laps, Truex led 47, and Bubba Wallace led 21.
Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth on the day and is Buescher’s boss as part-time owner of RFK Racing, said post-race that his team is getting better each week — which is evident after winning on a short-track last weekend and a 2-plus-mile oval this weekend.
“It seemed like most of the race the 19 and 11 car were just dominant,” Keselowski said. “Right at the end we made some adjustments on both of our cars, found some speed. Chris was able to hold off Martin, running all of them down.
“Really happy for all the folks at Castro, RFK. There’s a lot of work going on here. We’re digging deep, getting the results. I’m so thankful and proud for everyone at RFK.”
A quick look at NASCAR Cup playoff standings
This weekend at Michigan was triumphant for Buescher and RFK Racing and really the manufacturer of Ford as a whole.
But it was brutal for a bunch of the sport’s big names.
In Stage 1 alone, four cars fell out of the race: Kyle Busch did so after a run-in with Ryan Blaney around Lap 12. Chase Elliott, who now needs a win in the final three regular-season races to have a chance at the playoffs, fell out shortly afterward thanks to a blown right-rear tire that caused him to knock hard into the fence. William Byron and Josh Berry followed suit.
It was also a difficult day for the eight drivers who are vying for the last four Cup playoff spots. There are 12 winners in this year’s Cup Series regular season — all of whom are guaranteed spots in the 16-car playoff that begins the first weekend of September.
The four winless drivers who, as it stands now, are in the playoff picture: Kevin Harvick (+180 from cut-line), Brad Keselowski (+168), Bubba Wallace (+58), Ty Gibbs (+3). Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman are each theoretically within reach on points but will need good results in the next few races to make a postseason appearance happen.
Of these eight drivers, Suarez had the best day, with a P6 finish. Harvick finished eighth, which he might consider a negative after all the success he’s had at Michigan over the years. Wallace finished 18th but turned in a crucial second-place Stage 2 finish for points.
But it’s worth reiterating: Buescher made the biggest impression on what he can do in the postseason once it rolls around — not just because he won, but also because of how he did it, holding off Truex on a weekend/season/generation when he has so often been the man to beat.
“I mean, results will do it, right?” Buescher said. “We’ve got work to do yet. That’s massive progress right there for us to do (this) at two vastly different racetracks. We got road races coming up. I’m excited for those, too. And Daytona. I look at the schedule we have ahead of us. This is a heck of a time to get turned on and get rolling.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2023 at 3:28 PM.
