Chris Buescher finishes 11th, wins Xfinity Series championship
Chris Buescher won his first Xfinity Series championship Sunday, clinching the title by finishing 11th in the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Kyle Larson passed Austin Dillon with four laps remaining to win the race. Dillon was leading the race before he grazed the wall on Lap 295, allowing Larson to pass him. It was Larson’s third career Xfinity victory.
But the day — and the season — belonged to Buescher, 23, who signed with Roush Fenway Racing when he was 17. Buescher won two races this season, leading the points for the final 24 races.
Chase Elliott, last year’s champion, finished eighth in the race and 15 points behind Buescher. Dillon, the 2013 champ, was third in the standings, 18 behind Buescher.
Turning point
Dillon appeared to have the strongest car during the race’s late stages, but when he bumped the wall with five laps left, Larson blew past him to win.
Three who mattered
Chris Buescher: Consistency is rewarded. Two victories might not seem like a lot, but he finished every race and had 20 top-10s.
Kyle Larson: Still looking for first Cup victory, but Saturday was his third career Xfinity triumph.
Chase Elliott: His Xfinity career included a championship (2014) and a runner-up finish (this season). Now he’s off to driver Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports in 2016. He finished eighth Saturday.
Observations
<bullet> Kyle Busch led for 66 laps before problems toward the end of the race cost him. He was assessed a pass-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire on pit road, then was bumped into the inside retaining wall on the front stretch by Aric Almirola a few laps later.
<bullet> Landon Cassill’s third-place finish was his best of the season and his only top-five.
<bullet> Elliott stressed several times post-race that Buescher earned the championship. Elliott said he didn’t win enough races to deserve to win the championship (just one this season).
They said it
“I did a good job of masking it, didn’t I?” – Buescher, on how nervous he was heading into the race.
This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Chris Buescher finishes 11th, wins Xfinity Series championship."