Buescher, who had a breakout season final 12 months with three wins, had hoped to have already got a win in hand this season. Nonetheless, regardless of coming excruciatingly shut, he stays with out a victory with 4 races left within the common season.
Coming into Sunday night time’s race at Richmond (Va.) Richmond, Buescher continues to be in rivalry for a playoff berth based mostly on factors, however his scenario is tenuous.
He holds the fifteenth spot within the 16-driver playoff grid by 10 factors over Ross Chastain with Bubba Wallace the primary driver outdoors the cutoff, 17 factors behind Buescher.
A win within the subsequent 4 races locks Buescher within the playoff area and he would a lot desire that route to hitch his RFK Racing and co-owner Brad Keselowski within the title chase.
Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang
Picture by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
“I’m not nervous about it,” Buescher stated Wednesday. “I’m fairly adamant about it – I don’t need to change the way in which we strategy our races. I’ve simply seen it too many instances in our sport the place you attempt to get put again in your heels and alter up what you’re doing, and it may well find yourself costing you.
“We’ve received to race our races, put our greatest foot ahead and that must be sufficient to get us the place we have to go. “We’ve received to remember (of the factors), however it’s not one thing that we’re up in arms about or frightened about.”
An ideal alternative to return to VL
The schedule affords Buescher and his No. 17 Ford staff a uncommon alternative.
Of the following 4 tracks – Richmond, Michigan, Daytona and Darlington – Buescher received on three of them final season on his option to a career-best seventh place end within the collection standings.
“That’s a fairly superior statistic as we take a look at it, however final 12 months’s outcomes don’t equal this 12 months’s,” he stated. “We’ve been excellent at a whole lot of completely different kinds of race tracks. We’ve been very near locking ourselves in.
“We’re lots able to progressing and successful a race right here within the subsequent 4 like we’ve got been. We’ve simply received to wash up and have a pair issues go our method and simply do an excellent job and management what we are able to from our facet.”
It was one 12 months in the past at Richmond that Buescher kicked off his outstanding run of three wins over 5 weeks that gave him a rush of momentum heading into the 2023 playoffs.
To repeat that victory of a 12 months in the past was going to be tough sufficient however circumstances have additionally modified on this fall’s Richmond race.
To assist enhance the standard of racing, NASCAR is permitting Goodyear to offer groups use of a softer, “possibility” tire (softer with extra grip) within the 400-lap occasion.
Like they have been capable of do on this 12 months’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, groups can have three units of the “possibility” tires at their disposal, with one set for apply and two for the race.
“Now we have loads to be taught on Saturday,” Buescher stated of the prolonged apply session provided groups this weekend. “North Wilkesboro was the final time we tried this. North Wilkesboro was new asphalt and went into the night.
“That is going to be a night race, so possibly there may be going to be some discrepancy on the choice (tire). I promise we’ll be taking a lot of notes to determine what we expect goes to occur within the race.”
Regardless, Buescher – who has a pair of runner-up finishes this 12 months together with a photo-finish loss to Kyle Larson at Kansas – believes his staff can produce a number of wins earlier than the tip of the common season.
“We’ve been excellent at a whole lot of these locations. We simply haven’t been capable of seal the deal, and it has gotten irritating,” he stated. “The arduous half is maintaining all people’s head up as a result of it’s a tough sport and we all know that.
“I assume we’re simply going to must do the identical factor we did final 12 months and are available to life now and make it a present.”
