Buescher: Making Cup Playoffs ‘Comes Down To Execution’

Chris Buescher (17) battles current NASCAR Cup Series point leader William Byron Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International. (Peter Casey/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

CONCORD, N.C. – With two weeks left in the regular season, Chris Buescher is starting to see his pathway into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

However, despite a strong fight, he’s not out of the woods yet when it comes to being heartbroken for a second straight year.

Buescher is still holding onto the final playoff spot over his RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece with Richmond (Va.) Raceway and Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway remaining until the start of the postseason.

Last weekend the Prosper, Texas, native finished third at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l, his first top five since June at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway. With that, he increased his buffer over Preece to 34 points.

In the final moments of the 26-week regular season marathon, Buescher said this year feels different compared to a year ago, when he was the first driver left on the outside looking in.

“We needed a win last year for our sanity. For us, the situation [last year] was very much the same internally. But the repercussions are different this year,” said Buescher. “We know where we are in the fight for a spot. A win is the way to guarantee your way in, but this year we have to be aware of our [points] bubble also.

“As much as I hate to admit that, it is where we have found ourselves. I think where you take a step back and start thinking about the points side, more specifically than the race win, is through any adversity on the day,” he added. “When your chance of winning has diminished, then maybe there is a Plan B that’s probably more thought through than it would have been several months ago for us.”

If he doesn’t find victory lane in the final two weeks, Buescher must find similar strength at Richmond and Daytona to what he had when he won at both tracks in 2023. He must maintain his consistency at Richmond, as it’s the last race of the regular season where success based on pure speed and merit.

While it does also take skill and talent, Daytona has and will remain a chaotic threat that could produce an upset winner due to the unpredictability of the draft.

In his career at Richmond, Buescher has a win, an average finish of 12th in the Next-Gen era, and two top fives with 88 laps led. He was 18th last summer at Richmond.

The 32-year-old said his team’s short track performance this season has been OK, but acknowledges they have also grown throughout the season.

Chris Buescher (Peter Casey/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

“I want to say it's pretty decent. I think about our year in general it really hasn’t mattered too much what style of racetrack we are heading to,” Buescher noted. “We have had pretty good speed. Certainly, we have had stronger weekends than others, but that is everybody. Our short track package has definitely taken big steps forward.”

At the three short track races already run this season in the Cup Series, Buescher has not finished inside the top 20 at any of them, dating back to March. However, his other teammates in team co-owner Brad Keselowski and Preece have both found success on short tracks, with recent top fives at Iowa two weeks ago to give Buescher confidence in the organization.

Buescher said he takes accountability for not winning a race this season. But he also acknowledged how a potentially bad Richmond race could ruin his season if the Daytona finale happens to not go in his favor.

“That’s the hard part when you talk about championship racing and putting your whole season together. When it comes down to Daytona, that can be the kicker that takes a year where you feel you were very consistent and fast and didn’t get the win when you needed to and kicks you out of the playoffs,” he pointed out.

“It isn’t my favorite option [to end the regular season with], but I do understand the excitement that it can bring [for the fans] and the drama to it,” he added. “It’s on us to have won before now. I would like to be sitting on the other side of it saying, ‘It will be what it will be because we are locked in.’ If we can do that at Richmond, then I can put a little more excitement in my voice when I answer that next time.”

When Motorsports Hotspot’s Matthew Blackley asked Buescher about still having to race his RFK teammates for one of the final playoff spots, he said it’s open competition, but still a level of respect.

All three teams are trying to find a way to win races, and the team environment has allowed them to focus. RFK Racing is transparent with one another and Buescher believes it’s something they must maintain as the season goes on.

“It’s going to come down to execution. If we are able to win a race and pull it off, it is just going to be normal racing. Go to the racetrack from there and do everything we know to do. There are a lot of different scenarios and a lot of racing left,” he said.

“In some ways it is nice to be racing against your teammate because you know the level of respect. You know what to plan for when you race around each other, we have certainly had that all year. On the flip side, sometimes it is harder. It is a little more difficult to put a bumper on a teammate and shove him out of the way if the situation calls for it. But it will be good hard racing.

“That is the agreement within the shop. We are not letting each other have anything. We are going to race. We are all teammates, but we are still competitors.”

Buescher’s hunt to make the playoffs for the first time in two years continues at Richmond.

Coverage of the Cook Out 400 is slated for Saturday night, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.