Chris Buescher continues to impress despite coming up short at Sonoma
If any driver has been turning heads with consistent speed, it’s Chris Buescher.
Although the 31-year-old Texan is still winless so far in 2024, his third-place finish at Sonoma means he has two Top-3 finishes in his last five points races.
“Proud of the day. If you would have told us at the beginning we could run third at one stage, we would have taken that, so we should be happy, and we are. It’s a strong finish — just wanted a little bit more still.”
After starting the race in 26th and placing there in the first stage on lap 25, Buescher took his 17 Ford Mustang to the front. He pitted during a caution on lap 20 of 110 so he was able to stay out and win stage two on lap 55.
Heading into the final stage, Buescher looked like a serious contender for the end of the race. He pitted from the lead on lap 67 along with Martin Truex, Jr. and Michael McDowell, who were all on the same tire strategy.
The No. 17 car retook the lead on lap 84, holding off a hungry Truex until lap 101. However, neither driver could hold off a hard-charging Kyle Larson, who took the lead for good on lap 102 with newer tires.
Despite his battle with Truex and Larson for the lead and wearing down his tires, the 17 car held onto a solid third-place finish behind Larson and Michael McDowell.
“It was a really good day. We knew it was going to be a tough one where we started, and just didn’t get to where we needed to yesterday. Ultimately my team did a great job on strategy, and I got the car a lot better. We were in a good place, just needed a little bit more long-run pace, maybe a little bit more spill together,” Buescher said.
Buescher also remarked on the consistent speed the 17 team have been bringing each week.
“I feel like I have a lot of things I would love to change now, knowing where we were at and then the laps we got on track. We didn’t get to that point in practice, so that’s a good thing to sit here and not be stunned and confused on where the speed is at. I think we have a lot of good ideas,” he said.
In the NextGen era, Chris Buescher has the best average finish on road courses (8.0) of anyone in the field. Chase Elliott is second with an average finish of 9.6.
“We keep getting so close… good thing to sit here and not be stunned and confused on where the speed is at. I think we have a lot of good ideas.”
Chris Buescher
Looking ahead to next weekend at Iowa Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series will make its inaugural run at the Newton, Iowa, track. Buescher won an Xfinity Series race there on a late restart in 2015 — one of two wins he claimed en route to the championship that year.
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