Chris Buescher ‘not nervous’ about playoff situation

After a break in NASCAR racing action due to the Paris Olympics, Chris Buescher is ready to defend his checkered flag at the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway under the lights on Sunday. 

Buescher will start seventh for the Cook Out 400 in his quest for his first NASCAR Cup Series win of 2024.

In last year’s race, Buescher led 88 laps en route to his second victory of the season securing his spot in the NASCAR Playoffs. He worked his way through the field as he started the race in 26th. 

This year, Buescher is 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff standings and hasn’t secured a victory yet to officially make the playoffs. Even though Buescher is on the bubble with a 17-point cushion over the cutline, he is focusing on last year’s late run and hoping to duplicate it this year. 

“I’m not nervous about it,” Buescher said during a virtual press conference earlier in the week. “It’s something that we’re gonna pay a little bit more attention to as we run down into these final four here, but I’m pretty adamant about it. 

“I don’t want to change the way we approach our races. I’ve just seen it too many times in our sport where you try and get put back on your heels and change up what you’re doing and it can end up costing you. We’ve got to race our races, put our best foot forward and that should be enough to get us where we need to go.”

Buescher and Richmond Raceway have not always gotten along through the years. Before his 2023 victory, he posted a lone Top-5 finish in 2022 in his first 14 Cup Series races.

Buescher credits his turnaround for the track to his team and teammate and owner, Brad Keselowski. 

“I wanted to burn that place to the ground a couple of years ago, so this has been a tremendous turnaround for a facility, to be brutally honest about it, I’ve been terrible at through most of my career,” Buescher said.

“There’s been a couple things on my side that have helped. Brad has been a big part of that. Brad runs very well there and has been able to give me a handful of pointers that have led me down a better path, and our team has stepped up in a massive way and brought some very fast race cars that ultimately just make me look better.”

Last year Buescher already had a win at Michigan entering Richmond, and his playoff spot was all but secured, but he put his official stamp into the playoffs with his second win of the year at the Cook Out 400.

“Three of the next four races we’re heading into we were able to win last year, so that’s a pretty awesome statistic as we look at it, but last year’s results don’t equal this year’s,” Buescher said.

The Cook Out 400 is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday (USA, MRN).