Chris Buescher, who had a breakout season last year with three wins, has yet to pick up a win this year but is actively battling for a playoff spot. Currently in 15th place on the playoff grid, he is just 10 points ahead of Ross Chastain and 17 points ahead of Bubba Wallace, who is just outside the playoff cutoff.
Despite the high stakes, the Texan remains unfazed. In a recent interview with Motorsport.com, he revealed that his focus is on consistency.
“I’m not nervous about it. I’m pretty adamant about it — I don’t want to change the way we approach our races,” Buescher said. “I’ve just seen it too many times in our sport where you try to get back on your heels and change what you’re doing, and it can end up costing you.”
“We have to do our races, do our best and that should be enough to get us where we need to go. We have to be aware (of the points), but it’s not something that worries us or scares us.”
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Looking ahead, Buescher and his No. 17 Ford team have promising opportunities in upcoming races at tracks like Richmond, Michigan, Daytona and Darlington, venues where he scored victories last season.
“We were very good at a lot of those things. We just couldn’t get the deal done, and it got frustrating,” he acknowledged.
The upcoming Richmond race offers a unique challenge with NASCAR’s introduction of a softer, grippier Option tire. Buescher’s strategy includes intensive practice to adapt to this new variable.
“We have a lot to learn on Saturday… I promise we will take a lot of notes to determine what will happen during the race,” he noted.
The pressure to get results and wins has increased, as evidenced by his narrow loss to Kyle Larson in Kansas City. This has undoubtedly taken a toll on the team’s morale, a challenge Buescher has not shied away from.
“The hardest part is keeping your head up for everyone, because it’s a tough sport and we know that.”
In his determination to move forward, he hopes to replicate last year’s late-season momentum to clinch a playoff spot, reinvigorating his team and fans.
“We’re definitely capable of moving forward and winning a race here in the next four years, like we’ve done. We just need to clean up and make things go well, do a good job and control what we can on our end.”
“I think we’re going to have to do the same thing we did last year and pull ourselves together now and make it a spectacle,” he concluded, emphasizing his improvement in results. With the playoffs approaching, Buescher’s fighting mindset could indeed turn the racetrack into a spectacle not to be missed.
