Tag: Chris Buescher

Buescher frustrated again by late-race Darlington scuffle

Chris Buescher described Sunday at Darlington Raceway as good, hard racing until it wasn’t, as he struggled to understand Tyler Reddick’s move that took them both out of contention for the victory. Buescher was leading the Goodyear 400 going into …

Chris Buescher described Sunday at Darlington Raceway as good, hard racing until it wasn’t, as he struggled to understand Tyler Reddick’s move that took them both out of contention for the victory.

Buescher was leading the Goodyear 400 going into Turn 3 with 10 laps to go when Reddick drove to the inside. As he ran up against the wall, Buescher’s RFK Racing Ford Mustang wiggled and caught the wall with the right front. Nearly simultaneously, Reddick came up the track and collided with Buescher, sending the No. 17 back into the outside wall.

The contact cut down a right-side tire for Reddick, and he fell off the pace down the frontstretch. Buescher fell off the pace with a flat left rear tire going down the backstretch, giving the lead to teammate and RFK co-owner Brad Keselowski.

“They got side-by-side and got checked up, and we got by completely clean and was trying to take care of stuff but run hard,” Buescher said of having taken the lead with 30 laps to go when Keselowski and Reddick bounced off each other off Turn 4. “[He] just went for a move there that was never going to happen and wiped us both out. It was hard enough that we wheel hopped into the fence; it’s not just a door-to-door contact and a little push and shove. It ruined both of our days.

“I’m really frustrated by that; really [angry] about it. I don’t get it. We’ve been able to race clean for how long, and to take our group, this Fifth Third Bank No. 17 team, out of contention for a trophy — for another week to miss out on it, it’s starting to hurt.”

Buescher finished 30th after leading 21 laps. He finished seventh in both stages.

On pit road after the race, a visibly frustrated Buescher confronted Reddick. Buescher said the two have never had previous issues with each other.

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“I’m struggling to understand the reason,” he said.

Of their conversation, Reddick admitted that everything Buescher said to him was accurate. The 23XI driver took responsibility for being aggressive after Buescher had raced him clean.

“I appreciate him saying he screwed up,” Buescher said. “We haven’t had issues in the past. That being said, it doesn’t change what just happened. There is a win sticker on his door top that I told him about that makes a bad day like this not matter near as much to them. But it still matters to us.

“That was a major cost to us today, not only for a win but to finish (30th) because of a flat tire. Fortunately we got stage points on the day from running well, but one poor decision and saying sorry doesn’t fix it.”

Keselowski went on to win the race after his teammate’s misfortune. The victory broke Ford’s winless streak and was the first for Keselowski as co-owner of RFK Racing.

For the second straight week, though, Buescher was left with nothing to show for his performance. He’s led 75 laps in the last two races.

“There’s plenty of positive out of it,” Buescher said. “There’s a fight in this team right now that no single on-track accident is going to take away from us. There’s speed there, obviously, with Brad winning a race. That’s huge – I’m trying to calm down and get all this right. Congrats to Brad on a huge win; that’s awesome.

“But man, to be in contention and be wiped out, selfishly, it’s hurting me, and we got to get back on track and get back in the hunt for one of these things and just try to find a clean run to the finish.”

Nature of Kansas defeat is a sting that won’t go away for Buescher

Sunday night’s historic finish at Kansas Speedway will stay with Chris Buescher for the foreseeable future. “Yes. I told everybody I thought I was going to throw up on the way to the airport afterward,” Buescher said Tuesday on the Dale Jr. …

Sunday night’s historic finish at Kansas Speedway will stay with Chris Buescher for the foreseeable future.

“Yes. I told everybody I thought I was going to throw up on the way to the airport afterward,” Buescher said Tuesday on the Dale Jr. Download.

Buescher finished second to Kyle Larson by 0.001s in the AdventHealth 400. It displaced the finish between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven from the 2003 race at Darlington Raceway as the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.

It wasn’t just Buescher coming up short that made the defeat sting. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing team initially thought they’d won the race after crossing the finish line. NASCAR’s timing and scoring showed 0.000 on the pit boxes, and Buescher’s name topped the racetrack scoring pylon.

However, with such a close finish, NASCAR immediately went to its high-speed camera system for a review. It showed Larson was the winner, and the celebration of Buescher and his team while driving down the backstretch on the cool-down lap quickly turned to confusion and disappointment.

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“I guess when I look back at it, if we’d gone across the line and from the get-go thought we finished second, you would have been upset about it, you would have been hurt about it, but it would have been OK. But to be in that first minute that everything was very confusing, we’re trying to figure out how we’re getting this answer … transponders and timing and scoring, and everything is in our favor — obviously, the painted line, which doesn’t really matter.

“It’s comical right now to talk about but to see it all play out the way it did, it hurts. And knowing the result now and understanding it, it’s not going to make it any easier. You understand it now, at least, but it’s not going to make it easier. This one is going to hurt for a really, really long time.”

Buescher’s team has told him to let it hurt until he gets to Darlington Raceway, where they could win and put Kansas behind them. Sunday was Buescher’s second runner-up finish of the second. The difference, however, is that a win at Kansas was much more realistic as Buescher led 53 laps and won the second stage.

“I finished second at Phoenix to Christopher Bell and it wasn’t even close; he just walked away from the field and at that race, second felt good because we knew we needed a lot of work to win,” Buescher said. “This one, to be that close and not be able to get it, it’s going to stick with us for a long time.”

How NASCAR decided Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds

How did NASCAR figure out that Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds at Kansas? Check out NASCAR’s in-depth process at the track!

[autotag]Kyle Larson[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] exited Turn 4 on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and raced to the line in a dead heat. As the two drivers took the checkered flag, Buescher went to the top of the scoring pylon. However, NASCAR quickly reversed the decision and said Larson won by 0.001 seconds, the closest finish in Cup Series history.

Following the event, social media was abuzz about the finish line not being straight and why Buescher won the race in timing and scoring. On Tuesday morning, NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran jumped on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and explained how the sport concluded that Larson won the event.

“We don’t go off the accuracy of a painter that paints a line on the racetrack,” Moran said. “It’s for a visual for the fans, for the teams to get a visual, but when we get talking this close, we make sure finishes are right like many other sports. We have a laser line that is pencil thin, and this camera takes anywhere from 4,000 to 20,000 frames per second, and that’s how close it is that we see at the start-finish line.”

“There are obviously different textures in the asphalt and concrete and by no means is that line – not that it was out by a lot or anything like that – but we obviously have a much tighter tolerance on who wins a [Cup Series] race or any race for that matter in NASCAR.”

Moran’s comments should put the debate on the painted finish line to rest, as NASCAR uses a laser line that is “pencil thin” to determine the finish. Even if the transponders on the No. 17 car say it crossed the line first, the photo finish determines who wins the event. It is more accurate, and in this case, it worked out in Larson’s favor.

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Chris Buescher discusses losing by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson

Chris Buescher discusses losing by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish ever at Kansas Speedway.

[autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] will go down in NASCAR history, but it’s not how he expected. Buescher and Kyle Larson came out of Turn 4 on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, banged doors, and took the checkered flag. The scoring pylon said Buescher won; however, the No. 5 car beat the No. 17 car by 0.001 seconds, representing the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish ever.

Following the event, Buescher climbed out of his car in disbelief after being declared the winner, only to have it stripped away by 0.001 seconds. The RFK Racing driver spoke about his heartbreaking and historical defeat to Larson.

“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said, “I haven’t seen a replay other than just a picture. I just can’t see it in that picture. That sucks to be that close. It was a great finish for us, a really strong day. A lot of speed in this Castrol Edge Ford Mustang, and we really needed that. Needed a win more, and I thought might have had that one.”

“Had a lot of speed there firing off. We were really good really all day, and really proud of that. Had some good strategy to get us back up there and tried to cover what I could and gave him half a lane too much, I suppose, but good hard race right there down to the line. But yeah, just it hurts.”

Buescher will have to brush off this historic loss and put it in the rearview mirror. The No. 17 car was 0.001 seconds from winning his first NASCAR race of the 2024 season, but Darlington Raceway should be the focus now. Buescher has the ability to win races at the top level, and this should light a fire in the driver’s seat moving forward.

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‘Second hurts a whole lot worse than third’ – Buescher

Chris Buescher had a hard time digesting being on the wrong side of NASCAR Cup Series history Sunday night at Kansas Speedway in a photo finish with Kyle Larson. Buescher finished second by 0.001s. But before NASCAR had reviewed its high-speed …

Chris Buescher had a hard time digesting being on the wrong side of NASCAR Cup Series history Sunday night at Kansas Speedway in a photo finish with Kyle Larson.

Buescher finished second by 0.001s. But before NASCAR had reviewed its high-speed camera at the finish line, Buescher and his RFK Racing team thought they were going to victory lane in the AdventHealth 400 and started celebrating in the pit box and over the No. 17 team radio.

NASCAR reviewed the camera and declared Larson the winner. The track scoring pylon at the racetrack incorrectly listed Buescher as the winner.

“We were celebrating down the backstretch and looked at the pylon, and we were P1 up there,” Buescher said. “Everything we had said we had gotten it. Obviously not. The only thing I have to go off of is a grainy photo right now, and at this point it just sounds like I am complaining — and I guess I am because I don’t see it in that.

“I don’t understand how the timing system can read it out one way and not the other. We just got to understand it better.”

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Scott Graves, Buescher’s crew chief, went to the NASCAR hauler to get clarification. Graves admitted to Fox Sports after the visit that he wanted to know if it was the painted start/finish line that the scoring goes by, but NASCAR showed the high-speed camera picture and explained the finish.

Buescher led Larson at the white flag after taking the lead on the restart. He had lined up outside Denny Hamlin and cleared the field as Larson put them three wide going into Turn 1. On the final lap, Buescher led the way going into Turns 3 and 4 and tried to move up and crowd Larson, who went to the outside with a run to put them side-by-side coming through the corners.

The two were side-by-side down the frontstretch and hit doors as they moved toward the bottom of the racetrack. Larson won the race, crossing the finish line above the white line as Buescher continued his charge on the apron.

“It was a great restart for us,” Buescher said. “Our Mustang was really good firing off, and I certainly could have blocked more, but at the end of the day, I felt like I was pretty defensive on it. I felt like I was going to make a drag race out of it coming to the finish line. We got to banging doors there a little bit and lost some momentum and I was aggressive trying to cover it.

“I just needed a draft to keep speed up down the straightaway. I am really proud of that work. I just watched the replay and I just can’t see it right now. It hurts to see the pylon say we get it and then not.”

It was an up-and-down day for Buescher that ended in heartbreak. Buescher was the best of the Ford contingent, winning the second stage and leading four times for 54 laps.

But at the end of the second stage, it appeared his chance to contend for the victory had disappeared. Buescher’s team was penalized for going over the wall too soon, and he was sent to the rear of the field. A rash of cautions in the final stage aided Buescher’s climb back to the top.

Buescher was back in the top five when the team stayed out under caution with 70 laps to go. He moved to second off the ensuing restart behind Denny Hamlin. With 30 laps to go, Hamlin and Buescher were in fuel-save mode. Buescher lost second position to Martin Truex Jr. with eight laps to go before the final caution flew a lap later.

The team maintained its position off pit road, and Buescher lined up outside Hamlin for the final restart. Kansas Speedway was the second runner-up finish for Buescher this season.

“It sucks to celebrate on the backstretch and then pull up to the front straightaway and be told no,” Buescher said. “I don’t know how everything transpired, honestly. Not right now. It sucks in a lot of ways. Second hurts a whole lot worse than third.

“To be that close a couple of times this year now and not be able to get the win — the speed is great and we did a good job today and was a good recovery from the end of Stage 2 there. But we don’t have a trophy right now.”

Larson beats Buescher in closest finish in NASCAR history at Kansas

Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history Sunday night at Kansas Speedway. The margin of victory was 0.001s in the AdventHealth 400. Larson went outside Buescher through Turns 3 and 4, which Buescher tried to …

Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history Sunday night at Kansas Speedway.

The margin of victory was 0.001s in the AdventHealth 400. Larson went outside Buescher through Turns 3 and 4, which Buescher tried to slow down by crowding the Hendrick Motorsports driver. The two wound up in a drag race off the corner, banging doors once as they moved down the track toward the apron before crossing the finish line.

It was unclear at first who had won the race. After reviewing its high-speed camera, NASCAR called Larson and the No. 5 team to victory lane.

 

“I don’t know. That was wild,” Larson said. “I was obviously thankful for that caution; we were dying pretty bad and was happy to come out [of pit road] third and figured my best shot was to choose the bottom and just try to split three wide to the inside. It worked out; my car turned well and I got some runs. I got through [Turns 1 and 2] really good down the backstretch and had a big tow on Chris and got him to kind of enter shallow, and I just committed really hard up top.

“I wasn’t quite sure if we were going to make it out the other side; I got super loose in the center, and then I’m trying not to get too far ahead of him to where he can side draft, and then I was just trying to kill his run. It was just crazy.

“That race from the start to finish was amazing. That first stage was incredible, the second stage at the end was fun and then that whole last stage with the wrecks and cautions and then fuel strategy and tires running long and all that was wild. You guys got your money’s worth today, and I’m just proud to be a part of the show.”

The victory was Larson’s second of the season and second at Kansas Speedway. It is the 25th of his career. He led 63 laps.

Buescher was on the losing side of history while earning his second runner-up finish of the season. The RFK Racing driver was left in disbelief afterward.

“I don’t know what to say right now. I haven’t seen a replay other than a picture and I sure can’t see it in that picture,” said Buescher, who led 54 laps. “That sucks to be that close. … It was a great finish for us, a really strong day, and a lot of speed in this Castrol Edge Ford Mustang, and we really needed that. Needed a win more and thought we might have had that one. We had a lot of speed there firing off, we were really good really all day, and I’m really proud of that. We had some good strategy to get us back up there and tried to cover what I could, and gave him half a lane too much, I suppose. Good, hard race there down to the line. Yeah, that hurts.”

Chase Elliott finished third, edging out Martin Truex Jr. at the finish line. The two were quickly closing on the top two coming to the checkered flag.

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Denny Hamlin finished fifth. He led a race-high 71 laps and was the leader going into overtime. Hamlin, however, restarted on the bottom, and was put three wide when Larson dove inside him and Buescher.

The race’s final caution to set up overtime was for a sole spin by Kyle Busch. The Richard Childress Racing driver was running fifth when he went for a long spin through Turn 2.

Hamlin was leading Truex and Larson at the time of the caution. Hamlin, Buescher, Larson, and six other drivers took two tires on pit road. Truex came off pit road 10th as the first driver with four tires.

For the overtime restart, Hamlin and Buescher were on the front row, with Larson and Elliott in the second. Ryan Blaney and Noah Gragson were in the third row, John Hunter Nemechek and Alex Bowman in the fourth, and then Corey Heim and Truex in the fifth.

Truex made quick work to get himself into the top five. Buescher led Larson and Truex at the white flag.

Completing the top 10 finishers were Christopher Bell in sixth place, Alex Bowman in seventh, Busch in eighth, Noah Gragson in ninth and Michael McDowell in 10th. Bell started from the pole and led five laps.

Stages 1 and 2 went caution-free. There were five cautions in the final stage.

There were 27 changes among 10 drivers. Hamlin won the first stage, and Buescher won the second stage.

RESULTS

Buescher earns a ‘huge’ second place finish at Phoenix

Chris Buescher turned a quiet day for his RFK Racing team into a much-needed second-place finish Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Buescher’s No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team made the call to stay out for track position when the final caution flew on …

Chris Buescher turned a quiet day for his RFK Racing team into a much-needed second-place finish Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

Buescher’s No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team made the call to stay out for track position when the final caution flew on lap 215. It moved Buescher into the top five for the restart inside the final 92 laps. He did so while managing fuel over the final stint, which later allowed him to make a charge to second place.

“That’s huge,” Buescher said. “We’ve been able to lead races at any point in all three races leading up to this [one]. We didn’t quite get there today, but certainly a great finish for our BuildSubs.com Ford Mustang. I’m really proud of everybody. This is a good try.”

Buescher qualified 14th for the Shriners Children’s 500 and earned an average running position of 12.4 throughout the afternoon. After not scoring any points in the first stage (finishing 17th), he was 10th at the end of the second stage.

In the final stage, the No. 17 was running 17th when the final caution came out, and the team elected to stay on track. It initially moved him to fourth, and he chose the inside lane to be third on the restart. Once crew chief Scott Graves and the team were confident on fuel, Buescher was given the call inside the final 20 laps to go hard.

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Buescher took second place from Ty Gibbs with eight laps to go, but was 5.4s behind Christopher Bell at the finish.

“What thrills me is we were by no means perfect on balance, so we have a lot of room to make this thing better, which is awesome,” Buescher said. “It tells me we can go compete for that thing.”

Sunday was Buescher’s second top-five finish at Phoenix in the last two races. It was his first top-five finish of the season, and it came a week after an early exit from the Las Vegas race when the right front wheel came off his Ford, which resulted in the suspension of two crew members.

RFK Racing filed an appeal over the penalty and NASCAR deferred the suspensions. Buescher had his usual crew on pit road at Phoenix.

“We had a rough go last week and this is good to get everybody back together and prove that we’re in this together, that we’re going to win and lose these things as a team,” Buescher said. “That was almost a win today. We were close in a way, but I couldn’t even see [Bell], so that was going to be a tough one to battle for a win.

“Really impressed with everybody today; they did a heck of a job and worked hard to get back up where we needed to be there at the end. I was able to save just enough fuel to be able to go 100 percent there at the end and at least get one more spot and get to second. Really proud of that.”

NASCAR reveals penalty for Chris Buescher, RFK Racing after Las Vegas

NASCAR has revealed its penalty for Chris Buescher and RFK Racing after the No. 17 car lost a wheel at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

[autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] and [autotag]RFK Racing[/autotag] didn’t have a great weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Buescher showed speed in qualifying and to start the event, but it went downhill quickly after the No. 17 car lost a wheel. Buescher slammed the wall, and the damage was catastrophic. The RFK Racing driver took it behind the wall and finished in 37th place.

On Tuesday afternoon, NASCAR released the penalty for Buescher losing a wheel on the race track in Las Vegas. Buescher’s crew members Jakob Prall (front tire changer) and Nicholas Patterson (jackman) were suspended for two races at Phoenix Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway. RFK Racing has not decided if they will appeal yet.

This is rough news for RFK Racing as they need to adjust Buescher’s pit crew. It is especially critical as Buescher has proven his ability to win at Bristol, one of the races the two crew members will miss. For now, the No. 17 team looks ahead to Phoenix, sitting 23rd in the point standings. Buescher needs an excellent run to turn around a rough weekend at Las Vegas.

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RFK Racing expected to receive penalty from NASCAR after Las Vegas

RFK Racing is expected to receive a penalty from NASCAR after the weekend at Las Vegas. Find out the details behind the likely penalty!

[autotag]RFK Racing[/autotag] didn’t have the weekend it expected at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after a breakout 2023 NASCAR season. Brad Keselowski struggled to show speed, eventually finishing in 13th place after slowly improving. Meanwhile, [autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] finished dead last in 37th place after a crash. Unfortunately for RFK Racing, Buescher’s crash will likely have more consequences.

Due to the wheel falling off the No. 17 car at Las Vegas, RFK Racing is expected to receive a penalty. NASCAR adjusted the rules to a wheel falling off the vehicle, which previously resulted in a four-race suspension for the crew chief. Instead, NASCAR will likely penalize two crew members of their choosing from the No. 17 team for the next two weeks.

The good thing for RFK Racing is that Buescher won’t lose money or points due to the penalty. The concern surrounds the loss of two pit crew members, which must be replaced at Phoenix Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway. RFK Racing and the No. 17 team hope for better luck at Phoenix as the organization looks to rebound after a rough weekend.

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Buescher crash red flags Cup Series at Las Vegas for wall repair

NASCAR had to red flag Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for wall repair after Chris Buescher crashed in Turn 1. Buescher hit the wall when the right front wheel came off his RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse on lap 27. …

NASCAR had to red flag Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for wall repair after Chris Buescher crashed in Turn 1.

Buescher hit the wall when the right front wheel came off his RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse on lap 27. The team did not get the wheel tight when Buescher came in for two tires under the lap 10 caution.

After the race restarted on lap 16, the single center-locking lug nut worked itself loose and came off as Buescher turned into the corner. Once the nut came off, the wheel followed and the car hit the wall.

Buescher initially thought he blew a tire, radioing as much to his team and that he “hit a ton.” He was checked and released from the infield care center.

“We lost the nut and lost half the wheel,” Buescher said. “I think the tire stayed up under the fender. I’m not exactly sure just yet, but it looks like the nut came off and something in the suspension actually cut the wheel in half. It’s definitely not what we wanted with our Fastenal Ford Mustang out here today.

“We had a strong day yesterday. I was really proud of that effort. We got a good bunch here and we’re going to be contenders. We’re going to win some races, but it’s not going to happen today.”

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NASCAR dispatched the welding truck to make repairs to the wall. It resulted in a 10m39s red flag.

Buescher was the first driver to retire from the Pennzoil 400. He will finish last.

“No, nothing that says that was coming,” Buescher said of not having a warning of the wheel being loose. “That’s kind of been the case with this car. I’ve probably had three of these now through the last couple of years and haven’t had a warning on any of them. It’s nothing like the old five lug stuff where you’d get a vibration or a shimmy or have some kind of clue. It just happens all of a sudden.

“It’s very unfortunate there, very tough. We have a great group of people on our team right now and we’re going to bounce back from this and get going in the right direction. That hurts just so early. We were able to move forward out of there. We took two tires and were doing OK and holding our own against four tires around us and just ended up out way earlier than we wanted. I guess we talked a little bit yesterday, and probably truthfully, for the first time in my career, I’m excited about Phoenix after what we had last time there. I won’t have to lie about that, but certainly a bad day today. It’s very disappointing. That sucks.”