Martin Truex Jr. talks about his second-place finish and late-race battle with Chris Buescher at Michigan International Speedway.
[autotag]Martin Truex Jr.[/autotag] had a very successful race at Michigan International Speedway after coming away with two playoff points. Unfortunately for Truex, it didn’t end in a victory as RFK Racing driver[autotag] Chris Buescher[/autotag] held him impressively held him off.
It was an exceptional showing by the driver of the No. 19 car as he extended his points lead to 57 points over Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. Truex is set to earn 15 playoff points for winning the NASCAR regular season championship at Daytona International Speedway in three weeks.
Still, it is hard to stomach a second-place finish after having the fastest car at Michigan. Truex got to Buescher’s left side but was unable to make the pass after getting loose. It was his only true opportunity.
This battle between Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr. was INTENSE.
Truex talked about his second-place finish and was asked if his respectful battle with Buescher could have gone differently in the closing laps as the two drivers raced each other cleanly.
“No, not really. I think we needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more,” said Truex. “I feel like we were a little better. It’s hard to pass the leader on equal tires.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver had incredible speed but it just wasn’t enough to pass Buescher. In fact, Truex’s comments about the tire conditions were accurate. However, there are still positive takeaways from the event.
“(The car) was a rocket, The leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass,” Truex explained. “Just didn’t quite have enough. All in all, a good day.”
It was a good day for Truex as he now sits in a really good spot to win the regular season championship. The No. 19 team is peaking at the right time.
After the completion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, we can hold the follow truths to be self-evident: Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is officially “back.” Chris Buescher is rapidly gaining elite status as a driver. …
After the completion of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway, we can hold the follow truths to be self-evident:
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is officially “back.”
Chris Buescher is rapidly gaining elite status as a driver.
Ford maintained its dominance in the Irish Hills.
Chase Elliott will have to win one of the next three races to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
The fastest car didn’t win.
In an extended, dramatic, nail-biting green-flag run to the finish, Buescher held off hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. to win his second straight Cup Series race.
With team co-owner Brad Keselowski finishing fourth and Buescher winning — the ninth straight victory for Ford drivers at the 2.0-mile speedway — RFK can claim bragging rights as the top Ford team in the Cup garage, at least for now.
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When the race resumed at lap 75 on Monday after a postponement from Sunday because of rain, Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet wasn’t on the track, having crashed out in 36th play on lap 35 the day before.
Elliott’s deficit to the Playoff cut line grew to 55 points; realistically, the 2020 series champion will have to win one of the next three races to avoid missing the postseason for the first time in his career.
Eight days after winning his first race of the season on the .75-mile Richmond Raceway short track, Buescher proved himself a formidable competitor lap after lap in holding off Truex, whose No. 19 Toyota arguably was the fastest car in the race.
With Truex closing the distance between the cars over the final six laps, Buescher roared off Turn 4 and crossed the finish line .152 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
“This Castrol Mustang was so good in practice, qualifying,” said Buescher, who picked up his fourth career victory. “Gave me a great car again. Had to work for that one too, hard racing at the end.
“Martin was very clean with me. I appreciate that. Get to go to Victory Lane two weeks in a row. That’s pretty awesome.”
With 13 laps to go, Truex had his best chance. Buescher slipped slightly off Turn 4, and Truex pulled alongside. The No. 19 Camry edged ahead to the inside, but Buescher doggedly kept Truex beside him for nearly two laps.
Rounding Turn 4 on lap 188 of 400, Buescher held Truex’s car to the bottom of the track, forcing Truex to slip and lift off the gas. Truex also had to clear the lapped car of Michael McDowell as Buescher opened a gap of 10 car lengths.
That gave Buescher enough of a margin to hold off Truex for the win over the final 11 circuits.
“I think we needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more,” said Truex, who swept the first two stages and increased his series lead to 57 points over second-place Denny Hamlin, who finished third on Monday. “I feel like we were a little better. It’s hard to pass the leader on equal tires.
“We had an unbelievable car today. Hats off to everybody that puts in the work on these things… It was a rocket. The leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. Just didn’t quite have enough. All in all, a good day.
“Tough to get a win here. We’ve been really good in the past. Just can’t get it done. Hopefully, I don’t know, maybe next year.”
Kyle Larson finished fifth, followed by Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones. Ty Gibbs came home 11th and supplanted McDowell in the 16th and final Playoff-eligible position. McDowell trails Gibbs by three points, with Suarez five points back.
With Buescher winning his second race and qualifying for the postseason, all the single-race winners this season also clinched Playoff berths on Monday: Christopher Bell, Chastain, Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Bell, the Michigan pole winner, damaged his car severely with a spin into the wall on lap 65 on Sunday, but after repeated trips to pit road for repairs, he salvaged a 13th-place result.
Check out a couple studs and duds from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
The NASCAR Cup Series had to wait until Monday afternoon to finish the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway but for the fans in the stands, it was worth the wait.
[autotag]Chris Buescher[/autotag] had to hold off hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. in the Final Stage following the last cycle of green-flag pit stops. It was an incredible performance by the RFK Racing driver to fend off the best driver of the entire event.
Following the Cup Series race at Michigan, here are a couple of studs and duds from the overall field.
Chris Buescher capped Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s dominant day at Richmond (Va.) Raceway with a trophy, holding off the field on a restart with three laps remaining to win the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 Sunday afternoon – his and the RFK …
Chris Buescher capped Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s dominant day at Richmond (Va.) Raceway with a trophy, holding off the field on a restart with three laps remaining to win the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 Sunday afternoon – his and the RFK team’s first victory of the season.
Brad Keselowski (also a co-owner of RFK) and Buescher combined to lead a race-best 190-of-400 laps – Buescher’s 88 laps out front was the most laps he’s ever led in a race in his eight-year NASCAR Cup Series career. It all results in an important automatic bid into the 16-driver Playoff field with only four races remaining in the regular season.
The No. 17 RFK Ford ultimately held off last week’s race winner Denny Hamlin by a slight 0.549s although Buescher had held more than a 5s advantage on Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota up until that caution flag flew for an accident involving Noah Gragson and Daniel Suarez in the closing laps.
“It was smooth sailing trying to take care of this Fastenal Mustang. It was so good, and trying to take care of it there…about the time (crew chief) Scott (Graves) said over the radio, ‘It’s working perfect, keep it up,’ and then there’s a caution,’’ said Buescher with a smile.
“But we were so strong during the race, I had a good feeling there about it,’’ added Buescher who now has three career NASCAR Cup Series wins. “So awesome to pull it off. I’m proud of everybody. That was a long way from the back.’’
That late-race yellow flag was the only caution flag on the day other than the two stage breaks, with the afternoon racing at the Richmond three-quarter mile track being physically demanding under intense heat – over 130 degrees inside the race car. As seventh-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. said smiling after the race, “My cheek feels like it’s sunburned. It was like a hair dryer blowing on you.’’
The 30-year old Texas native Buescher, however, handled the heat and the field, starting 26th but steadily working his way forward. He first cracked into the top five by lap 160 of the 400-lap race, chasing down then-leaders Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Keselowski and Hamlin.
For a race with so many green flag laps, it was actually issues on pit road that thwarted several winning efforts, not problems racing on the track.
Wallace’s 80 laps out front mid-race in the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota marked the most laps led in a single race in his career, but he ultimately had to play catch-up when his team had a slow tire change on green flag pit stop on lap 175. He finished 12th.
With 56 laps remaining, race polesitter and Wallace’s 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick got flagged for violating the commitment line coming to pit road for green flag stop, relegating him from running among the top three to desperately trying to remain on the lead lap with the laps counting down. He finished 16th after leading 81 laps early – every lap of stage one en route to claiming his fourth stage win.
Similarly, Keselowski suffered a misstep in the pits after his No. 6 RFK Ford led a race-best 102 laps. He made an awkward turn into his pit during a green flag stop with 115 laps remaining and it cost just enough time to allow his teammate Buescher to take the lead with under 100 laps remaining.
“We wanted to finish 1-2. That’s the ultimate goal, but we still had a heckuva day,’’ said Keselowski, who finished sixth and won stage two — his third stage win of the season.
Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch – the all-time active winner at Richmond – finished third, his best showing on a short track this season. Team Penske’s Joey Logano rallied in the late laps to finish fourth and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece turned in his best showing of the season with a fifth place run.
Keselowski and Truex finished sixth and seventh followed by SHR’s Aric Almirola, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and SHR’s Kevin Harvick. Chase Briscoe finished 11th giving SHR one of its best full team efforts of the season – all four cars inside the top 11.
Every car in the 36-car field finished the race, the first time the full field was running at the end since 2018.
Buescher is now the 12th driver to win a race in 2023, leaving four Playoff positions still available for a new winner or the top drivers in points. Harvick and Keselowski hold more than a 100-point advantage on the 16th place cutoff. Wallace is up 54 points and Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell holds an 18-point buffer on Joe Gibbs Racing rookie Ty Gibbs for that 16th position. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger is 22 points behind McDowell.
Four races now remain to settle the 2023 Playoff field. The series moves north next week for Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick is the defending race winner.
In late January, when NASCAR officials scheduled a two-day test for a new short-track aero package, six drivers were chosen to participate. Among them was Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 team from RFK Racing. Keselowski ended up making an impression …
In late January, when NASCAR officials scheduled a two-day test for a new short-track aero package, six drivers were chosen to participate. Among them was Brad Keselowski and the No. 6 team from RFK Racing.
Keselowski ended up making an impression on another one of the drivers there.
“I’m like, ‘Holy smokes, the 6 car is really fast,’ and I felt like he was going to have a good year this year,” said Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Bell’s recollection came in response to being asked if the two RKF Racing cars, Keselowski’s and Chris Buescher’s No. 17, are for real this season. Both currently hold down spots on the playoff grid and have taken a clear step forward in performance from a season ago.
“Honestly, it’s funny you bring that up,” Bell said before referring to the test. “Week in, week out, it seems (Keselowski’s) a top 10, top five car. So, it certainly seems they’re headed in the right direction.”
Keselowski is 11th in the overall NASCAR Cup Series championship standings and 13th on the playoff grid. He has a 99-point gap on the cutline after finishing 11th Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, with nine races left in the regular season.
Buescher is 12th in the overall championship standings and 14th on the playoff grid. His gap to the cutline is 98 points after finishing a quiet and disappointing 18th at Nashville.
“They’ve definitely gotten better for sure,” said reigning series champion and fellow Ford driver Joey Logano. “They’ve done a good job at keeping up with the rest of the Fords and that’s your baseline. You have to think about where you are and what you’re competing with. From that standpoint, they seem to have made huge gains from last year at this point.
“But a little hit or miss, probably at times. There are times when one of them really hits it, and the other might be a little off, and there are times that they’re like the best car and can win, and there are times they’re not. I think they’re growing and getting better for sure.”
Neither RFK driver made the postseason a year ago. But the 2022 season was one of change as the company welcomed a new era with Keselowski joining as a driver and co-owner. There has been a laundry list of changes made over the last year, some behind-the-scenes, some within the race teams and some, like painting the walls that have nothing to do with the cars going fast.
And yet, both cars are noticeably faster this season. Keselowski has six top-10 finishes and Buescher has seven. At this point a year ago, both drivers needed a win to make the playoffs where it’s now possible – baring the number of race winners, of course – to put both cars into the postseason on points potentially.
Kyle Larson has “definitely” noticed the turnaround as he’s found himself racing both RFK cars more regularly. Larson saw the progress throughout last season but feels it’s been tenfold in 2023.
“Chris Buescher, he’s a very underrated driver,” Larson said. “He’s quiet; nobody really talks about him much, and he’s definitely one of the most talented drivers in the field. And the same goes for Brad. Obviously, he’s a champion.
“He’s been quiet the last few years, but he’s still got the talent to do it, and they’ve done a good job as a team to grow and build and get back to competitive form. I know a win is going to be in his future, for sure, and it’s going to be very satisfying for him whenever he gets it done.
“They’re only a few points behind me, so they’ve obviously been consistent. Wherever they’ve been finishing, I feel like they must be consistent because I have not been consistent, and they’re up in the mix. They’ve done a great job.”
Larson and Tyler Reddick mentioned it’s nice to see a team run well when you know people who work there. Larson is familiar with some members of Keselowski’s team because they moved there from Chip Ganassi Racing, and Larson is a former Ganassi driver. Reddick is glad to see things start to pan out after such a big career move for Keselowski.
Both RFK cars have taken a step forward this year. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images
“It has been like, ‘Oh damn, now I have to try and race Brad and pass him.’ Or Chris,” said Reddick. “It is cool to see that they’re turning it around and doing what they want to do.”
Denny Hamlin also had high praise.
“I think certainly they’ve been, at times, the banner Ford stable,” Hamlin said. “You look at the 4 car, [Kevin Harvick] he’s definitely an outlier for SHR and kind of leads the Ford camp as far as consistent results.
“But as far as an organization, combining them, I would say RFK has been one of the best Ford teams out there. Certainly, I would say what they are putting out there on the racetrack is for real.”
Keselowski and Buescher acknowledge a lot of racing left to go. Very much in sync, Keselowski and Buescher mentioned the need and push to win races. Buescher did go to victory lane late season at Bristol Motor Speedway, which was proof of concept for the organization.
Buescher does not like to point race and doesn’t want to fall into that trap over the next nine weeks. He wants to see the No. 17 team stick to what they’ve been doing, and if they continue to be competitive each week, the points will handle themselves.
“It’s not complete yet,” Buescher said of having a chance to put both cars in the postseason. “The story is ongoing, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. But it is a measure of a tremendous amount of progress from this point last year for RFK for both of our teams. It’s been a lot of work. This car has been a lot of work. All the change at RFK has been a lot of work.
“It’s cool to see some results from that. We’re still trying to figure out how to get more wins and be in contention, just be a few spots better each week and that’ll definitely help us. But it’s measurable change and improvement, and that’s solid for everybody back at the shop and the track. It’s showing every week at any kind of racetrack we go to, and it’s not just road courses or speedways. Every track we go to, we are night and day better than we were last year.”
There were fleeting moments of potential last season for RFK Racing, including the win at Bristol in which Buescher and Keselowski combined to lead 278 of 500 laps. Buescher finished 21st in the championship standings last season. Keselowski was 24th.
Buescher is positioned to surpass the total number of top-10 finishes he earned last season (10). His next top-five finish will give him one more than he had all of last year.
“I think we’ve got some good vibes going; Chris is on a really big hot streak,” Keselowski said. “He’s run really well the last three or four races, been in contention to win, he won a stage in the Coke 600 and won (a heat race) of the All-Star Race, (was) really good at Sonoma.
“A lot of really great energy there, and they’re kind of scuttling their way up in the points. A lot of excitement there.”
Keselowski has already tied the number of top-10 finishes he had a season ago and surpassed the total number of top-five finishes. But the former series champion said there have been “a lot of ups and downs” with the No. 6 team.
“I felt we were really strong at Charlotte and maybe not as good as we wanted to be at a couple of other places here lately,” Keselowski said. “So, either way, it’s better to be in than be outside looking in, but we’re not as comfortable as we’d like to be. We’d like to have wins. That’s what the sport is about.
“We’ve done a great job, I think, elevating ourselves from irrelevant to relevant, but I don’t want to stop there. We’ve got another step to take, and so we’re working really hard to take that step and put it together. I’m working on it every day. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, but we need to be winning races.”
If there were an award for the “Most Improved” team, it would go to RFK Racing. Although Keselowski laughed that with how much improvement they needed to make, he’s not sure that’s something to be proud of or not.
But the gains have them looking realistically at the postseason and have the attention of the competition.
“We’ve come a long way, without a doubt, and we’ve got a real shot of putting both cars in the playoffs,” Keselowski said. “But a lot can happen between now and then. But either way, glad to be where we’re at rather than be looking from the outside.”
Chris Buescher led wire-to-wire and won the second heat race Saturday night to earn a spot on the front row in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The RFK Racing driver led all 60 laps. He started from the pole and led to the …
Chris Buescher led wire-to-wire and won the second heat race Saturday night to earn a spot on the front row in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The RFK Racing driver led all 60 laps. He started from the pole and led to the caution on lap 25 for rain. NASCAR officials had teams switch to wet weather tires under non-competitive pit stops.
On the restart, Buescher got the jump and drove away from the field.
“I liked our Fastenal Mustang on slicks; I was happy with it,” Buescher said. “I didn’t want to put rains on, I felt like it was still pretty dry out there, and it actually stayed dry through the end. I get it was starting to drizzle a little bit. But the car was (fast with) wets on, too, so I’m not over here complaining anymore.
“Our guys did a great job. The pit crew didn’t get to show what they could do with non-competitive stops, but I guarantee they would have got it done there too. I’m proud of this group. It’s a heck of a start. I felt really good about this thing in practice. I feel even better about it now, so slicks or wets, we’re going to be just fine.”
Austin Dillon finished second, William Byron third, Brad Keselowski fourth, and Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, Kyle Busch seventh, Kyle Larson eighth, Ross Chastain ninth, and Tyler Reddick 10th and last.
The results from the first heat race set the inside row for Sunday night’s All-Star Race, and the results from the second heat race set the outside row.
Analyzing Sunday’s Quaker State 400 in Hampton, Ga., with NASCAR odds, picks and predictions.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Sunday for the 2022 Quaker State 400. The green flag is set to drop a little after 3 p.m. ET (USA). Below we analyze the 2022 Quaker State 400 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
Sunday’s race is scheduled for 260 laps on the 1.54-mile long quad-oval at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This is the second stop of the season at the venerable track outside of Greater Atlanta. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron won the 501-mile run in late March, averaging 126.584 mph in a race that featured a record 46 lead changes, besting the 45 lead changes in the 1982 Fall Race when Bobby Allison raced to checkers in his Buick.
2022 Quaker State 400: What you need to know
After 5 consecutive victories by Ford from February 2017 to March 2021, Chevrolet has raced to Victory Lane in the last 2 installments.
Chevrolet and Ford both have 5 Atlanta wins since the Fall Race in 2013. That’s the last time Toyota has been able to pick up checkers at this track.
B’s are wild – as Byron, Kurt Busch and Ryan Blaney have won the past 3 races in Atlanta.
Hendrick’s Chase Elliott is on the pole after Saturday’s qualifying round was wiped out by rain.
Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain will start on the outside of Row 1, with Road America winner Tyler Reddick going off from the third spot.
ELLIOTT (+1000) is listed as the co-favorite with Chastain and Blaney. The Georgia native is a much better play than those 2 drivers. In 8 career starts at his home track, Elliott has yet to win, but he has a top-5 finish and 6 top-10 runs with 68 laps led. He also leads all active drivers with a 12.6 Average-Finish Position (AFP).
KURT BUSCH (+2000) is worth a roll of the dice, as he leads all active drivers with 4 career wins in Atlanta with 9 top-5 runs, 17 top-10 finishes and 952 laps led with a 14.6 AFP.
Quaker State 400 picks – Long shot
BRAD KESELOWSKI (+3000) has struggled with his new team in 2022, but he could be dangerous at AMS. Keselowski has 2 wins, 4 top-5 finishes and 9 top-10 runs in 15 career Atlanta starts while posting a 15.0 AFP. As such, he is worth a small-unit play.
In addition, KESELOWSKI TOP-10 FINISH (+155) at plus-money is still a pretty solid value, and likely a lot more realistic.
Quaker State 400 prop picks
CHRIS BUESCHER TOP-10 FINISH (+140)
Buescher is worth a look for a top-10 run. He has made 8 starts in Atlanta during his Cup Series career, posting 3 top-10 finishes with a 17.3 AFP, improving from an Average Start Position of 21.9.
MARTIN TRUEX JR. – GROUP 4 WINNER (+240)
Truex Jr. is the favorite to finish better than Alex Bowman (+240), Austin Cindric (+260) and Chase Briscoe (+260).
MTJ has 25 career Atlanta Cup starts under his belt, posting 6 top-5 finishes and 13 top-10 runs while leading 356 laps. He has 4 DNFs, tied for the most among all active drivers, so there is some risk. But he has the highest AFP of the 4 drivers in Group 4.
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