Chris Buescher owns up to his slip-ups that derailed a guaranteed playoff shot in Michigan

Chris Buescher was in a position to secure a near-guaranteed playoff berth at Michigan International Speedway. However, a single driving error during the final run cost him the win. Speaking after Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, Buescher took responsibility for his actions. He admitted the mistake was his and that it likely robbed RFK Racing of a race they had in hand.

Chris Buescher entered Michigan needing a strong result to distance himself from the playoff cutline. He delivered on points — finishing second and scoring 45, the second-most of the day — but he knew that wasn’t the full story.

Buescher had the fastest car for most of the race, won Stage 1, and had enough fuel to run flat out in the closing laps. But a costly wiggle on the final green-flag run allowed multiple cars to pass, dropping him from the lead and ultimately sealing the win for Denny Hamlin. He explained,

“We were on a different strategy… so we had fuel and we were running. I was able to make up some spots and made a mistake or two in there that ultimately cost us the win.” said Chris Buescher [0:08 onwards]

That “mistake” came while passing the No. 38 car. As he further explained,

“I just had a big wiggle running the bottom,” “That’s what let the 11, 54, and the 38 back by. That moment was my error and realistically cost us the win today because we were better than the 11 car.”

The driver of the No. 17 Ford started from sixth and moved to the front by Lap 35, taking the Stage 1 win — his first stage victory of the season. But strategy shuffled the field in Stage 2.

RFK Racing chose to fuel up longer than others while leading, which dropped Buescher into the pack for the restart. From there, Michigan’s aggressive restarts punished him. He lost clean air, got caught in traffic, and slipped back to 14th.

“Every start got jumbled up,” Buescher told Frontstretch. “There were a couple [cars] in front of us that had big moments and we had a big check-up. That was on me too — just not making a better lane choice.”

Despite all that, Chris Buescher stayed in the fight. Once the final fuel window opened, William Byron, who led 98 laps, ran out of gas, while Buescher and Hamlin increased their pace. Hamlin took the win, and Buescher settled for second — his best result since last September’s win at Watkins Glen.

“There’s days where you finish second and feel like that’s all you had,” Buescher said. “This is a day where we had a race-winning car and I didn’t do a good enough job.”

The result was a major boost for RFK Racing. All three of their cars — Buescher, Ryan Preece (9th), and Brad Keselowski (10th) — finished in the top 10. It was the team’s first triple top-10 finish since 2016, and Buescher continues to lead the team on track. His second-place finish moved him to 12th in points, now 20 points above the playoff cutline with 11 races left in the regular season.

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Home track struggles still sting for Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher previously opened up to Speedway Digest about his ongoing issues at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite being a proven contender at other intermediate tracks, the RFK Racing driver has never put together a strong finish at the Fort Worth venue. And it cuts deeper than most tracks — because it’s home.

Chris Buescher grew up in Prosper, Texas, just 37 miles from the speedway. Over 15 Cup Series starts at the track, he’s never recorded a top-10 finish. He’s only ended two of those races on the lead lap and has led just two total laps at Texas, out of nearly 5,000.

“It takes a little extra out of you not to be able to seal the deal there,” Chris Buescher told Speedway Digest. “You want it to be better, being a home track and having so many friends and family come out to that one.”

The problem hasn’t always been speed. In fact, Buescher believes the team has made noticeable gains since the track’s reconfiguration. But execution — and a tough layout — continue to hold him back.

The 1.5-mile oval has asymmetrical corners: Turns 1 and 2 are flatter and tighter, while Turns 3 and 4 are steeper and faster. That creates setup compromises. Chris Buescher noted that the Gen 7 car has improved drivability by letting drivers downshift from fifth to fourth, especially through the flatter corners.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua