After ending the 2023 season as considered one of prime performing groups, 2024 has been a little bit of a rollercoaster for the 31-year-old native of Prosper, Texas.
Buescher has gotten caught up in wrecks within the season opener at Daytona and at Las Vegas however in between he ran ninth at Atlanta and second most lately final weekend at Phoenix.
Buescher earned a career-best three wins final season and stays assured his workforce retains the flexibility to win. That’s what he’s relying on to qualify for a return journey to the playoffs.
Race winner Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, Castrol Edge Ford Mustang in victory lane
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photos
“The best way I see it, we’re not factors racing this 12 months. We’ve received to win races and we’re able to profitable races and once we go try this, the remainder will fall in line,” he mentioned. “I don’t assume we’re a workforce that’s going to sit down right here and say we’re going to should battle for this bubble spot of fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth for factors to attempt to break into the playoffs.
“That’s not going to be our season and with that being the case, I’m not anxious in regards to the (lack of) stage factors and what we’ve been in a position to do there. I don’t like that it exhibits we haven’t been the place we have to be.
“We’ve received a full dumpster round right here of race automobile elements and that in the end exhibits why we don’t have any extra factors to indicate for it.”
Chasing wins, not factors
At present, Buescher sits sixteenth within the sequence standings, which might web him the ultimate playoff spot. However his tenuous factors place would instantly get overridden with a victory, which might lock him into the 16-driver subject.
The excellent news is Buescher has two races developing that might present glorious alternatives for his first win of the 12 months.
Buescher is a former winner at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, web site of Sunday’s race, and in current seasons he has proved a really adept highway course racer, which bodes properly for the March 25 race at Circuit of the Americas.
This weekend’s spring race at Bristol returns to the concrete floor after three years of being run as a mud occasion.
“Bristol has been my favourite race monitor for a extremely lengthy time frame. I’ve completely beloved it there from the primary I used to be in a position to go,” Buescher mentioned. “I’ve all the time run rather well there.
“I simply had it fast fairly early on. I’ve received that sword at dwelling proper now and received a Bristol win, received a Bristol Evening Race, which has been the one race on the highest of my record that I look after just a bit bit greater than anyplace else.
“It’s probably the most enjoyable monitor we go to.”
Whereas Buescher has seen extra success at among the Cup Sequence’ different highway programs, he mentioned he’s decided to seek out comparable outcomes at COTA.
“It appears to be the one highway course that hasn’t been our strongest. We’ve received to determine why that’s,” he mentioned. “However we’re able to go down there and switch that round, get via that dialog and begin speaking about profitable in entrance of that dwelling crowd.
“That will be an enormous second.”
The place can the No. 17 enhance?
Buescher mentioned he can’t level to 1 particular space his workforce wants to enhance this 12 months – maybe execution could be one of the best time period. Nevertheless, he is aware of he begins 2024 much better than he did final season and 2023 was his greatest Cup season but.
“We’ve received to scrub up and discover a bit of little bit of luck right here or there. We’ve received to make higher selections at sure instances and simply be smarter in methods and work more durable, clear up,” he mentioned.
“It’s going to be difficult, however I’m not going to learn a lot into it proper now. Like I mentioned, we’re positively not going to start out having factors talks this early within the season. That’s not my velocity in any respect.”
