With Austin Dillon dropping his playoff spot within the fallout from the Richmond end, Chris Buescher and Ross Chastain enter this weekend equal on factors at 584. Buescher is the defending winner at Michigan, whereas Chastain was the quickest driver in observe on Saturday.
Though neither has reached Victory Lane in 2024, each drivers had brushes with the checkered flag this season. Chastain spun whereas making a daring lead for the win within the Daytona 500, and was additionally in competition late at Texas and Nashville earlier than being wrecked.
Buescher has been even nearer to profitable, slicing down a tire after contact with Tyler Reddick as they battled for the lead at Darlington. He additionally misplaced out to Kyle Larson within the closest end in NASCAR Cup Sequence historical past at Kansas — 0.001s!
Watch: Closest end in Cup Sequence historical past: Larson seizes the Kansas win
The RFK Racing driver is “excited to come back again to Michigan,” once more, hoping to “present the velocity that we have had at plenty of these greater racetracks within the final couple of months. We’ve got not executed the races to the most effective extent and we do not have the outcomes to point out for it, however we have been very quick at these locations.”
Though Michigan is among the greater tracks on the schedule at two-miles in size, “chasing soiled air” stays paramount with this automobile and passing will nonetheless be tough.
“I do know that dialog sucks to have, and we’re all sick of claiming it too and listening to it, nevertheless it issues once you’re working 200mph — greater than anyplace,” defined Buescher. “So you are going to have these conversations. For us, it is not altering due to our scenario. We’re doing the identical issues each week, however it should develop into increasingly essential for us to execute on the highest stage.”
Making fewer errors
Chastain has not been on this place since becoming a member of Trackhouse three seasons in the past. He received two races early within the 2022 season. Final 12 months, his victory at Nashville locked him into the playoffs in the course of the month of June.
The motive force of the No. 1 Chevrolet simply needs to “go quicker,” and thus far this weekend, he’s getting his want after topping the observe charts. “That’s going to resolve plenty of our issues.”
Wanting on the present playoff image, Chastain added: “I imply you have a look at Christopher (Buescher) and I, we’re tied in factors. We’ve got the identical common ending place. It’s humorous.. I don’t really feel like we’ve raced round one another a ton. Yeah, I don’t have a look at something apart from making an attempt to go quick. Popping out of the break, clearly you go to Richmond and run up contained in the top-10; drive up there from the 20s and into Eleventh-ish. After which to race and go on and end fifth, that’s higher than we now have been for a number of months. In order that’s the one factor we’re targeted on — executing.”
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, Busch Gentle Peach Chevrolet Camaro
Picture by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Photos
Like Buescher, Chastain additionally famous the significance of executing in these ultimate three races, placing additional deal with mitigating errors. Rushing penalties early within the season probably robbed him of an opportunity to win Las Vegas, and left Pocono with a single level after a single-car spin. Though Richmond was one in every of his greatest ends in months, it was not with out its unforced errors.
“I missed pit street at Richmond in Stage 2 on the second inexperienced flag cease,” confessed Chastain. “That price us spots once we have been forward of the No. 3 (race winner Austin Dillon) at the moment. I got here out a number of seconds behind him, the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace) and someone else, and I by no means handed them once more. So minimizing these sort of errors. Clearly it’s lots greater penalty right here in case you miss pit street. Or in case you velocity. That’s extra typically going to be the case right here.”
Chastain rolls off seventh in Sunday’s race, whereas Buescher begins 18th. Qualifying was rained out, so the beginning grid was set by the metric. They don’t seem to be alone on this combat to make the playoffs on factors, as Bubba Wallace sits simply three factors forward of each drivers. They’re going to additionally should regulate Ty Gibbs, who is barely 18pts away from Buescher and Chastain.
And naturally, another driver under the cut-line profitable over the subsequent three weeks will immediately change the playoff image as soon as once more.
