Chris Buescher roared back into the NASCAR Cup Series garage in 2023 with his eyes firmly set on the grand prize: the 2023 Cup Championship. Just a few weeks after three electrifying regular-season wins with RFK Racing—marking the team’s first victories since 2017—Buescher is burning rubber, fueled by the expert guidance of co-owner Brad Keselowski.

Fast forward, the first leg of his playoff journey painted a promising picture, hinting that a win and a secured spot in the Championship 4 were well within reach. While he revved into the top five twice in eight playoff showdowns, that coveted win remained elusive. Now, with Martinsville as his final lap, his buddy and boss, Brad Keselowski, has dropped a candid reality check in his rearview mirror.

Brad Keselowski pulls back the curtain on Chris Buescher’s Achilles’ heel

Buescher rolls with an old-school racing vibe—a stoic figure in the garage who doesn’t beat around the bush. His no-nonsense approach to critiquing both himself and his team’s history syncs perfectly with Keselowski’s crew, which proudly carries the legacy of owner Jack Roush, Ford’s iconic frontman in NASCAR.

Even in front of the cameras, Buescher doesn’t shy away from calling a spade a spade. Reflecting on a grueling run at Homestead, where he clocked in at P21, he candidly remarked, “Yeah, that was a brutal day. We worked hard on this Fastenal Mustang and got it better. We started off the race really tight and went a lap down and didn’t have any opportunities to get that back,” as reported by motorsport.com.

But Buescher isn’t the only straight shooter on the team. Keselowski, when quizzed about his expectations for Buescher, didn’t sugarcoat his words either. Pointing out the problematic areas that Chris Buescher needs to work on, he asserted, “Chris has done a heck of a job all year, but he has got his work cut out for him. You know, he’s got two tracks in front of him that I think he would tell you aren’t his favorites. And we need some really strong runs or a win. So, we are giving him everything we got, he’s giving everything he’s got, and we are excited for the opportunity. But this is top-level motorsports, and we are trying to be the best at it, and it ain’t going to be easy.”

Furthermore, on the topic of the high-stakes impending showdown at Martinsville, Buescher was equally forthright. He acknowledged the crucial nature of the race, even if Martinsville hasn’t historically been his best battleground.

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Chris Buescher exudes confidence in the machine provided by the RFK team

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Following a less-than-ideal finish, Buescher finds himself trailing in the points tally among the six playoff contenders, eyeing the golden ticket to the Championship 4. With the stakes sky-high, only a triumph at the upcoming Martinsville Speedway race can reignite his championship dreams.

Crunching the numbers, while Buescher could technically bridge the 43-point chasm without clinching the top spot, there’s a twist. It’s not just about overtaking a single rival. He’s got to leapfrog a 26-point difference with Truex, another 26 with Hamlin, and a 33-point stretch with Reddick. And just to spice things up, overcoming a 63-point gap with Byron? Well, that’s off the table. So, for Buescher to zoom ahead without a win, the stars have to align just right.

Acknowledging the high-octane challenge, as per motorsport.com, Buescher remarked, “Yeah, it is a must-win. There is no other way around that one now.” He added with a hint of optimism, “For us, I feel like we have brought really fast race cars to a lot of these tracks. We obviously needed some tweaks (for Sunday), and we did a good job during the race.”

Read More: “His Own Worst Enemy” – Brad Keselowski’s Insider Dissects NASCAR’s Most Versatile Driver’s Achilles Heel