Chris Buescher Peels Off the Underdog Tag as He Avoided the Chase Elliott Fate

If there is anyone who has performed beyond expectations this year, it is Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing driver has been on an absolute tear of late, winning three of the last five regular season races. His form was so hot towards the end of the regular season that fans and experts now consider him to be a serious challenger for the Cup Series title, which was definitely not the case at the onset of the season.

When he secured his playoff spot in Richmond earlier this year, many thought that it was a flash-in-the-pan moment for the RFK Racing sensation. And then he went to Michigan the very next week and did it all over again. With the pressure of making the playoffs off his shoulders, Buescher was simply unstoppable at times. In the final race of the regular season at Daytona, the 30-year-old stole the show yet again with another fantastic victory, beating out former champion Chase Elliott who was desperate to win.

Unlike Chase Elliott, a lack of desperation in Daytona allowed Chris Buescher to win

For Chase Elliott, this year has been nothing short of a disaster. He suffered a serious leg injury at the start of the campaign which saw him out of action for six races and he was then suspended for one later on. Even then, fans were positive that a driver of Elliott’s caliber would eventually win at least one race and book his spot in the playoffs. One of the problems was the injury, which made it quite difficult for him to get back to 100%.

Regardless, it put him in a pretty desperate situation especially after he missed out on a race win to Michael McDowell at the IMS road course. Going into Watkins Glen, Elliott simply could not race in a relaxed state and it was the same at Daytona. The added pressure of doing everything possible to make it through the last 16 might have interfered with his driving abilities.

On the other hand, Chris Buescher was having the time of his life in the last few races of the regular season, especially in Daytona. This is only the second time that Buescher has made it into the playoffs, the first coming seven years ago in 2016, which was his rookie season in the Cup Series with RFK Racing. Ahead of the Darlington race, he mentioned,

“That was so much fun to do that and to have that upset, but sitting here at that moment in 2016 we knew we were in a pretty big underdog situation and were just happy to be there. It’s a little bit different this time around because we’re competitors.” 

“The biggest change being in the playoffs and being locked in the playoffs this year was honestly Daytona and going into a superspeedway race that you know can be so wild and not having the stresses of that race being your last shot. That Hail Mary of trying to get in. That made that race a whole lot more enjoyable,” he added.

Buescher raced well in Darlington as he finished in third place with his teammate and boss Brad Keselowski finishing in sixth. Despite the outcome, Buescher was not entirely happy as the RFK Racing man was looking to win the whole thing, just like he has been doing of late.

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The RFK Racing driver is not happy with his Darlington finish

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The 30-year-old said that they were trying to hunt down the race winner Kyle Larson to finish in first place with even his teammate Brad Keselowski helping out. At the end of the day, Larson had the better car and was a deserving winner at Darlington.

“I don’t know, we tried to start on the front row, what, three times next to Larson, so we had our chance and got close when Brad pushed us one of those restarts, and just the outside had the momentum for sure, and they were really good.

“But also hurts just a little bit to be that close,” he said.

RFK Racing and Chris Buescher have been two of the biggest highlights of the 2023 season so far. Buescher might not have won at Darlington but he looked faster than most of the pack and it is only a matter of time before he makes his mark in the playoffs.

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