The race in Miami on Sunday stirred up a whirlwind in the Round of 8 standings. However, one person unbothered by all the action was RFK Racing’s 30-year-old driver Chris Buescher. Starting the day at the 8th spot in the standings, he ended it at the same. A largely lackluster performance left the driver licking his already festering wounds at P21. His teammate and team owner, Brad Keselowski wasn’t able to put one and two together either, despite strong showings in the initial stages.

As Buescher heads to Martinsville with very dim hopes of making it to the Championship 4, Hendrick Motorsports legend Steve Letarte voiced his bafflement over Buescher’s poor performance on Sunday.

The former crew chief cannot understand what set the RFK cars apart in Miami

Throughout the season, the #6 and the #17 Mustangs of RFK Racing have stuck together in almost every race. When one put up a good performance, the other wasn’t very far behind or ahead. Shouldering each other through the Round of 16, the team saw its top man fall out of contention after the race at the Charlotte Roval. However, Keselowski has still been recording some good performances, finishing P4 in Vegas and dominating the initial stages in Miami. Unfortunately, his teammate who had made it to the Round of 8, hasn’t been able to keep up with him over these last two races.

Questioning the reason for Buescher to create a performance divide with his counterpart, Steve Letarte said, “I think the success of the year has been their only concern, not concern, but what I would have circled is… ‘Why was the #6 so good and us, so poor? […] How did we divert at the time where we needed to be together? How did we divert?’ Maybe that was the car, maybe it was the driver, maybe it was a combination of decisions that got them there.”

Despite expressing his unknownness over the differences between the cars’ runs in Miami, Letarte appeared to be of the opinion that the team has had a good season. Mentioning that they can’t be thinking about it yet, still in contention, he quickly shifted to the questions that ought to be on their minds.

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Have RFK Racing and Chris Buescher shed the rust in 2023?

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Chris Buescher is the first driver from his team to advance to the Round of 8 since Carl Edwards in 2014. Regardless of whether he makes it to the Championship 4 or not, this effectively means that Brad Keselowski has punched his weight as a team owner. Jumping on the team’s ownership wagon in 2022, he has incorporated major changes to have the once-flourishing Roush-Fenway partnership back on the winning track again. 2023 is a big step in that path.

One of the two Fords in the Round of 8, Buescher has already achieved a lot for his team in the current year. He said to the media before the Miami race, “I have been a part of RFK Racing for 15 years. I have seen a lot. I have seen a lot of good and a lot of bad. I would say it is really exciting now to see the positives. Not for myself, selfishly, it is a lot more than that.”

In Letarte’s words, “This is the breakout season for them.” Later mentioning that the driver was certainly moving in the right direction, the crew chief also said, “Chris Buescher has had a career breakout year so, you know, let’s move that momentum into next year.” Going to Martinsville, Buescher sits last in the standings and faces a must-win situation. Over his 16 appearances at the track, he has secured just one top-10. With the intermediate experts who will be in the challenge on Sunday, Buescher’s chances are more than underwhelming. But one can never be too sure about the outcome of a NASCAR race.

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