The Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway was expected to be a strategy-heavy race. The start of the spring race saw the wet weather tires put into play, and today the Goodyear option tire—a softer compound—is making all the news. While there was no clear idea of how the option tire would work on the short track, the results are indeed surprising.

Daniel Suarez initiated the big call when he raced his way up to the field from outside the top 15 to lead the race. That strategy call was spot-on. In just 13 laps, Daniel Suárez blew past Christopher Bell for the lead and focused on managing his tires to keep that gap.

Soon others, including Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, and Brad Keselowski, followed suit and tried to gain the track position with the use of the option tire. However, something was off with Brad Keselowski and his set of tires, as he wasn’t making progress like the rest of the field. He was able to stretch the tires for more than 50 laps and fell a lap down. As a result, as Busch and Keselowski had switched to reds for the final stint of Stage 2, Busch ultimately took the lead.

Lashing out his frustration via the team radio, Brad Keselowski was looking for answers to what exactly went wrong with his No. 6 Ford Mustang. “Sure, it would be nice to know more about what the hell is going on out here.”

All the teams only have two sets of the option tires along with six sets of slicks. Therefore, the crew chiefs will be put to the test in weaving out the best strategy for their drivers. Maybe conserving a set of the option tires for late-race chaos could do the trick for those contesting for the win.

Both RFK Racing drivers were unable to hit their markers at Richmond

Brad Keselowski has two wins at the 0.750-mile short track; both of them came during the fall. However, the experiment by Goodyear to roll out the option tire didn’t fare well for him and his teammate Chris Buescher. Now Keselowski wouldn’t mind experimenting with his racing setup, as he already has a win in the bag this season, which came at Darlington. He ended the race just outside the top 15 places.

However, Buescher is in a precarious position and in the battle for the final four remaining playoff spots. Make it only three now, as Austin Dillon’s victory certainly foiled his plans to see through these races and enter the knockout stages of the competition. A P18 finish is far from the result Buscher was looking for.

Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain, the two drivers he was contesting against, secured themselves a top-5 result. Wallace leapfrogged the RFK Racing driver to be in the safe spot, while both Chastain and Buescher are now below the cutline. All it took was a surprise win by an outside driver, and it completely stirred the equation of the drivers assumed to make this stretch of four races through.

The good news for RFK Racing and Chris Buescher is that the upcoming tracks have been good for the driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang. And with the Daytona Superspeedway race still in the mix, he will back himself to get the job done. The key is to compete for a win, as relying on points looks like a failing strategy.