The Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) didn’t have a single yellow flag outside of stage cautions, and unfortunately, the NASCAR Ford teams just weren’t strong at the road course on March 24th, 2024.
Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse, was the highest-finishing Blue Oval team on Sunday, finishing ninth. However, considering that he started at the rear of the field due to changing his steering rack after qualifying, his run was fairly impressive. He had a fast Mustang all day and managed to claw up to eighth before the final pit stop before ultimately finishing ninth.
“We were behind the eight ball to get started there, having to drop to the rear,” Buescher said after the race. “We had a freak deal happen with a parts failure in practice and qualifying. That was unfortunate but I am proud of everybody on this Fastenal Ford Mustang team to pick ’em off all day long.”
Joey Logano, No. 22 Mustang; Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Mustang; and Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mustang, finished 11th, 12th and 13th respectively, while Austin Cindric was the only other NASCAR Ford to finish inside the top 20, earning an 18th-place result in the No. 2 Mustang.
Meanwhile, William Byron, driver of the No. 24 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, dominated to win his second race of the year.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 68 | 42 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
2 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DEWALT Toyota | 68 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
3 | 2 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 68 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
4 | 17 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
5 | 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | The Beast Unleashed Toyota | 68 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
6 | 14 | 13 | * AJ Allmendinger(i) | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
7 | 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 68 | 10 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
8 | 20 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
9 | 16 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Mark III Employee Benefits Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
10 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 68 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
11 | 35 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
12 | 28 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Jack Links Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
13 | 32 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
14 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Interstate Batteries Toyota | 68 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
15 | 10 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Mobil 1 Toyota | 68 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
16 | 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
17 | 15 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
18 | 11 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
19 | 34 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Focused Health Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
20 | 12 | 16 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | WeatherTech Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
21 | 22 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Romco Equipment Co. Toyota | 68 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
22 | 18 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
23 | 24 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
24 | 5 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
25 | 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
26 | 26 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Ruedebusch Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
27 | 23 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | N29 Capital Partners Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
28 | 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Palmolive Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
29 | 25 | 50 | * Kamui Kobayashi | Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Toyota | 68 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
30 | 29 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
31 | 19 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
32 | 38 | 43 | Erik Jones | Family Dollar Toyota | 68 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
33 | 36 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol 125 Years Forward Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
34 | 39 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Rush Truck Centers Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
35 | 31 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Overstock.com Ford | 67 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
36 | 37 | 66 | * Timmy Hill(i) | Amptricity Ford | 66 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
37 | 33 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Cirkul Chevrolet | 66 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
38 | 27 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 51 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
39 | 13 | 51 | Justin Haley | Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford | 68 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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