Chris Buescher is about due for a win. His No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse is a consistent frontrunner, and he recently lost out in the closest finish in history. While it looked like he may have a chance to turn his luck around at Sonoma Raceway on June 9th, 2024, he was passed with less than 10 laps on the board and had to settle for a third-place finish instead.
Heading to the checkered flag at the California road course, Buescher looked like he had the race car to beat after starting 26th. Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry, steady reeled him in, however, forcing Buescher to focus as much on the rearview as he did out the windshield. Eventually, Truex wore Buescher out and completed the pass – but not for long, as Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 swung past them both and led to the checkered flag.
Buescher then fell behind Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Mustang, and was headed for a fourth-place finish until Truex ran out of fuel heading to the finish line, bumping both NASCAR Ford drivers up one slot in the standings.
“Proud of everybody,” Buescher said. “That was a good one to be close and in the hunt… kind of a tough weekend until today. If you had told us we’d gather some Playoff and Stage points, we’d be happy. Just needed a bit more coming to the finish line.”
Larson went on to win. Joey Logano, who earned the pole position in the No. 22 NASCAR Ford, finished 21st, while Supercars racer Cam Waters had a disappointing introduction to the Cup Series, finishing 35th in the No. 60 Mustang.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Valvoline Chevrolet | 110 | 19 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 26 | 17 | Chris Buescher | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 110 | 32 | Ford Mustang |
| 4 | 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Gold Filters Chevrolet | 110 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 9 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Kubota Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 11 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Cirkul Chevrolet | 110 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Moen Ford | 110 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 2 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Monster Energy Toyota | 110 | 35 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 15 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 110 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 14 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 17 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 29 | 8 | Kyle Busch | zone Chevrolet | 110 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 35 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | King's Hawaiian/Despicable Me 4 Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 7 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Pride Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 20 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Wellcare Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 13 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Delaware Life Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 30 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Caymus Vineyards Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 19 | 38 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 18 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Sportswear Company Toyota | 110 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 21 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Autotrader Ford | 110 | 16 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 28 | 2 | Austin Cindric | America's Tire Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 36 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | N29 Capital Partners Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger Health/Tylenol Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 22 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 19 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Overstock.com Ford | 110 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 21 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 110 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 28 | 34 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Cirkul Chevrolet | 109 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 37 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Save Mart Toyota | 109 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 30 | 6 | 24 | William Byron | RaptorTough.com Chevrolet | 108 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 24 | 33 | * Will Brown | Mobile X/Shaw and Partners Chevrolet | 107 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 32 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Mobil 1 50th Anniversary Ford | 95 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 27 | 51 | Justin Haley | Jacob Construction Ford | 88 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Ford Performance Racing School Ford | 73 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 31 | 60 | * Cam Waters | AUKUS/BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 66 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Get Bioethanol Chevrolet | 39 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 37 | 10 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | He Gets Us Toyota | 16 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 38 | 25 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Toyota | 2 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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