With just three races left before the 2024 Cup Series Playoff field is decided, Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is still in search of a win. He’s currently on the right side of the bubble, meaning that if the regular season ended today, he’d make the Playoffs, but anything can happen in the span of a few weeks. Even so, Buescher isn’t stressed about making the Playoffs.
According to a report from NASCAR.com, Buescher reflected on his run at Richmond last weekend, lamenting the Pit Road mistake that took him out of contention for the win. That mistake – and the subsequent 18th-place finish – were not at all what the No. 17 NASCAR Ford team wanted to see, but there’s still time to turn things around.
“We had our hiccup on pit road and ended up going, you know, a lap down there and kind of struggled to get back from that all night long,” Buescher said. “Really no cautions to help that until, what, [two laps] to go? So it ended up making for a bit of a long night; certainly not what we needed there.”
However, with three races left on the schedule – Michigan, Daytona, and Darlington – before the Playoffs start, Buescher’s keeping his head high. In fact, he won at Michigan and Daytona last year, and he’s been a consistent frontrunner throughout the 2024 season. He could very well do it again, securing his spot in the championship run. With that in mind, Buescher’s keeping his eyes on the prize and isn’t stressing out about the outcome.
“There’s no extra pressure. It’s every week, right?” Buescher said. “I mean, if you break it down and put it into the week, you know the race that’s six days ahead of you every Monday, that’s the most important one.”
It might even be a little bit easier for Buescher. Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevy Camaro ZL1 won at Richmond, granting him an automatic pass to the Playoffs, but he later had his championship eligibility revoked for wrecking the leaders, including the No. 22 NASCAR Ford of Joey Logano, to win. That leaves four slots up for grabs instead of three.
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