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Every cliche in the book could be used to describe Chris Buescher’s win at Pocono Raceway, but to put it simply – he is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner.
A strategy call by crew chief Bob Osborne kept Buescher out on the track with just more than 40 laps to go in poor weather conditions while others pitted under green. As heavy fog began to build around the track, NASCAR was forced to make the decision to put the caution out. A few minutes later cars were brought down pit road and were held for a red flag.
After false reports of tornado warnings at the track, heavy fog, misting conditions and more severe weather on the way, NASCAR called the race official after 138 of 160 laps. The red flag lasted more than an hour, and Buescher was finally able to celebrate his first career Sprint Cup win.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Buescher said. “Wild circumstances here at Pocono. This is gonna change our whole year right here, so this puts us in a good situation where we had a good day. It was a lot of fun. The guys really toughed it out. We got a flat tire, but we’re headed in the right direction now, so that will help in points. We got a win here, so we’ll take it any way we can get it.”
Buescher’s win was the second for Front Row Motorsports who last won at Talladega in 2013 with David Ragan. It was an impressive win for the rookie who scored his first career win before the likes of Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott.
The win for Buescher also puts him in Chase contention. The Prosper, Texas native now sits 31st in points, and is only six points behind Ragan for 30th. If Buescher can crack the top-30 and stay there until after the final regular season race at Richmond, he’ll be one of 16 drivers competing for the championship. Buescher knows that in order to be a legitimate contender, the team’s performance needs to get better.
“We’ve been definitely headed in the right direction,” he said. “The last six or seven weeks have been really good for us. Kentucky was gonna be excellent for us, but it just didn’t play out.”
Buescher’s celebration plans for his big win include some testing on Tuesday. He’ll join Roush Fenway Racing driver Trevor Bayne at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah to prepare their road course racing skills for Watkins Glen this upcoming weekend.
