Chris Buescher proved that it’s true — in any given race, anything can happen. His win in Monday’s rain-delayed, rain-shortened race at Pocono potentially changed the outlook for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Especially for Buescher and his Front Row Motorsports team. But he’s not in the Chase yet. He still has some ground to make up.
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He’ll try to start that Sunday at Watkins Glen.
For some, it might seem like a simple task — make up six points on the field in the next five races.
But for a team that is accustomed to racing without a ton of attention on it, one that was chasing just its own goals until a few days ago, the job could be daunting.
Buescher's victory at Pocono, combined with a spot in the top 30 in the standings, would put the team in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But Buescher is not in the top 30 yet. In fact, he has not been in the top 30 all season, though he’s been steadily closing in on that group.
So what does he face in the coming races? Kyle Busch was in this position entering the race at Watkins Glen International last season, though his circumstances were quite different. Busch had missed the opening 11 races of the season recovering from a broken leg and ankle, then came back and almost immediately began racking up wins.
He had four victories entering the Watkins Glen race and was on the verge of breaking into the top 30. He had received a NASCAR exemption from having to attempt every race for the season, so was Chase-eligible if he did break into that field. (He did, and went on to win the championship).
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What advice would he offer Buescher?
“Those are some pretty unique circumstances this weekend,” he said. “Being outside the top 30, I know what that’s all about, but you know you’re going to have to point your way in. You’ve got to have good races. You can’t have tire failures or have bad races. You want to be able to have that opportunity to make up those points in order to get yourself in the top 30 and be eligible. So his road is not that far, he’s only six points behind.”
Still, he’s in a different scenario than he’s ever faced. Certainly he felt the pressure of battling for the Xfinity Series title last season.
But this is the Chase. This is a shot at the Cup title. For a rookie.
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How Buescher and his team handle the pressure of the coming weeks will go a long way toward determining whether or not they can make the Chase field.
“That’s going to be interesting to see, because it’s totally different now,” NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Jarrett said. “The pressures before were to run as good as they could. They had an outstanding young driver that they needed to help move along and now, all of the sudden, the pressures are completely different. They’re going to have to make every decision be better than what they’ve done to this point because, obviously, they have to make up those six points and get themselves in the top 30 to take full advantage of this situation that they’ve created for themselves.”
Though he does have that experience from the Xfinity championship battle, Bueshcer faces a whole new set of circumstances. Can he make it into the Chase?
“We’re talking about a Chase berth and there’s only 16 of them a year,” Jarrett said. “When they started this season out, they expected to do well and perform as a team and perform well, but I’ll guarantee you that really making the Chase wasn’t in their thoughts, they just wanted to get better. Now they’ve got a whole nother pressure. It’ll be interesting to follow this next month to see how they handle all that.”