After clinching a berth in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Chris Buescher believes he’s worn out his welcome with those who may have willingly offered him advice in the past.
“A lot of people who would have given advice before now probably aren’t going to at this point, as we’ve been able to get this far. We’ve been in a good spot through every cutoff through the playoffs,” Buescher said. “In a lot of ways, we’re keeping with the status quo.”
While racing at the front of the pack now feels like familiar territory for Buescher, it wasn’t always that way for RFK Racing.
For much of the NASCAR Cup Series season, the driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang skirted along the perimeters of the championship conversation, never really entering the chat until he won back-to-back races in early August.
Prior to that, he’d only had seven top-10 finishes in 21 races.
Regardless, following his breakthrough, Buescher ripped off another win at the regular season finale at Daytona Int’l Speedway and entered the playoffs as the seventh seed in the 16-driver field.
“We’ve made it a long way this season. We’ve outrun a lot of what were considered favorites from the get-go on the year and we’ve done that and outrun them very consistently through the second half of the season,” Buescher said.
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With 4,021 playoff points, the 30-year-old will start the Round of 8 ranked fifth, joining William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney in the championship lineup.
While Buescher doesn’t view himself as a title favorite among the eight, given the right circumstances, he’s assured RFK has the capability to make it to the final round at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
“We’re not at a point where we can be ignored anymore,” Buescher said. “I don’t know what everyone else is feeling, but I would say you’re gonna have a hard time finding somebody that’s not aware we’re in this round and that we have an opportunity to make it to the next one.”
The Texas native has an average finish of 12.3 this season — a mark surpassed only by Byron, who boasts an average finish of 11.5. Among the playoff drivers, Buescher is tied with Hamlin for second best, as they both have an average of 12.3.
While Buescher has certainly noticed who the other frontrunners are, he hasn’t concerned himself with analyzing anything other than his own game.
“We know what has gotten us to this point,” Buescher said. “This is our decisions to me. This is our speed to find. Most of the situations that are ahead of us really just need to be what we can control and what we can do as a group to be fast, to be able to make that next round, win races, whatever that may be.”
It is Buescher’s second playoff appearance and the first time he’s made it to the Round of 8.
The penultimate playoff round will commence on Sunday with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.