NASCAR
Chris Buescher Gives Ford Ninth-Straight Michigan Victory
BROOKLYN, Mich. – For the second-straight week, Chris Buescher is a NASCAR Cup Series winner. The RFK Racing No. 17 Ford Mustang took command over early Michigan dominator Martin Truex Jr. after Stage 2. Over the closing laps, Buescher hardly ever looked back. After going 223 starts between his first two wins, Buescher now waits just eight days to pull back into victory lane. Back-to-back triumphs for the 17 already have many penning Buescher as a Playoff sleeper pick.
Stage 1 would go to Martin Truex Jr., but the drama was further behind him with other prerace favorites. Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott were both sidelined after early crashes in turn two. The 8 went sliding after tight racing for 10th with Ryan Blaney, while Elliott cut a tire. The 9’s incident puts him in all but must-win territory for the Playoffs.
The last lap of Stage 1 saw another contender’s day end, with William Byron pounding the turn four wall from ninth. The 24 failed to get any Stage points because of this overdriving, and finished a dismal 35th.
Early in Stage 2 saw two more single-car incidents. Josh Berry spun on a restart in turn four and everyone managed to avoid the No. 42. While racing for the lead with Alex Bowman a few laps later, Christopher Bell also went for a turn two spin cycle.
It's @CBellRacing to the lead, but he spins out!!! pic.twitter.com/ESduTxPWkp
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 6, 2023
Midway through Stage 2 saw rain roll in, forcing a lengthy red flag. Once the race resumed Monday afternoon, Truex took the Stage 2 win. The 19 chose to pit midway through Stage 2 and had to rally forward. The Stage win was decided in a last-turn pass, with the 19 just edging Daniel Suarez.
Truex was one of several to pit following Stage 2, handing the lead over to Chris Buescher. The Richmond winner held serve out front, only giving up the lead to pit on lap 156. Despite Truex’s car seemingly having more speed and driving through the field again, he was no match for the 17. Truex got to Buescher’s inside with 12 laps left but stumbled, allowing the 17 to drive off.
‘Monday Martin’ would fall one spot shy of a perfect max-points day in Michigan. Chris Buescher took the checkers and his fourth career win by mere feet over the 19. RFK Racing adds onto their already-legendary stats at their home track, now with 14 Michigan victories. Buescher also appears to be peaking at the right time, with the Playoffs inching closer.
“That was our plan, right?” Buescher said. “That’s what we come to do every weekend.”
“Thank you for all at fans that hung out here on Monday with us. It’s awesome. Glad we got to get this whole thing in. I know it’s been a long weekend.”
“This Castrol Mustang was so good in practice, qualifying. Gave me a great car again. Had to work for that one too, hard racing at the end. Martin was very clean with me. I appreciate that.”
“Getting to go to Victory Lane two weeks in a row. That’s pretty awesome.”
“Some really good changes. Got this Mustang in a good place to win here at Michigan for Ford, for Jack. Brad’s home track. It’s everybody’s home track on the team but me.”
“Cool victory here. I got to say, missing my wife. She hasn’t been at the last two wins now – three wins. We’re going to have to get her to a racetrack soon. I didn’t thank her last week. I know she puts up with a lot. I wish she was here. We’ll get to celebrate now.”
Behind Buescher and Truex, the Michigan top-10 finishers were: Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones.
Only three races remain now until the 2023 NASCAR Playoffs, with the cut line tightening up after Michigan. Ty Gibbs now holds the final spot by just three points over Michael McDowell. Take a look at the rest of the standings below.
The next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The third-annual Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is the first of two-straight road course races. The green flag will fly Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, the IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With a star-studded ringer lineup, the list of potential winners is wide open.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
