Chris Buescher started his NASCAR Cup career in 2015 and has since won six races in over 329 starts. Interestingly, his winning streak [5 races] ignited after Brad Keselowski joined the RFK Racing team, where Buescher has been a fixture since 2020. While predominantly successful on oval tracks, his most recent win at Watkins Glen last year showed his abilities on road courses as well.
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Recent statistics from the NASCAR Insights page on their X handle reveal that Buescher’s average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car, since 2022, is an impressive 8.82, while his overall average on the road courses remains 13.1.
The average places him ahead of renowned road course specialists like Chase Elliott, who has an average finish of 10.63 [in the Next Gen era], securing the second spot.
Tyler Reddick, who finished fourth place last year in the final standings, ranks third in the list with an average finish of 11.18 on road courses in the Next Gen cars.
Christopher Bell holds the fourth position with an impressive average finish of 12.82, while Austin Cindric rounds off the top five, also with an average of 12.82.
The other five in the list of top-10 drivers with the best average finishes on road courses in Next Gen cars include names such as Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, William Byron, Ross Chastain, and AJ Allmendinger, who have recorded average finishes of 13.33, 13.35, 13.59, 14.35, and 14.94, respectively.
All about Buescher’s Watkins Glen win last year
Last year, Buescher’s win at Watkins Glen during the playoffs marked not only his first road course win but also a victory over someone like Shane van Gisbergen, a recorded master of such tracks.
On the track, Buescher executed his strategy flawlessly, building a commanding lead of over four seconds, only for it to be nullified when a caution was triggered by Harrison Burton’s blown tire, which scattered debris across the track.
In the subsequent restarts, Buescher held pole position with Carson Hocevar challenging from the outside. The race escalated into overtime due to a multi-car tangle in the esses, but then during an overtime restart, SVG, positioned just behind on the inside, pushed Buescher up the track in Turn 1 to snatch the lead.
However, the Trackhouse Racing driver’s maneuver saw him overshoot in the inner loop, grazing the grass, which allowed Buescher to execute a perfect crossover maneuver on the inside as they entered the carousel.
The two made contact, but Buescher emerged in the lead, breaking a 37-race winless drought that stretched back to the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway in 2023.
