“I Despise That”: Chris Buescher Takes Clear Stance on Why He Would Never Race Conservatively in NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series driver Chris Buescher (17) during qualifying for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece crossed the checkered flag at the Talladega Superspeedway in second place on Sunday. He could have kept his result had it not been for his No. 60 Ford Mustang being caught with a spoiler infringement in the post-race inspection. But he wasn’t the only RFK Racing driver left cursing their luck when the sun set. His teammate Chris Buescher joined him in that.

Buescher was leading the inside lane on a lap 52 restart when Christopher Bell was pushed from behind by Denny Hamlin. Bell went sideways and into the SAFER barrier. Buescher crashed into him on the driver’s side.

The early exit frustrated him and reinforced his belief that the only safe place to race on superspeedways was at the back.

He told the press, “There are not many safe places anymore other than the very back. And it’s just not racing. I’ve been a part of those, and I’ve hated every second of it, and I don’t want to be a part of it. Jack (Roush) adamantly doesn’t want to be a part of it. Brad (Keselowski) adamantly doesn’t want to be a part of it.” Their belief is that this goes against the spirit of racing.

Now, he is aware that such incidents are to be expected when racing on unpredictable tracks like Talladega and Daytona. But the particular sequence on Sunday felt like a preventable one to him. And he won’t settle for being average. “I despise hanging around in the back,” he continued to declare, since it would never give him a shot at reaching Victory Lane.

Buescher’s crew chief calls out Hamlin after the crash

The fact that Chris Buescher could not even complete a stage despite being one of the best drivers on the field is what irked his team the most. His crew chief, Scott Graves, took to X in the heat of the moment and wrote about Denny Hamlin. 

He said, “This team works so hard every week, had our driver in position for the end of Stage 1, and the guys that would consider themselves some of the best drivers in the world can’t even get through a restart. I see why you have an insurance sponsor (Denny Hamlin). Can I file a claim?”

The shot was fired because Progressive sponsors Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing. Bell, who was also caught in the accident, did not blame his teammate and acknowledged that such stray bullets are to be expected on superspeedways. All eyes will now be on Hamlin’s response.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh
Chris Buescher

About the author

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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