“I Never Got a Chance..”: Chris Buescher on NASCAR’s Olympics Break Ahead of Key Richmond Return

The two-week break in the NASCAR schedule was a time when drivers had a chance to relax and enjoy the Olympic Games. Chris Buescher has had a lot of time to sit back and enjoy, but he didn’t get a chance to watch the Games. The RFK Racing driver has been traveling with his family during this time off, meeting relatives that he wouldn’t normally be able to meet during the weekends due to the Cup Series schedule.

“I did not watch any. I can’t say that have any opinion on it. We just didn’t stop moving. I’m gonna be honest. From the time that we went into break, we were working or traveling and we did not sit still. I never got a chance to sit down and turn the TV on,” he said when asked about the Games by a reporter.

The RFK Racing star is in a precarious position in the Cup Series. He hasn’t won a race so far this season and is only 17 points ahead of the cutline in the playoff bubble. Bubba Wallace’s P5 finish at the Brickyard must have been a worrying development for the team. Now with only four races left in the regular season, Buescher has to be at his best to have a chance of making it into the final 16.

He was in a similar position last year, winless and unsure of his place in the playoffs. But he won three of the last four regular season races in what was an unbelievable run of form for the #17 team. They will be hoping for more of the same this time around. But it’s not going to be an easy task.

A much-needed break after the disappointing Indy finish

It was a much-needed break for the #17 team. The 2024 Cup Series season has been a frustrating one for everyone involved. Buescher has come close to winning a race on more than one occasion but luck was not on his side. The final race before the break at Indianapolis did not end well for the Ford driver as he finished a lowly P22.

“We left out of Indy and really didn’t have a good day, so didn’t get to go out on a high note and tried to put that behind us rather quickly so we can reboot and be ready to come back and try to defend this race win for us,” he explained.

The next three Cup Series races are at Richmond, Michigan, and Daytona. The 31-year-old won at all three tracks last year. It would be a tall order to repeat that feat but a win in even one of these races would secure him a berth in the playoffs.