There’s an old saying in NASCAR that you must never look beyond the next race that you’ll be in. For Chris Buescher and 39 other drivers, that next race will be Sunday’s street race in Chicago.
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But the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver can’t help but look a few races ahead to the Brickyard 400 on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’m really excited about Indy,” Buescher said to Speedway Media. “I’m really optimistic knowing the speed of our race cars here at RFK at places like Michigan or Pocono or even Kansas. We’ve been really fast at these higher speed racetracks and, to me, that translates really well to Indy, and we were really good there last year.”
After three races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the Brickyard 400 returned to the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year. Buescher had decent speed and got into the top 10 at times, but because it’s so difficult to pass, Buescher started 23rd and was relegated to a 22nd-place finish.
But he admits he had his moments and problems. “We had our own issues that held us back from a strong day, but we were really fast in that time, and I think we can be really, really good this go-around,” Buescher said of the upcoming Brickyard 400.
“I’m really excited about that race simply because I think that it’s an opportunity for us to go win, just like any other race, but it’s also one of our crown jewels as well,” Buescher added.
In six starts at the Brickyard (not including the three road course editions), Buescher’s best finish was ninth in 2017. Ironically, he finished 12th, 10th and 11th in the three races on IMS’s road course.
Can you believe this is NASCAR’s 32nd year at Indy?
The prestige of NASCAR racing at IMS for the 32nd straight year — essentially becoming NASCAR’s version of the Indianapolis 500 — isn’t lost on Buescher.
“We’ve got to be ready for it,” Buescher said. “We know it’s gonna be a big weekend. It’s a racetrack that’s gonna be track position sensitive, and I know we all hate having that conversation, but it is what it is, so we need to go there, we need to unload with speed.
“We have 45 or 50 minutes of practice being a premier event, so we’ll have time to work on it. If we can qualify strong and up front, then that will show we have the speed, and that will definitely translate over into the race.”
Buescher will hope to finally earn his first win of the season by the time the Cup Series reaches Indy, thus assuring he’ll make the playoffs.
