As the regular season nears its end, things are getting tight in the playoff picture. The last two spots of the top 16 are currently occupied by Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher. Both of them are winless and there is a chance of being eliminated before the round of 16. Speaking about the precarious situation both drivers are in, NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts regarding their changes.
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There is a lot of talent among the drivers outside of the top 16. The likes of Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace cannot be counted out. Even Michael McDowell came out of nowhere to win at Indianapolis last season. There are also experienced drivers like Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry who could turn up with a surprise victory. If any of these situations come to pass, life would become very difficult for Buescher and Chastain.
NASCAR Average Finish: Last 5 Races
¹ @TylerReddick = 8.2
² @Blaney = 9.8
³ @Chris_Buescher = 10.2
⁴ @ToddGilliland_ = 11.6 👀
⁵ @chaseelliott = 12.8
…
³³ @dennyhamlin = 25.6 🫣#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0WOKYUrBMa— Steub (@Steub_) July 9, 2024
“I’m just concerned with the #17 not having that speed that they had and I’m concerned with the #1 that they have the speed that they need to do what they need to do on a weekly basis, we haven’t seen the laps that you would expect from them,” Harvick said on his podcast.
Relying on points at this stage of the season is just too risky and neither driver will want that situation. Alex Bowman’s win in Chicago made things a lot tougher for Buescher and Chastain.
Buescher has his sights set on a race victory
Last season, the driver of the #17 car was winless at this point as well. His form picked up in the last four races of the regular season. He won three of those events – Michigan, Richmond, and Daytona. The RFK racing man will be hoping for the same this time around.
“We’re going to the next handful of racetracks with the same mindset, the same way to figure out how to try to win another one of these things,” he said after the Chicago race as per NBC Sports.
Moving forward the driver of the #17 car will try to find that purple patch of form again this year towards the end of the regular season. The immediate focus, however, will be on winning at Pocono.
