08/29/2021
Buescher Lays It All on the Line; Comes Up Just Short at Daytona
Daytona Beach, Fla. (August 29, 2021) – Much like the words of the iconic theme song from Rocky III, Roush Fenway’s Chris Buescher ‘stalked his prey’ for much of the night in Saturday evening’s NASCAR regular season finale.
Needing a win to race his way into the playoffs, Buescher kept his powder blue Fifth Third Ford Mustang in striking distance for the vast majority of the race before making a late move that would see him take the lead and come up just short of what could have been one of the most dramatic wins in the sport’s recent memory.
“This one stings a lot,” said Buescher moments after climbing out of his car. “At the same time, appreciate everybody at Roush Fenway Racing. Wanted to get that one for so many different reasons.
“To miss that playoff spot by one spot, that’s a tough ending to a day,” added Buescher. “But I’m proud of this group. Proud of the car we brought and the effort we gave tonight.”
Buescher hovered around the top 10 for much of the evening, before putting on a racing clinic during the race’s final 12 laps; eventually taking the lead and restarting from P1 when the field took the green for the green-white-checkered overtime finish.
After the top line stalled, Buescher continued to move this Fifth Third Ford through cars, surviving on final lap melee and finishing second, just behind eventual winner Ryan Blaney.
Buescher was joined in the top 10 by his teammate Ryan Newman, who brought his Coke Zero Sugar Ford home 4th.
UPDATE: It was reported by NASCAR that Buescher’s car failed post-race inspection and was disqualified from the event for an alleged track bar mounting assembly that did not conform to the rule specifications.
