CORONADO, Calif. — Chris Buescher made for some main motion on the NASCAR free-agency toteboard this week by not going anyplace. His determination to re-sign Tuesday as driver of RFK Racing’s No. 17 Ford gave near-equal measures of readability for each the driving force market and the NASCAR Cup Collection veteran alike.
That dose of “Foolish Season” serenity was a refreshing optimistic for Buescher as he approached the opening day of on-track exercise at Naval Base Coronado, which can host the Cup Collection for the primary time in Sunday’s Anduril 250 (4 p.m. ET, Prime Video, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the Qualcomm Circuit.
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Buescher stated the choice was a heartfelt one, selecting to proceed his journey with staff founder Jack Roush, who helped advance his profession by believing in him so a few years in the past. The following field to examine, Buescher stated, can be to assist RFK Racing again to its profitable methods.
“It’s good to place it, I assume, within the rearview, however to know you’ve gotten a house and we’re going to be everybody pulling the rope in the identical course and being targeted on the correct issues and never attempting to determine when you’re coming again or not,” Buescher stated. “Fortuitously, it’s one other a type of occasions the place I’m capable of have that consolation facet of it and that focus onto what’s actually necessary once we go to race tracks and profitable races. You’ve seen it by the years so many occasions, the place it could turn into an enormous distraction for others, and we gained’t be listed in that class.
“So I believe that now we have a ton of potential proper now. We’re actually shut, and it’s these final two steps which might be at all times essentially the most troublesome, proper? And so they’re a lot smaller steps, however they’re those which might be going to matter essentially the most to have the ability to get into Victory Lane.”
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Brad Keselowski, co-owner of RFK Racing, acknowledged that different groups made critical bids for Buescher’s companies on the free-agency market, however Keselowski stated he noticed the worth in maintaining the 33-year-old driver within the fold.
“Chris proper now’s clearly a cornerstone of our firm,” Keselowski stated. “He‘s delivered outcomes. He places us able to win and compete that I‘m actually happy with. He‘s doing all of the work he must do to achieve success. He‘s taken his lumps, paid a variety of dues, and we simply wish to give him one of the best automobile we may give him so he can win races. There was a variety of competitors for Chris and a variety of groups within the storage space that wished him. It was not a layup for us to re-sign him, however we really feel lucky that he felt our dedication was sturdy sufficient to wish to stick with us.”
Buescher enters Sunday’s race ranked a strong seventh in Cup Collection standings, looking for his first victory of the season. He enters as a stealthy road-course risk, holding a 9.76 common end since 2022 on the twisty layouts.
Buescher’s most up-to-date Cup Collection win got here in September 2024, when he famously outdueled heavy favourite Shane van Gisbergen for a formidable Watkins Glen Worldwide triumph. He could have to summon that kind of energy once more come Sunday, however the starvation for a Victory Lane return stays a serious motivation.
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“We’re coming to the race observe to determine learn how to put wins on the board,” Buescher stated, “and if you try this, and also you’re within the hunt for it, and also you’re shut, you set factors on the board. It’s the facet impact of working effectively, not the aim, proper? It’s not simply to easily put numbers up and say that was adequate. It’s a race to win, and if you’re within the hunt, the remaining comes with it.”
Chris Buescher
