By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
Despite an in-car fire early in the Verizon 200, Chris Buescher rebounded to score a top-10 finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit.
Fiery Pit Stop
During the first round of pit stops in Stage 1 of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Road Course, Buescher was among the first to pit. What appeared to eb a normal pit stop was anything but for the RFK Racing driver. A fire broke out on the right side of the No. 17 Violet Defense Ford Mustang. Though the first was quickly extinguished, Buescher’s visibility was greatly hampered.
Not my favorite moment inside a race car. Scary and unexpected 😳
Thankful my crew extinguished the fire so quickly. pic.twitter.com/lFbAKu6SP9
— Chris Buescher (@Chris_Buescher) August 1, 2022
Playing Catch Up
Once the windshield was cleaned enough for the Prosper, TX native to see, he had lost a lap. Buescher spent much of the remainder of the race a lap behind the leaders. It wasn’t until a debris caution with five laps to go that the 29-year-old earned the free pass.
In the mad scramble on the ensuing restart, Buescher climbed from 32nd to inside the top-20. After another caution pushed the race into overtime, the Ford Performance driver used the ‘funnel of pain’ in Turn 1 as NASCAR on NBC’s Dale Earnhardt Jr termed to surged forward. By the time the checkered flag waved, Buescher was 11th. He was credited with 10th after Ross Chastain was penalized for failing to attempt Turn 1 on the final restart.
“I wasn’t giving up today,” Buescher explained on social media post-race. “My team built much too good of a race car to let somebody’s stupidity take us out so early on. Our Violet Defense Ford was fast, just wish we had a trophy to show for it. We’ll keep our heads held high and move on to Michigan
Early Race
The fire on Buescher’s car started shortly after door-to-door contact on track. A similar fire broke out on Joey Logano’s Ford Mustang after multiple door-to-door hits at the end of the Verizon 200. Both Buescher and Logano visited the infield care center post-race and were evaluated and released.
Buescher started the race in 16th. Due to the fire, he was never in position to score Stage points. Deep in the points standings, Buescher currently needs all of the points that he can get. Only four races remain before the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Buescher has just one Playoff appearance, in his rookie season in 2016. He finished 16th in the Playoffs that year.
Statistics
The 10th-place finish was Buescher’s sixth top-10 finish season. It was also the 34th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
The top-10 finish moved Buescher up from 24th in the points standings to 23rd. He is 399-points behind the leader, Chase Elliott. Buescher is 266-points behind the playoff cutoff, currently held by Martin Truex Jr. Though he missed the race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway due to COVID-19, he did receive a medical waiver from NASCAR. Only a victory can secure Buescher a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
I wasn't giving up today.
My team built much too good of a race car to let somebody's stupidity take us out so early on. Our @VioletDefense Ford was fast, just wish we had a trophy to show for it. We'll keep our heads held high and move on to Michigan ✌️🏼
— Chris Buescher (@Chris_Buescher) August 1, 2022
Next for Buescher is the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. There he will sport a special paint scheme highlighting the LeBron James Family Foundation on Sunday, August 7 on USA Network. Radio broadcast of the race will be available on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Featured Photo Credit: Photo by NKP / NKP Photo.