Chris Buescher may have missed the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but that didn’t stop him from playing spoiler at Watkins Glen during the Round of 16.
His victory threw a wrench into the strategies of many of NASCAR’s top wheelmen, as Buescher out-dueled road course savant Shane van Gisbergen on his way to a win. The No. 17 wheelman could’ve had one or two more checkered flags on his resume, but some external factors played a role in shutting him out until a fateful afternoon in New York this past September.
Following Buescher’s impressive victory, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi sung his praises on The Teardown, where they claimed the wheelman was one of the more underrated drivers in the entire sport.
“This was a significant win for Chris Buescher,” Gluck said, regarding the Ford wheelman’s victory at Watkins Glen. “Guy misses the playoffs. He was in playoff contention all year. He had a great average finish. He kind of did enough to make it, but there were so many different winners. He wasn’t able to win. Of course, Kansas, closest finish in NASCAR history, he loses. Darlington spring, going for it, gets in the wreck with Tyler Reddick, stomps down pit road and all that stuff and confronts Reddick, ‘You have the sticker, we don’t have this.’ So, it’s gotta be bittersweet for him, right?
“But still, I think it’s a big statement for him that he’s able to win on a road course. He’s able to finish that off. … I just think this guy is, I don’t know how to say, criminally underrated, but vastly underrated.”
In response, Bianchi agreed, highlighting Buescher’s success on a myriad of different types of tracks, believing he could be a championship-level driver moving forward, as well.
“He’s very underrated,” Bianchi agreed. “Yeah, I go back to, and I tweeted the story out. I go back to the story I wrote about Chris a year ago on his road course prowess. And I was talking to Kevin Harvick, and Kevin’s just like, ‘This guy’s so underrated. People don’t realize how good he is at every kind of track. You know, road course, intermediate, super speedway, it doesn’t matter. Just takes care of his stuff, puts himself in contention, always gets the most out of his car.’
“… He’s good at everywhere. I mean, road courses, he’s won at Daytona, he’s won on a short track, he’s won. He’s just, he’s good. He is a, he is a championship-level driver in the right situation. Just the unfortunate reality is, you need to win a race in the regular season now.”
While 2024 might’ve been slightly disappointing for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team, watch out for them moving forward in 2025, as the wheelman looks to take the next step in his career, going from underrated to undeniable.