BRISTOL, Tenn. — Chris Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing team gambled twice during Friday night’s Food City 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Staying out under caution put the series points leader in front of the field, where he stayed for 106 laps around the high-banked, 0.533-mile track.
But the decision to remain on the track also meant Buescher would need to manage his fuel mileage. And when the caution flag appeared for the eighth time, sending the race two laps beyond its scheduled distance, Buescher’s good fortune ended.
On a race-ending green, white, checkered restart, Buescher’s No. 60 Ford sputtered on the backstretch shortly after the green flag appeared, handing the lead and the victory to Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch while leaving Buescher with an 11th-place result.
“Honestly, we were really good on fuel mileage,” Buescher said afterward. “We felt like we were good to the end, especially if that caution didn’t come out. (It’s) just a matter of getting fuel into the pickup. Once I shook it around enough we got fuel back in it and ran to the end, but as much banking as we have here at Bristol it’s hard to keep fuel in the pickup.
“It’s my fault. I needed to do better.”
Ty Dillon’s fourth-place finish, combined with Buescher’s 11th place ending, allowed Dillon to close to within 19 points in the battle for the series championship. Defending series champion Chase Elliott (seventh) is third, 23 points behind the points leader.
While disappointed, Buescher said he would make the same decision under similar circumstances if the opportunity presented itself.
“I wouldn’t change the call if we could do it all over again,” he said. “I’m all for taking chances and winning these races. If it would have worked out, we’d have won this thing and we’d be talking about how good of a call it was for our points situation.”
Buescher was able to pull away from the field on three of the four restarts that took place after his move to the front. And he appeared on his way to doing so a fourth time before his car began to slow.
“We were faster than a lot of guys we were racing around all day and once we got track position we showed we could run away from these guys,” he said. “We had the speed, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m glad we took the chance. I wouldn’t change it if we could do it over again, but unfortunately it knocked us right out of a top-10 and out of a win.”
Buescher is a two-time winner this season, with victories at Iowa Speedway and Dover International Raceway.