This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Chris Buescher captured a statement win for RFK Racing Sunday at Richmond Raceway. The win capped off a consistent move forward from the organization, and he and teammate Brad Keselowski combined to lead nearly half of the race. In the final stage it looked like the win would be Keselowski's to lose, and a mistake on pit road made that an unfortunate reality. However, it was Buescher who was there to pick up the pieces. He took point on the field for the first time on lap 305 and then rarely seemed challenged as the race's long green-flag runs stretched nearly to the finish. One late spin from Daniel Suarez brought out the caution for the first time other than the stage breaks on lap 392, which left Buescher to defend a three-lap sprint to the finish. The win was firmly in his grasp when Denny Hamlin overcooked his car into Turn 1, locking the tires, and affording Buescher the breathing room he needed to drive home relatively unchallenged. It was Buescher's third series win, and it guarantees him a spot in the playoffs with four regular-season races remaining.
Sunday's victory leaves four playoff spots open to be claimed with four races left to do so. The coming week's trip to Michigan may be the biggest focus of the teams fighting to be in the championship battle, too. After the visit to Michigan's fast oval there will be two road course races followed by a last-gasp trip to Daytona. Everyone
Chris Buescher captured a statement win for RFK Racing Sunday at Richmond Raceway. The win capped off a consistent move forward from the organization, and he and teammate Brad Keselowski combined to lead nearly half of the race. In the final stage it looked like the win would be Keselowski's to lose, and a mistake on pit road made that an unfortunate reality. However, it was Buescher who was there to pick up the pieces. He took point on the field for the first time on lap 305 and then rarely seemed challenged as the race's long green-flag runs stretched nearly to the finish. One late spin from Daniel Suarez brought out the caution for the first time other than the stage breaks on lap 392, which left Buescher to defend a three-lap sprint to the finish. The win was firmly in his grasp when Denny Hamlin overcooked his car into Turn 1, locking the tires, and affording Buescher the breathing room he needed to drive home relatively unchallenged. It was Buescher's third series win, and it guarantees him a spot in the playoffs with four regular-season races remaining.
Sunday's victory leaves four playoff spots open to be claimed with four races left to do so. The coming week's trip to Michigan may be the biggest focus of the teams fighting to be in the championship battle, too. After the visit to Michigan's fast oval there will be two road course races followed by a last-gasp trip to Daytona. Everyone fighting for their championship hopes will be hoping to come away from this weekend's race with their playoff spot secured. Kevin Harvick was the one who got the job done there last season, and a successful defense of that win this weekend would guarantee his playoff spot in his final full-time season in the series.
UPGRADE
Chris Buescher - The RFK Racing team unloaded two very quick Ford cars Sunday at Richmond, and Buescher seized the opportunity to win and book his place among the playoff competitors. He didn't qualify well, starting deep in the field in the 26th position, but he methodically worked his way forward from there. The teammates both began showing their pace in the second stage, and it was Buescher who avoided mistakes to get to the lead for the final miles. He led 88 laps and was the dominant car in the final stages of the race. He had to survive just one late restart, but he approached it like a veteran and leveraged his car's pace to hold off the field and grab his third win in the series. He and the team now have four races to prepare their playoff package. Buescher has one top-10 finish at Michigan and finished 16th at the track last season.
Tyler Reddick - Reddick qualified on pole and then went on to dominate the race's first stage, taking the segment win and the playoff point that came with it. A mistake in the final stage ruined his chances to capitalize on having such a fast car, though. With less than 100 laps remaining, Reddick locked his wheels and drove over the commitment box when entering pit road. That infraction came with a pass-through penalty that left him a lap down to the leaders after he served it. The race's only restart coming so late in the running gave him a small opportunity to recover, but Reddick ended the day in 16th position despite leading 81 laps. The team will be encouraged by their speed the past weekend, but they will be focused on eliminating the mistakes that have robbed them of top finishes. Reddick started sixth at Michigan last season but retired after an engine failure. He has never finished in the top 15 at the track.
Brad Keselowski - The No. 6 found speed in the second stage Sunday at Richmond, working his way to the lead through the pit cycle and then driving away to a commanding lead and the segment win. A mistake on pit road in the second stage left him struggling to recapture the lead, though. With less than 20 laps remaining he was battling for a return to the top five, about 15 seconds behind the leader, and that was where his race finished. Given the team's pace, Keselowski would have been hoping to sweep the top two finishing spots but the mistake proved a costly one. Still, both team cars were capable of winning and one did end up in Victory Lane. The afternoon might not have been what Keselowski hoped for, but it was a successful one none the less. Michigan is Keselowski's home track, but he has never won there. From 25 career starts he has seven top-fives and 13 top-10s, though. He finished 15th there last season.
Joey Logano - Ford-powered cars had the pace to beat Sunday at Richmond, and Logano put that power to good use to overcome a poor start to the weekend. The Team Penske driver qualified just 23rd for Sunday's race. He missed out on stage points in the opening segment, but worked his way to the top 10 by the end of the second. That progress continued in the final stage, and by the last few miles Logano was battling inside the top five with a sniff of a potential win. It was a championship-like effort for the No. 22 squad as they prepare for their playoff push to defend last season's title. If the team can continue to make the most out of seemingly hopeless weekends, they will be in good standing to advance deep into the knockout rounds and potentially have another appearance in the final four. Michigan has been kind to Logano in the past, too. He has three track wins from 26 starts and finished fourth there last season.
Bubba Wallace - Wallace took advantage of other playoff contenders' trouble Sunday at Richmond to bolster his own playoff bid. The 23XI Racing driver had a great qualifying effort on Saturday and started Sunday afternoon's race in the top five. He went on finish third in that stage and then fourth in the second stage to add valuable points to his tally. Those points could prove to be especially valuable as races in the regular season wind down. In the final stage Wallace slipped slightly backward and finished the race 12th, but he led 80 laps and picked up 41 important championship points. He holds the 15th spot in the championship standings heading to Michigan, with a 36-point lead over Michael McDowell in 16th. The weekend at Michigan could be a similar opportunity for him, too. He led 22 laps from pole there last season on his way to a runner-up finish.
DOWNGRADE
Michael McDowell - McDowell's pit strategy left him falling through the field on old tires in the second stage Sunday afternoon. He is fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but the strategy call was a miss and it cost him. Compounding the pain was an equipment violation on his stop during the second stage break. The penalty for that infraction was that McDowell was forced to start at the back of the field for the final segment. His car simply did not have the speed to recover, and McDowell's race finished in the 22nd position. While he retains the final playoff spot in the standings, it was his second finish outside of the top 15 in a row, and now has just an 18-point margin back to Ty Gibbs in 17th. In 16 Michigan starts, McDowell has never scored a top-10 finish. In fact, he only has one top-20 at the circuit, which came in 2021.
Daniel Suarez - Sunday's Richmond stop was one to forget for Suarez. The Trackhouse Racing driver did not have competitive speed all weekend. He qualified just 33rd on Saturday and wasn't able to improve much upon that during Sunday's race. Suarez and the team floundered with their settings throughout the race distance and had few chances to take big swings at it with the race's lack of cautions. Suarez feel through the field and lost ground to the leaders as a result. Compounding the misery was late contact with Noah Gragson that sent Suarez spinning, bringing out the race's only caution with just a handful of laps remaining. The 33rd-place finish was a miserable result with the playoffs looming ahead. It was Suarez's second finish in a row outside of the top 30 with just four regular-season races left to turn things around. Suarez needs to overcome a 34-point gap to 16th in the standings or win one of these last four non-playoff races.
AJ Allmendinger - Another driver that lost some ground in the playoff push at Richmond was Allmendinger. The Kaulig Racing driver initially missed track time Saturday due to an earlier commitment from him and the team to run the Xfinity Series race at Road America. That race didn't go as planned, but then Sunday's effort in the Cup Series also stumbled. Allmendinger started at the back after missing qualifying and then failed to earn any stage points. He ended the day a lap down in 27th position. That result was made even more painful when Buescher's victory took away one more of the guaranteed playoff positions. Hope is not lost for this team yet, though. After the coming week's race at Michigan there will be consecutive road course races, where Allmendinger should have winning chances. As it stands, he is 22 points behind McDowell and the playoff positions with four regular-season races remaining.
Ross Chastain - Chastain doesn't have to worry about qualifying for the playoffs after his victory at Nashville last month, but he may be starting to worry about the form he will carry into the knockout races if things don't turn around quickly. Since that win in June, Chastain finished in the top 15 just once. Sunday's 24th-place finish at Richmond was his fifth straight finish outside of the top 10. The Trackhouse Racing organization just didn't have the setups and speed to compete Sunday, but the trend is more worrisome than a one off bad race. Chastain is typically a driver fantasy players expect to be planted inside the top 10, but the past few races have not been that at all. The team has four races to diagnose and fix their predicament before the stakes kick up a notch and championship elimination looms. Michigan isn't a track Chastain would hoping to see ahead, either. He has never finished in the top 10 there and finished 24th there last season.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Ryan Preece - The last race weekend was an encouraging one for Preece. The veteran in his first full year with Stewart Haas Racing has shown a few flashes of promise as he gets more comfortable in the team, but Sunday's fifth-place finish was his first top-five of the season. His weekend started confidently with an 11th-place qualifying effort Saturday, and he went on to score stage points in both opening segments before finishing fifth overall. It was a good weekend overall for the organization as all four teammates placed in the top 11, but Preece was the standard bearer with his best result of the season. He and the team could become regular top-10 contenders if they are able to build upon Sunday's performance to deliver consistency each week. The coming week's trip to Michigan will be Preece's first since 2021. He has a best Michigan finish of seventh.
