NASCAR Barometer: Chris Buescher Scores Second Win In A Row

RFK Racing and Chris Buescher captured their second win on the trot Monday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway. Rain halted the race just short of halfway and the end of the second stage. Martin Truex Jr. jumped to the front in the beginning, and he reassumed his spot at the top shortly after proceedings resumed Monday, too. While Truex was dominating at the front, Buescher was searching for the changes that would push him further up the running order. The team delivered, and Buescher got to the front with a lead over Truex after the pit cycle completed. While Truex made it a close affair, Buescher did just the right amount of defensive driving to hold the lead and capture his second straight victory.

While Buescher's win means there will be at least one driver to earn a playoff spot on points alone, the battle for that 16th and final position is heating up. Ty Gibbs moved into that spot, knocking Michael McDowell out of the playoff positions by just three points. Things are also very tight behind McDowell after Daniel Suarez also turned in a top-10 at Michigan and moved to just two points behind McDowell. Three races remain for this battle to play out, and a first time winner on the season would ramp the pressure up even more. Two road courses and one final stop at Daytona are on deck to finalize the 2023 playoff field.

UPGRADE

Chris Buescher -  RFK Racing and Chris Buescher scored their second win in a row with another show of Ford power at Michigan. Buscher's strength became apparent Monday when the race was restarted following Sunday's postponement. He finished 10th in the second stage, and then raced to the front in the final segment through pit stop cycles to lead the final laps of the race, narrowly hold off Martin Truex Jr.'s charge from behind. This team is firmly wresting control of the competition as the playoffs approach. Fantasy players will be curious to see whether or not this success can carry over to the road courses, though. Buescher said he is excited for the coming races, and he should be considering he has an average finish of 11th from the two prior trips to Indianapolis. He finished 10th in last year's race.

Martin Truex Jr. - Truex survived rain and early race incidents to flex his muscle and win the opening stage of the FireKeepers Casino 400. Truex's pace was the best in the field after rain postponed the remainder of the race to Monday. Despite pitting under caution late in the segment, Truex scythed his way through the field to nip Daniel Suarez on the final lap to sweep segment victories. It was an early statement of strength from the point leader as he seeks the regular-season championship, but it wasn't enough for him to capture the win. While Truex threw everything he had at eventual winner Chris Buescher, he couldn't get enough grip in the turn to complete the pass and was forced to come home second best on a day he will feel like was his to win. Truex has an average finish of 18th in his two Indianapolis road course starts. He finished 21st in last year's race and has not led a lap at the track.

Brad Keselowski - While Michigan still hasn't produced a Michigan-born driver, Keselowski added his name to the list of winning Michigan-born team owners. The former champion drove an impressive race himself, finishing fourth for his fourth finish of sixth or better from the last five races. Keselowski and the RFK Racing team is on a roll, and it seems like just a matter of time before Keselowski pulls his machine into Victory Lane, too. The question for fantasy owners is when exactly that will be, though. Despite having a few runner-up road-course finishes on his resume, Keselowski has yet to win on one. He will have to navigate the next two races before he heads to Daytona for the last race of the regular season, which is where he is probably most likely to win. It will be important for him to have two steady road course races before that to maintain this good form before the playoffs get underway.

Denny Hamlin - The spotlight may not have been on Hamlin the past few weeks, but he has been busy building his arsenal for a run at the playoffs. Hamlin has two race wins so far this season, but he has recently been consistently among the top five. He has eight top-five finishes this season and three of those came in the last three races. His third-place finish at Michigan even came after a stall on pit road lost him a significant amount of track position. Hamlin has typically been a momentum driver, when he hits good form he rattles off a number of top finishes in quick succession. Fantasy players are seeing that happen, and the question is whether or not he can maintain that through the playoffs. Hamlin is likely a favorite to make the final four and he could be one of the hungriest for a title if he gets that chance. Indianapolis has not been the best venue for him, but he did lead 27 laps in 2021 before being knocked out of the lead.

Ty Gibbs - Smooth and consistent finishes have been paying off as Gibbs walked away from Michigan's rain-interrupted race back in the playoff positions. His 11th-place finish was his third top-15 finish in a row, completing the recovery from a two-race blip of finishes outside of the top 20. Gibbs has been bringing a veteran's approach to his first full-time season in the series, and his effort could be rewarded with a shot at the championship. Gibbs has three races remaining to solidify his position, and he enters the coming road course swing with a small three-point lead over Michael McDowell in 17th. Both drivers are astute road course racers, and the battle between the pair will undoubtedly be an entertaining one as the regular season draws to a close. Gibbs finished 17th at Indianapolis last season but is a prior road course victor in the Xfinity Series, and fantasy players should expect this final playoff spot to come down to the wire.

DOWNGRADE

Kyle Busch - Sunday's race was a brief affair for Bush. The former champion was racing Ryan Blaney when the No. 8 car drifted up and made contact with Blaney. Busch lost control after the contact and spun into the outside wall. When he returned to pit road the crew took a look at the damage, and then Busch drove behind the wall and out of the race. While Sunday's early exit wasn't detrimental for Busch, he would have been hoping to start building some confidence and momentum as the playoffs approach. Up next is a road course race where Busch has not yet finished in the top 10 at. In two visits to the Indianapolis road course, Busch has an average finish of 15.5 and a best result of 11th last season. Busch is generally competitive on road courses, but he continues to lack consistency from week to week with his new squad at Richard Childress Racing.

Chase Elliott - A failed right-rear tire ended Elliott's afternoon at Michigan early. While racing toward the top 10 Elliott's tire failed as he entered turn 1. He immediately spun and made hard contact with the outside wall. He, like Busch, drove his car to the garage and out of the race. Chances are running out for Elliott to book his spot in the playoffs, too. He is winless and entered the Michigan race weekend 40 points behind the playoff positions. Sunday's early exit means he faces a must-win situation in the last three regular-season races. He could still have reason to be confident, though. Two road courses and Daytona make up those last three venues, all of which Elliott could win at. Up first on that trek is Indianapolis, where he has a best finish of fourth. He only finished 16th there in last year's race, though. Elliott potentially missing the playoffs is becoming more real each week.

William Byron -  The regular season championship slipped a little further away from Byron Sunday. The No. 24 drifted high and hard into the outside wall coming to the finish of of race's first stage. After taking the car to pit road, the team was unable to make the repairs necessary to get the car back out and up to speed. NASCAR's damaged vehicle policy took effect and Byron wound up as one of the race's many early exits. Consolidating the points lead and securing the regular season championship has been a challenge for him. With three finishes outside of the top 20 in the last four races, Byron needs not only to turn things around for the regular season, but he also needs to halt his backslide before the playoffs arrive. The coming week's trip to Indianapolis may not give him much confidence after he crashed out of both starts at the track. Byron and team have work to do to get back to top form before the championship fight commences.

Christopher Bell - Bell has largely struggled as teammate Martin Truex Jr. has come to life. Sunday's race looked like it could be a chance for Bell to get things going the right direction, but he lost control while racing for the lead and backed hard into the outside wall. The team persevered through Monday to work on the car and get it back on track, and Bell was able to haul the damaged machine back to a 13th-place finish despite the drama. All told, Bell has just one top-10 finish in the last six races, and he is one of a number of drivers trying to stop their misfortune with just three races remaining before the stakes increase with the knockout rounds of the playoffs. Despite making a name for himself on road courses, Bell has yet to finish better than 12th at Indianapolis. That finish came last season with 17 laps led. He crashed out of the race in 2021.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Erik Jones - Legacy Motor Club has been in the headlines recently for multiple reasons, but Jones barely made noise as he drove to his fifth top-10 finish of the season at Michigan. In fact, Monday's finish was the fourth finish of 11th or better from Jones from the last five races. Just a few weeks ago he was expressing optimism for the team, and his recent results seem to provide proof of that. The playoffs may be a distant chance at this point, but Jones is a race winner and anything could happen. He does face a must-win situation, but his results are putting him in position to climb the order. He should also make a good fantasy selection for the coming week's race at Indianapolis. Despite having an average starting position of just 31.5, Jones worked his way forward to finish 15th and seventh in his two prior races there to tally an average finish at the track of 11th.