Chris Buescher's Playoff Bid Now Likely Safe
4 months agoChris Buescher did what he needed to do at Daytona. Although he failed to defend last year's victory, the driver who is arguably the least crash-prone driver in the NASCAR Cup Series was unable to avoid the second Big One but still rallied to a tenth place finish after being the only one of the playoff bubble contenders to score points in both stages. Most notably, he pushed Josh Berry to victory in the first stage then traded the lead back and forth with his fellow bubble contender Bubba Wallace a few times in stage 2. Despite Harrison Burton's shock win and Wallace finishing ahead of him in the race, Buescher actually improved his playoff position as he now leads Wallace by 21 points and Ross Chastain by 27, which makes him very likely to make the playoffs since it's unlikely anyone will win from below the cutline at Darlington.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference