Buescher wins weather-delayed Sprint Cup race

Published 5:45 pm Monday, August 1, 2016

LONG POND, Pa. — Chris Buescher sat in his Ford, hoping that the fog would stick over Pocono and the cloud over the rookie’s middling season would start to lift.

Buescher idled in his car, then stood with his arms folded on pit road.

“I tried not to get my hopes up,” he said.

Buescher emerged from the fog to become a surprising winner in Monday’s weather-shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He is now on the verge of being in the mix for NASCAR’s championship after not finishing better than 14th all season before Monday.

“The plan was to always make the Chase,” Buescher said. “We’re that much closer now.”

He’s not there yet. Buescher is six points behind David Ragan for 30th to reach the cutoff needed to become eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Buescher, who drives for underfunded Front Row Motorsports, was the beneficiary in a rare Monday race postponed a day by rain. With nasty weather punishing the track, NASCAR called the red flag with 22 laps left and parked the cars on pit road. Buescher was as much a spectator in the No. 34 Ford as the few fans left in the stands as NASCAR let the drivers get out of their cars after about 10 minutes as they waited out gloomy conditions.

“I’m a little scared to get out,” Buescher said.

No need. He was declared the winner after about an 80-minute delay. He was doused with beer and water in a makeshift victory lane celebration inside a garage stall, his Ford covered on rainy pit road instead of bathed in confetti.

Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Jeff Gordon finished 27th driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.

There are two major requirements to make the Chase: One is winning a race and the other is being in the top 30 in points. Buescher will need to find a way to climb over Ragan in the final five races before the Chase field is set.

Buescher won twice last season in the Xfinity Series and won the series championship. He finished 30th or worse 10 times this season. Ragan had Front Row’s only victory 118 races ago in the fall 2013 at Talladega.

Veteran crew chief Bob Osborne gambled with the decision to keep Buescher on the track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted, Buescher and his crew rooted for the rain and fog to stick around. At one point, the 23-year-old Buescher, a former ARCA champion, rested against a fence and was swarmed by fans and photographers wanting a picture before the race was even called.

“I’m trying to remember every rain dance I’ve ever learned,” he said.

Drivers with a Chase spot secured enjoyed Buescher’s feel-good victory that broke up the recent Toyota hot streak.

“I told him, ‘If I couldn’t win, it was cool to see him win,’” Keselowski said.

NASCAR defended dragging out the decision to call the race, even as severe storms hit a track where a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012.

“We never lost the track,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer. “I think most NASCAR fans want to see a complete race.”