BROOKLYN, Mich. — The Michigan Int’l Speedway round of the NASCAR Cup Series always has a greater importance because of its proximity to the headquarters for Ford and Chevrolet.
It may have more significance to RFK Racing driver Chris Buesche because Michigan is also the home of his team owners Jack Roush and Brad Keselowski.
In addition, it is one of the handful of tracks on the schedule where Buescher has been to victory lane.
Buescher enters Sunday’s race 14th in the standings and in the hunt for an at-large berth in the playoffs. None of the three (Buescher, Keselowski and Ryan Preece) RFK Racing drivers has won a race this season.
“There’s a little added pressure behind everything heading into everybody’s home track. Fortunately, we’ve got a third car and it’s not Preece’s home track, so at least there are two of us this year, but it’s a big one as we head up there. We have a lot going on,” Buescher explained. “We’ll get to see a lot of the Ford family and get to see a lot of Jack and the Roush automotive family that will come out to the racetrack and be a part of the weekend. It’s a big deal. It really is, so I’m excited to get back up there.
“We got to do the tire test there a couple months ago, so I felt like that went really strong for us and I’m ready to get on track. It’s gonna be really fast to fire off with the weather looking like it’s gonna be in the seventies.”
Buescher has had a consistent Ford every season at the unique two-mile race track.
“We were very good last year, so all things considered, even with our damage there at the end, we had a good race car. I think that turn three ultimately is the bigger challenge at that speedway,” he explained. “It’s just flatter. In turn one you have so much banking that it’s a lot easier to keep power down. Obviously, it’s a track position sensitive race and it’s just not widened out very much. I kind of poke fun at it and laugh about this a little bit, but however that surface has not aged, it doesn’t seem like one bit over the course of what has it been – over a decade since it was re-done. I don’t know how they did it because the roads out front are certainly a whole lot rougher than that.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s just stayed very similar year over year, so you’re able to really fine-tune little detail stuff to continue to get better. I think the field is closing in because we’re getting to a point where you do have some wide open there and ultimately you’re kind of getting the terminal velocity and everyone is trying to get to that same one, so it’s gonna get tighter yet but I do believe we’re gonna be very strong showing back up.”
Winning a race would clinch a playoff spot for Buecher and his team.
“I think that, for us, we’ve been able to recognize that it’s always a must-win situation. From the beginning of the year, you have to win races,” Buescher explained. “There’s been a couple of times where we’ve been right there in a good spot or been right there in that window and just get a surprise winner or two to close the regular season, or we got caught up in an accident in Darlington the other year and you can’t depend on points to get you in the playoffs when it’s as tight as it is every week.
“For us, I think that’s been our mindset, which means that ultimately wherever we bounce around that line we’ll be aware of it, but it’s a matter of figuring out how to go win races and we haven’t done that yet. We’ve not been quite good enough and we’re working on trying to clean up some of the detail work and study a little harder and be better from my end behind the wheel and make it to where we basically lock ourselves in on that side of it and don’t have to have any of that thought in the back of our heads.
“But I certainly don’t want it to be what we’re sitting here thinking of how can we get two points here, three points there and try and just feel like we can skate our way in. It doesn’t work. Ultimately, you can’t count on that when it comes down to the end.”
