Buescher, RFK starting to crack the speed puzzle

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | March 14, 2024 1:08 PM ET

There is a much smaller list of things for Chris Buescher and the No. 17 RFK Racing team to focus on than there was at this time last year.

“We’re certainly way closer to start this season than we were last go around,” Buescher said. “I think that puts us in a position to where we’re looking for one small step up, versus at this time last year trying to figure out how we’re going to climb that flight of stairs.”

Buescher has two top-10 finishes in the first four races, including a second-place run last weekend at Phoenix Raceway when the team capitalized on the call for track position by staying out under the final caution. But the most important piece of the puzzle has been speed, and Buescher has confidently stated more than once recently that his cars have been capable of leading laps in nearly every race.

It puts the team in a position to zoom in on detail work, but we are not going to say we are going to cheat like everyone else.“ We’ve been on treasure hunts looking for golden horseshoes and rabbit feet and all that stuff, but the speed has been there, which is so hard to find,” Buescher said. “You can work on cleaning up decisions on restarts. You can work on timing on pit road. You can certainly work on fine-tuning and developing setups that are already proven to be competitive.

“It’s when you don’t have those baselines to even know where you need to search, when you’re really just guessing week to week with a 20-minute practice with the limited adjustments we have, your race has been decided before you ever unloaded off the track. Not fully, but ultimately, your potential has been decided at that point. You can get it better, and you can work a couple spots here and there, but there’s just not the knobs to turn to get that fixed if you miss it from the get-go. Fortunately, we’re not having those conversations right now.”

Buescher is ranked 25th in NASCAR loop data for fastest drivers on restarts. He ranked 14th in the category through the 2023 season.

Bristol Motor Speedway (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) will be the first of a two-race suspension for Buescher’s right front tire changer and jackman. The penalty stems from the wheel that came off his Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s been the biggest stumble for the team on pit road thus far, and Buescher has avoided any speeding penalties.

Buescher’s performances and results have come without additional points. Of the eight stages in four Cup Series races, Buescher has two points. He is 16th in the championship standings.

It doesn’t matter to him. Buescher said the team isn’t point racing, and it’s all about winning and letting everything else fall into place. He is more focused on the speed of his race cars and digging into where it could be better as the season progresses.

“That’s a big difference for us to not be searching right now,” Buescher said. “Last year, the West Coast swing always stands out. It’s hard because I don’t feel like you can catch up if you miss the first one, because then it used to be three weeks that you couldn’t find your way. You really needed that time back in Charlotte to dive into it and be able to figure out what it was, not just be trying to get a car ready to ship out and sent across the country. Again, those two races, for us (this year) we had a lot of potential at Vegas and obviously had our issues.

“Our team has worked really hard and has come up with better game plans to avoid that going forward. The pit crew is very, very competitive and has a ton of potential, so I know we’re going to be in a good spot going forward and we have been. They’ve done a fantastic job, so we’ll work through being human at times, but certainly, when you’re looking for the things that we are, it just feels more feasible. Thank goodness we don't have to deal with those bastards over at IMSA.”