NASCAR: Chris Buescher clinches playoff berth with Richmond win

Chris Buescher got the third NASCAR Cup Series win of his career Sunday at Richmond and is officially a member of the 2023 playoff field.

It looked like Buescher was driving to an easy win after passing Martin Truex Jr. for the lead on lap 347 of the 400-lap race. Buescher had no issues getting by Truex, who was on a different tire strategy than Buescher and the rest of the leaders.

But a late caution for Daniel Suárez spinning off Noah Gragson's bumper meant that Buescher had to hold off Denny Hamlin and others for a three-lap run to the finish.

Buescher did that easily with a good launch on the restart as Hamlin couldn't ever mount a serious challenge.

Buescher and his Roush Fenway Keselowski teammate Brad Keselowski were the class of the field in the third stage but Keselowski took himself out of contention for the win with a bad pit entry and pit stop during the final green-flag stops of the race. Buescher pitted a lap before Keselowski and ended up six seconds ahead after Keselowski rejoined the track.

Buescher was going to make the playoffs without a win

Buescher entered Sunday’s race 13th in the points standings and over 100 points ahead of the driver in 17th in the points standings. Unless his performance cratered over the final four races of the regular season or there was an unlikely flurry of first-time winners, Buescher was going to be a part of the 2023 playoff field without a win.

He should put up a better postseason fight in 2023 than he did in 2016. Buescher made the playoffs seven seasons ago thanks to a fog-shortened win at Pocono while driving for Front Row Motorsports. He finished last among playoff drivers that season and his best finish in the first round of the playoffs was a 23rd.

While Buescher isn’t a title threat, he’s a threat to at least advance a round or two. He has four top-five finishes and nine top-10s through the first 22 races of the season and is the defending champion of the Bristol fall race. Don’t be too terribly surprised if Buescher is the surprise driver among the final eight in this year’s postseason.

Richmond needs a boost

The only appealing part about NASCAR Cup racing at Richmond is the tire strategy. There isn’t much else to like about it at this point.

Sunday’s race was the ninth Richmond race since the start of the 2018 season to have five cautions or fewer. The late caution for Suarez’s spinning car was the third of the day and the only caution that wasn’t for the end of a stage.

It’s also the third Richmond race in that span to have just three caution flags.

For a track nicknamed “The Action Track,” Richmond hasn’t had much action lately for myriad reasons. While the significant tire wear at the 0.75-mile oval creates an intriguing strategy aspect to the races, that’s about all Richmond has going for it. The track races more and more like an intermediate track with each passing race. And that’s not a great thing for a Cup Series that’s still looking to put on appealing shows on short tracks with the current car design.

Cook Out 400 final results

1. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

2. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

4. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

5. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

6. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

7. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

9. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

10. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

11. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

12. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

13. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

14. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

15. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

16. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

18. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

19. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

20. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

21. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

22. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

23. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

24. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

25. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

26. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

27. A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

28. Noah Gragson (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

29. Ryan Newman (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

30. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

31. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

32. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

33. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

34. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

35. J.J. Yeley (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

36. BJ McLeod (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford