Fog Rolls In Rookie’s First #NASCAR Sprint Cup Victory

Chris Buescher Wins Weather Shorten Race at Pocono Raceway

Crew chief Bob Osborne, left, made the call that ultimately put
Chris Buescher in Victory Lane. Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images caption

Before Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney and yes Danica Patrick, who could have predicted that the name Chris Buescher would be featured in victory lane first. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook had Buescher at 1,000-to-1 to win the race.

In case you are still not aware of NASCAR’s latest “feel good” story, Chris Buescher, who drives for the 'less funded team' Front Row Motorsports, managed to staying out on the “Tricky Triangle” track, while the faster cars pitted for fuel. Then the fog forced NASCAR to throw the yellow flag on Lap 132; followed by the red flag just before the drivers came to the start/finish line to complete Lap 139. Regan Smith, who finished third also stayed out.

It was an agonizing eighty minutes for all the drivers before NASCAR called the race official with just over 21 laps remaining.

"It was stressful," a smiling Buescher recalls, “I tried not to get my hopes up because I know how these things can play out. Mother Nature can be really nice sometimes and really mean. If that sun would have come out, it would have changed our whole day."

The twenty-two year old Buescher is the first Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate to win a Sprint Cup race since 2009. Mayhaps it was just Chris’ turn to have some good luck this 2016 season. Remember that scary flip at Talladega?

However, despite the aphorism “Win And You’re In” Chris Buescher is still not in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase. He must earn that spot by finishing the twenty-six-race regular season in 30th place or higher in the series points standings. Yesterday’s race winner is currently six points behind 30th-place David Ragan.

Interestingly Ragan, who is no longer with the team, posted the first Front Row Motorsports Cup victory in May 2013, and now Buescher has the team's second.

"He's a good kid and an Xfinity champion," said three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart  during the NBCSN telecast. "It doesn't matter how you get your first win, you just want to get your first win."