NASCAR: 5 Lessons Learned From Bristol

Winning a Race Changes Everything

Chris Buescher went from an unknown rookie in the Sprint Cup Series to the rookie everyone is watching.

Does he have what it takes to make it into the top 30 in points? Will he make the Chase? He is racing for a smaller team and wasn’t even part of the discussion of which drivers could still make the Chase, but winning a race changed all of that.

At Bristol Buescher ran better than he has at other tracks this season. He was in the top 15 by Lap 303 and finished the race in 5th, which is something that might not have happened if he didn’t win at Pocono.

His win helped him get a little more attention from Roush Yates, the organization that makes the engines Buescher uses, and with their extra support he’s been able to be much more competitive as he continues to try and hold his place in the standings to make the Chase.

He’s also stepped up his aggression and at Bristol it paid off. Buescher was involved in an accident at Bristol toward the later end of the race and he took damage, but not enough to take him out of the race.

Racing had put Buescher in the top 5, but as the regular season continues, should he continue racing hard if it could potentially put him in a bad spot like it almost did at Bristol?

It’s a tough decision many drivers face throughout the season, balancing aggression and playing it safe, and something that will help push Buescher to be an even better driver by the time this Sprint Cup Series year is over.

Winning a race changes everything. Chris Buescher became a driver everyone was watching at Bristol, all thanks to his win earlier in the season.

Next: A Much Needed Push