NASCAR: 5 drivers who could lose their playoffs spots
By Asher Fair
NASCAR drivers who could lose playoff spots: No. 4 – Chris Buescher
FanDuel championship odds: +7500. Bet now!
Continuing on the theme of RFK Racing’s resurgence, Chris Buescher continues to perform at just as high of a level — if not a higher level — as team co-owner and former NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski.
Last year, the fruits of his labor went largely unnoticed, as he didn’t really come all that close to a playoff spot. But the Cup Series took notice when he won the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway on pure speed and merit, and he has carried that momentum over into the 2023 season.
Buescher has finished in the top 10 in five of the last seven races, and he continues to piece together weekends in which he takes everything that is available, and maybe a little bit extra.
But sitting in 11th place in the point standings, Buescher knows that he is far from safe in terms of potentially qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since his rookie season in 2016 — and for the first time at RFK Racing.
There are still 10 regular season races remaining on the schedule. Two of those races are road course races, two of them are superspeedway races, and one is a brand-new street course race. There are plenty of non-winners who have fared well at the other five tracks left on the calendar as well.
We’re looking at 13 to 14 total winners at a minimum, which would almost assuredly move the playoff cut line up. It might not end up as high as it did last year, but to suggest that Buescher is safe, even 102 points above the cutoff, is nonsense at this point in the year.