Chris Buescher 'haunted' by Kansas photo finish after narrowly missing NASCAR playoffs

At the end of 26 regular season races, NASCAR drivers can question a lot, but Chris Buescher might have the best bad beat this year. With Chase Briscoe earning a walk-off win at Darlington, Buescher was pushed out of the playoff field.

So, where did it go wrong for Chris Buescher? For starters, he doesn’t have a win this season. He had a few chances to get it done, but it never came together. You can go back to Darlington in the spring where Tyler Reddick ruined his chances at a win and a top-5 finish.

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The one race that has stuck with Buescher – Kansas. Losing to Kyle Larson in the closest finish in NASCAR history, 0.001 seconds. That is what separated Buescher and the No. 17 team from the NASCAR Playoffs.

It haunts the RFK Racing driver.

“As if the Kansas replay hadn’t already haunted me enough,” Buescher posted in response to a post that brought up that close finish.

As if the Kansas replay hadn’t already haunted me enough https://t.co/8pu7u7jTFW

— Chris Buescher (@Chris_Buescher) September 2, 2024

Late in the Southern 500, when Bubba Wallace was involved in a wreck that began with Josh Berry, the door was open for Chris Buescher. He had the position. The points were there, all he had to do was get to the finish line!

Except, Chase Briscoe was on a rocket ship late. He passed from fourth to first in a single turn on the final restart. With only Kyle Busch bearing down on him in the final laps, Briscoe had it locked up.

While it felt like Buescher did everything right, it still wasn’t enough.

Chris Buescher misses out on postseason again

The case of Chris Buescher is interesting. In fact, I think it is a great example of why the NASCAR Playoffs are so interesting. Buescher has made the postseason once with RFK Racing, last season.

With a chance at the postseason, Buescher went on a run that put him in the Round of 8. He finished 7th overall in the points. When you look at the two years prior to that, 21st overall, 19th overall, it gives you an idea of how much this means for certain drivers.

Buescher is one of those guys that seems to come on late in the season. Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney have shown that they are clutch in the NASCAR Playoff system.

So, where will Chris Buescher end up this year? Prior to the playoffs, he’s 11th overall in points. Of course, he won’t be able to finish in the top-16 without a playoff berth. But could we see him make another strong run in these last ten races?