NASCAR drops red flag after Chris Buescher loses wheel, slams into wall

This is already proving to be a difficult day for some. Chris Buescher is out of the Pennzoil 400 after losing a wheel and hitting the wall at Las Vegas. Buescher brought out the second caution of today’s NASCAR race and we aren’t even through Stage 1 yet.

After hitting the wall hard, Chris Buescher damaged it. That was enough damage to bring out the red flag as the safety crew came out to repair the wall before letting the race continue. This was a single-car incident and Buescher will be the first DNF of the day.

Buescher was hoping for a much better result than this today. Instead, he’s out in Stage 1 after just 32 laps.

Chris Buescher is done for the day in Vegas. His wheel fell off, which is counterproductive. https://t.co/aoW1P0pxwF pic.twitter.com/x2KcXpLjNC

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 3, 2024

Last year, Chris Buescher rallied off a string of wins, three in a five-race period. So far, the start of this season has not gone the way that Buescher had hoped it would. That doesn’t mean he can’t salvage things and race for a Round of 8 or Championship 4 position.

RFK Racing should still be alright today. For now, Brad Keselowski is still in the Pennzoil 400. However, he has two DNFs to start this season. So, all eyes on the No. 6 car as far as RFK is concerned.

Right now, it absolutely looks like Hendrick Motorsports with William Byron and Kyle Larson are going to run away with this race. Then again, if we keep getting cautions and restarts we might have a few surprises left in store this afternoon.

Chris Buescher will take a hit in the points

It is still early, but there are a few drivers in a hole to start the year as far as points are concerned. Chris Buescher coming into this weekend was doing okay. He sits 15th right now with 49 points through two complete races.

Compared to his teammate and boss Keselowski, 34th place with 16 points, Buescher is off to a hot start. However, he has an entire Cup Series field to race against, not just Keselowski.

After today, Buescher will take a big hit in the points. Do we expect him to win a race this year? With how competitive things have been early on this season, I’m not sure that is as much of a given as it might have been before Daytona.

Then again, this is a driver who won back-to-back races and three out of five to close out the regular season in 2023. Who are we to doubt him? I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but the early overreaction says that this is not good news for Chris Buescher and his team.