Chris Buescher looking to repeat 2023 stretch performance as playoff battle heats up

If Marty McFly and Doc Brown were to pull up their DeLorean at Richmond Raceway next Sunday, Chris Buescher would be the first driver to jump in.

The Prosper, Texas, native won three races a season ago and made a deep playoff run, but with four regular-season races to go in 2024, he's currently fighting for his postseason life.

Buescher sits just 17 points above the playoff cut line as the circuit heads to Richmond, but he has a good reason to be the most confident driver in the field at both Richmond, Michigan and Daytona, the next three races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

Buescher won at Richmond and Michigan back-to-back in 2023, leading 140 of the combined 600 laps to firmly lock himself into the playoffs. Buescher also won the regular-season finale at Daytona one season ago, and with Daytona's second race being moved up a week, that makes Buescher the defending winner at each of the next three races.

Buescher could have back-to-back wins this season at Kansas and Darlington, respectively, but only a photo finish at Kansas and a late-race incident with Tyler Reddick at Darlington have kept him from clinching a playoff berth through the first 22 races of the season. Darlington just so happens to be the regular-season finale this year, proving that Buescher could be a threat to win the next four races on the schedule.

While a prior good performance at a track never means a driver is a lock for a good day, it certainly inspires confidence, which will be a key tool for the No. 17 team as they try to make the playoffs for the second straight season.

With Buescher hopefully feeling refreshed after a two-week break for the Paris Olympics, look for the No. 17 car to be in the mix down the stretch. If he makes the playoffs, he can thank NASCAR's schedule-makers for inadvertently looking down fondly on him.