DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Chris Buescher made a quick trip home to North Carolina to welcome his new son Rhett.
The driver of the No. 17 Fastenal Ford raced home on Thursday night after finishing 10th in the first Daytona Duel qualifying to be home with wife Emma and daughter Charley for the new arrival on Friday.
Buescher returned on Sunday with the Roush Fenway Keselowski pit crews to prepare for the Great American Race.
“They’re doing fantastic,” said Buescher, who rolls off 19th for the 500. “Yep, it was a busy week. I got back late after the Duel 1 there. Took off and was flying to the hospital and calling away… So it was good. Got to go home and be with the family for two days and get everybody situated.
“Not much going on during practice days down here in Daytona typically anyway. So really, all things considered, it was about the best timing we could have could hoped for. So glad everybody is back home and resting. Back to the racetrack now, and getting down to business. Ready to get this thing fired off.”
Coming off of a fourth-place result in the 2023 Daytona 500 and a win here last August in the Coke Zero 400 after bossman Brad Keselowski pushed him across the finish line, Buescher has renewed confidence at the 2.5-mile track.
“For me, I think back to Speedway racing across my career, and I didn’t used to like these races very much,” Buescher said. “I kind of tolerated them and realized that probably wasn’t the correct mindset. Was just kind of thinking that if I can just get through it—and it’s all luck and all this, and then you realize that probably wasn’t fair.
“You sit there and watch the same four or five people run up front all the time. And, yeah, they’re going to get caught up from time to time. But we’ve worked hard to be one of those four or five now. I certainly have changed my mentality on it. I’ve realized that it takes a lot of study in a certain mindset and a way to go about it. That’s enabled us to be good with these styles of races.”
While Brad Keselowski has been available to Buescher when he’s been in the Ford camp during his career, certainly as a co-owner and teammate, the dynamic has changed. Keselowski’s influence has been felt throughout RFK.
“I’m getting put in fast race cars too, right? So that surely helps when we go to the track,” Buescher said. “We’re able to run up front and push and be pushed. So all the things have come together to get me to the point now where I know we’re going to be competitive. I know we’re gonna be up front. We’ve been able to control a lot of these races. And they’ve become a lot of fun for me.
“So, they’re not my favorite style yet, but certainly enjoying them and and knowing what we’ve been able to accomplish makes me a whole lot more excited year over year to to come down here and fire off the season this way.”
Buescher has three top-five finishes in eight Daytona 500 starts. History proves there is strength in numbers, particularly on superspeedways. In addition to Ford drivers from Penske, Front Row Motorsports and Rick Ware Racing to work with, former Daytona winner David Ragan is joining RFK for the 500.
“We have three fast RFK Ford Mustangs in the race,” Buescher said. “I know we’ll be able to find each other, work together trying to control the race. We did last year in the 500 and the 400.
“If we can do that and have just a little bit of luck go our way, then we can certainly find ourselves covered in confetti again.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
