AVONDALE, Ariz.: While the Shriners Children’s 500 initially appeared to be a Toyota runaway, the competition knew the new Ford Darkhorse has arrived.
Though Toyota’s Christopher Bell won the race convincingly, the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing duo of Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski finished second and fourth, with Ryan Blaney rounding out the top five.
Not a bad debut of NASCAR’s new short-track package for a manufacturer who was absent in the top five after time trials but certainly was impressive on long, green-flag runs at the end of the 312-mile contest.
“I was really impressed with our Ford Mustang today, that was awesome,” Buescher said. “A heck of a comeback after a rough go the last couple of weeks. We had really fast race cars and I am proud to be able to do that today. I didn’t quite see the 20 (Bell) there at the end, so I know they were lights-out. We have some work to do to get to that point.”
Bell checked out to a 5.465-second lead at the finish. Buescher started 14th then dropped to 17th at the end of the first stage on Lap 60. He received a point for finishing 10th in Stage 2, but fell to 17th again with 100 laps remaining in the race before picking off competitors en route to a season-best second-place run.
“What thrills me is we were by no means perfect on balance so we have a lot of room to make this thing better which is awesome,” said Buescher, who tested the new package last December. “It tells me we can go compete for that thing. I am proud of everybody. A great bounce back after a rough go last week. To do it with the same team here today, it just goes to show that we are going to do these things together, win, lose or draw. That was almost a win today.”
Keselowski started 18th and scored his first top-five result at Phoenix since he finished fourth in the 2021 race. It was his first top-five of the current season. The 40-year-old driver/owner finished 9th—one position ahead of teammate Buescher in Stage 2 on Lap 185.
After two quick cautions involving Kyle Busch going sideways in Turn 2 followed by John Hunter Nemechek plowing into Joey Logano, Keselowski returned to the pits on Lap 216. He restarted 14th for the final charge. By Lap 224, Keselowski was running in the top 10 and never looked back.
“It was a good solid day for us,” Keselowski said. “We want to win these races but we didn’t have anywhere near the speed the 20 car did. I don’t know if anybody did to be quite honest. We put ourselves in a good position with a good pit call and a great restart at the end and we just tried to execute. The potential is there. We are just one step away and we are going to keep working on it until we get there.”
Blaney’s valiant fifth-place result landed the defending Cup champion back atop the point standings for the first time in 2024. He finished seventh in the first stage and worked his way to fifth at the end of Stage 2. Blaney stumbled when the race restarted on Lap 195, then dropped to 10th after a battle at the lead between Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin went wrong, with Hamlin spiining in Turn 2.
While the No. 12 Ford hovered around the top 10, determination carried Blaney to his third-consecutive top five.
“That was a really long, hard-fought day, to be honest,” said Blaney, who sat on the ground against his Team Penske Ford to recharge following the race. “I thought we got better and better and through Stage 2 we got better, but then I slipped on one of those restarts and lost like five spots. All those cautions we had to restart way back behind the guys that pitted the stop before us.
“We just worked our tails off to get back to fifth from where we were. I am worn out. That is the most worn-out I have been in a long time. I appreciate the 12 boys for sticking with it and fighting all day. Our Ford Mustang was fast. It was a long day but I am proud of the finish.”
Phoenix native Michael McDowell scored a career-best eighth in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford at his home track, while Chase Briscoe soldiered on to finish ninth.
Certainly Chevrolet started the season on a roll by picking up the first three wins of 2024. And while the Toyotas had the fastest cars throughout the race—and two Camrys landed on the podium at Phoenix, half of the top 10 finishers were Fords representing three different organizations. No, a Blue Oval didn’t win but there’s no denying the competition knew the Mustangs were there.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
