Buescher, No. 17 Team Battle Back from Penalty before Getting Caught Up in ‘Big One’ at AMS
HAMPTON, Ga. (March 19, 2023) – Chris Buescher had a fast No. 17 Violent Defense Ford for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, staring seventh and running the majority of the race’s laps firmly inside the top 10. Unfortunately he would get a caught up in a multi-car accident near the front of the pack on lap 189 and relegated to a 35th-place finish.
Buescher had battled back from a pit-road speeding penalty, moving from 28th to third in just under 20 laps, before getting caught up in the wreck.
“First off, our Violet Defense Ford Mustang was really fast and I’m proud of everybody for that,” said Buescher. “I made a mistake on pit road by getting a speeding penalty and that put us back in the field. We drove back up to third. The speed was there and we were doing it without unnecessary pushes in the center of the corner. I haven’t seen a replay to know exactly what happened, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling.”
Buescher finished the first stage in eighth and moved into the top five during the second stage, working with teammate Brad Keselowski. After a green flag pitting sequence, he finished stage two in ninth, but was flagged with a pit road speeding penalty and forced to restart in 28th.
Buescher quickly went to work on the field, powering his Ford back inside the top-15 in just under 10 laps, before moving inside the top five when he was claimed in the day’s first big wreck of the race.
Buescher and the team return to action next weekend at a road course in Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Race coverage on Sunday is set for 3:30 p.m. on FOX. Radio coverage can be heard on PRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
