At Michigan on Sunday, Kyle Larson punched his ticket with the first Cup win of the 24-year old driver’s career. To say he was pumped would have been an understatement as he jumped into the arms of his crew with checkered flag in hand.
Michigan. A big track, a fast track. Sadly, not exactly a legacy event, like winning at Daytona or Bristol or Talladega or Indianapolis or Darlington or either road course. What it is, is a track where legends have celebrated since 1969. In fact, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Richard Petty, Dale Jarrett, and Bobby Allison have combined for 46 victories there. That is a lot of suds for a lot of Hall of Famers.
However, Bristol did bring good tidings to some. It was great for Kevin Harvick, as he won his second of the season in a dominant performance to once again vault ahead of them all in points. While wins determine who is ahead of whom, as it should, accumulated points is an indicator as to who has been in contention all season long. Harvick has been one of those guys.
If there is anything we learned from Sunday it's that NASCAR needs more road courses. Hell, just another visit to Watkins Glen would do. On a track that appeared built for the bulky-fendered beasts, with breathtaking aerial camera shots, and with lots going on from start to finish, this is about as good as NASCAR gets.
Asked what winning does for his confidence, Chris Buescher said it's "always big to be able to pull off a win." Speaking before the NASCAR media corp during his media availability, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford - coming off his first career Sprint Cup Series victory just four days earlier in the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway - talked about what winning the race does for him and his team.
Left, left, left, and (if not at Pocono) a final left. That is usually how it goes each week in NASCAR. This week is one of those unusual ones. Eleven turns at Watkins Glen and seven of them are right. I think these road courses provide more exciting NASCAR races than some ovals, including Indianapolis. Let the arguing begin.
Given time, Buescher will grow as a driver, be it with FRM or RFR. Either way, he'll post more results as he matures, and he will be a Sprint Cup winner again. It's too early to gauge when he'll become an actual Cup title contender, but that day could very well come.
Well, Monday was a great day for Chris Buescher. With the fog rolling in at the Pennsylvania 400, he stayed out while others pitted to have the fuel to run the final 22 laps that never were as the race was red flagged. With impending stormy weather ensuring things would not be re-started, the 24-year old claimed his first win in his 27th Cup start.
Eight days after earning a career-best finish at the Brickyard, Chris Buescher opted to play the weather card in the closing stages to win Monday's weather-shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
