Chris Buescher barreled to the lead with the help of a friendly bump from Roush Fenway Racing teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. on a restart with two laps remaining and held off defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Chase Elliott to win the 3M 250 at Iowa Speedway on Sunday.
“(Wallace) gave us a heck of a restart,” Buescher said. “It was a hard hit. That was almost a crash. It was exactly what we needed to get going and get to the inside and be able to pull this win off.”
Buescher’s victory — his second in the Xfinity Series in his career and first this season — allowed him to jump Ty Dillon in the standings, whom he leads by eight points, even though points were the last thing on his mind.
“I hate points racing,” Buescher said. “I despise it. When that caution came out — watched it happen right in front of me — it was like, ‘All right, this is it. This is what we need. We need to come in and get some tires and get back rolling here.'”
The 22-year-old Texan will attempt to further his points advantage in Saturday’s Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX). He has posted two top-10 showings in three starts at Charlotte with a best finish of sixth last fall.
“Obviously, last weekend was a great one,” Buescher said. “We are really looking to build on that momentum this weekend, racing in front of the home crowd. I’m excited to have some family and close friends here this weekend to watch.
“I got my best finish at Charlotte the last time we were here, so I think we will be in good shape this weekend.
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