It would have been a smart bet to wager that Chris Buescher wouldn’t win his first NASCAR XFINITY Series race on a road course.
But it’s a bet you would have lost.
Advancing to his current XFINITY ride at Roush Fenway Racing through Legends Cars and ARCA Racing, Buescher may have seemed an unlikely candidate for a road course win, but that didn’t stop him from taking the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio last year.
And Buescher will take offense if you attribute his victory to mere good fortune. Nevertheless, to win his first XFINITY race on a road course surprised the series points leader.
“Yes, very surprised,” Buescher acknowledged. “Like I said, road racing is not my background. Mid-Ohio, we showed up really fast off the truck and we were able to maintain the speed throughout the weekend, so we knew we had a shot. We were top-five every time we went on track, whether it was qualifying or practice, and the whole race we were able to maintain that.
“It’s not like we lucked into it either. We were on a fuel mileage strategy, but at the same time we had a late-race restart with 20 or 18 to go, and they had their shot to try and get around us, so we were able to pull it off. But it was a big surprise.”
Buescher would like nothing better than to be surprised again, considering that, starting with Saturday’s Zippo 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN), the XFINITY Series will race at three road courses within a four-week span — including a return trip to Mid-Ohio next week.
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