Only three races remain between Chris Buescher and a NASCAR XFINTY Series championship.
Leading second-place Chase Elliott by 27 points and third-place Regan Smith by 33 points, Buescher can take home the title by finishing fourth or better in the next three races, regardless of what any other driver does.
Buescher will continue to try to close the door on Elliott and Smith when the Prosper, Texas, native returns home for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
The No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing driver’s ninth-place showing at Texas from April is his only top-10 performance at the 1.5-mile track, but he has finished higher than he’s started in all four of his races there.
“Texas will be a good weekend for our team,” Buescher said. “Our mile-and-a-half program has gotten a lot better in the past six months, which gives us more confidence going into this weekend. Of course, I always like going back to my home track and seeing friends and family, and I want to perform well in front of the home crowd.”
Elliott, the defending XFINITY Series champion, rides into Texas on a four-race top-10 streak. He indicated he will not change his strategy due the title hunt.
“We’re going to approach Texas like any other track with intentions of running up front and having a shot at the win,” Elliott said.
No driver has been better than Smith down the stretch of the XFINITY Series schedule. The No. 7 JR Motorsports teammate of Elliott enters Saturday’s showdown with a 10-race top-10 streak that includes two wins.
“We want to do everything we can to catch the 60 car, and we need help now to do that, but we’re going to try very hard to get it done,” Smith said.
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