Chris Buescher publicly admits mistake following Ryan Blaney incident at Atlanta

Chris Buescher publicly acknowledged a critical error he made during the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which led to a collision involving Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. Sharing the video posted by NASCAR from the race, Buescher identified the incident as a driver error.

Taking full responsibility for the wreck the #17 wrote on X:

"Driver error. Caught a bump and the car stepped out… disappointed in myself for that one"

The mishap occurred during Lap 205 of Stage 3, where Chris Buescher's #17 Ford Mustang, positioned beside Blaney's #12, lost control exiting Turn 2, veering sharply into the left rear of Blaney's rear end of the vehicle. The contact caused Blaney to slide and inadvertently get into the right side of Martin Truex Jr., triggering the race's fifth caution.

This incident mirrored a situation earlier in the race involving Kyle Larson, who similarly lost control and over-corrected during Lap 57 in Stage 1. NASCAR insiders suggested that Buescher's car was stabilized by Blaney’s vehicle being on the outside otherwise it could have been a much worse wreck. Owning up to his mistake, Chris Buescher took to X, stating he fully accepts responsibility for the collision.

Chris Buescher got saved by Blaney's car according to the NASCAR insiders being on the outside of #17. His day ended in P36 position, whereas Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr., despite sustaining damage, managed to continue.

Ryan Blaney, who finished P1 in Stage 1 and secured second place in Stage 2, amassed a total of 53 points from the race. The point gain pushed him to the summit of the driver standings with 2071 points. In terms of the playoff points, Blaney secured an additional 45 points above the cutline for the Round of 12.

---

Disappointed Chris Buescher admits the race to be not "our typical Atlanta day"

Chris Buescher, not part of this year's playoff contenders, tackled the first playoff race at Atlanta starting from 17th position, with a qualifying speed of 177.329 mph completing the lap in 31.264 seconds.

Unfortunately, his performance declined, finishing Stage 1 in 28th place and barely improving to 27th by the end of Stage 2. The final stage saw Buescher involved in a wreck, relegating him to finish third last, just ahead of Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe.

Reflecting on the race during his post-race interview, Chris Buescher expressed his frustration, stating,

"Ultimately, that's not how we wanted to go out. I'm definitely disappointed and screwed up there. I got a really good run. got to the bottom and we'd been able to keep really good pace on the bottom, and then just caught a bump and stepped out and ended up making a crash."

"I'm disappointed in myself for that one, It certainly wasn't our typical Atlanta day, either. We'd been so good here, but had to fight for the handling today. The team made good adjustments and good calls to get us close to the front, but I just messed it up when it counted," he continued. [via Speedway Digest]

Earlier this season, Chris Buescher had showcased a stronger performance at Atlanta, finishing in the top 10 at 9th place after starting 7th.