Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher did not have an ideal outing during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami.
The #17 Ford Mustang driver was classified in P21 after the 400-mile-long event at the intermediate oval concluded, with him relegated to eighth in the playoffs standing 47 points under the cut line.
The 4EVER 400 saw the 30-year-old driver struggle throughout each stage of the race, unable to make progress toward the front of the field. At one point during the race, Buescher was the only playoff driver to not run in the top 10 on Sunday.
Despite having high hopes heading into what is often labeled as a track loved by the drivers in the series, Buescher did not seem to enjoy running at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Due to the lack of pace during the long as well as the short run, Chris Buescher did not have the luxury of running the low and high line, as is crucial to make lap time on the track.
Once optimistic about his chances heading into the weekend, Chris Buescher quickly deleted a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) after the event and posted a screenshot of the same. The said post read:
"Today is gonna be a good day."
Looking back in hindsight, Buescher took his words back and deleted the post, sharing the process with his fans. The Prosper, Texas native is in a must-win situation heading into the final race of the Round of 8 next weekend if he hopes to qualify for the final four contenders in the championship.
Chris Buescher elaborates on how caution flags ruined his strategy in Miami
Speaking with notable NASCAR journalist and FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass, Chris Buescher explained how he felt from behind the wheel and said:
"First stage just really got us. Way too tight to fire off and went a lap down early. Made some good adjustments on this Fatenal Mustang got rolling in the right direction. Cautions just didn't fall in the right place for us and we ended up just not able to show anything all day. Needed a caution with 20 (laps) to go and we would've been in a lot better shape."
Meanwhile, NASCAR prepares to head to Martinsville Speedway next weekend for the final race of the Round of 8 this season, with drivers such as Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin entering with a must-win mentality.