"It didn’t play out the way we needed it to," says Chris Buescher after P9 finish at NASCAR Watkins Glen race

Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International saw quite a few wildcard entries in the form of Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell, who looked to have the pace to challenge for the race win. Go Bowling at The Glen was the first Cup Series road course race in 2022 that saw cars start on wet weather tires due to rain showers and lightning strikes before the original starting time of the 90-lap race.

The eventual start to the race after delays meant drivers and teams had to adapt to the slippery conditions on track, with the new 18-inch wet weather tires from Goodyear getting their first proper test in race conditions. The racing surface was quick to dry up once the field started running laps on the course, with drivers who switched to dry slick tires at the right time gaining an advantage in terms of pace on the track.

Chris Buescher was one of the cars that took on fresh tires in the final stages of the race in a bid to gain positions before the checkered flag dropped, but was hampered by a late caution flag. The Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver finished in P9 as a result. He elaborated post-race and said:

“We had a really good Fastenal Ford. I am so proud of everybody. Just didn’t need that caution at the end. We needed a green flag run. We were running down the next several ahead of us and we had tires. That was working for speed.”

The Prosper, Texas native eventually finished in the top-10, which is a good result for the #17 crew at RFK Racing nonetheless, and said:

“I don’t know if I could have gotten to the lead with green flag runs but it definitely would have been better than we finished. It didn’t play out the way we needed it to, but still a really solid day.”

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Chris Buescher's mother's thoughts on people calling him Christopher

Chris Buescher, who went on to change the name on his #17 Fastenal Ford Mustang to Christopher Buescher after being called the same by Dale Earnhardt Jr., said the happiest person after the change is his mother.

The 29-year-old driver elaborated on why the change meant so much and who was allowed to call him Christopher, and said:

“Probably the happiest person right now is my mom, and the fact that everybody is using the name that she gave me on the birth certificate.”

Watch the complete interview below:

Watch Chris Buescher race in next weekend's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.