Chris Buescher, who won his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole on Saturday, has a chance to finish first on Monday at Dover Motor Speedway.
The Roush Fenway driver entered the fourth-fastest in the second qualifying round from Group 1. However, Buescher’s lap at 160.149 mph held him up to give him his first pole in his 233rd career Cup Series start.
During the post-qualifying race, Buescher spoke about his expectations from high-speed tracks and the upcoming three races. He said:
“Dover being the off-set, right? Bristol would have been one, but Bristol on dirt is obviously worthless when we come to Dover on concrete. This is one we have had circled and a lot of meetings and talk about this event coming up. I think we ended with a whole lot more questions than answers.”
He continued:
“I don’t know what to expect for this one. I think we have seen it be track position-sensitive through the years and I know that is something that this car is trying to address. I don’t know how it will work here.”
The 29-year-old has had a mixed 2022 NASCAR season so far. He has performed better on high-banked tracks this season, excluding Talladega Superspeedway.
“I think Darlington is always a challenge” - Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher feels that driving at Darlington Raceway is always a challenging task. The track has a maximum banking of 25 degrees and is notoriously difficult to race on. Further to the conversation, Buescher said:
“I think Darlington is always a challenge. More of the unknown of that race track might be the durability of the cars. We have seen it be pretty high and you are not worried about a metal body cutting down tires if you do get into the fence. A little unknown there and a lot of questions yet, but I think this here is the biggest unknown with a lot to figure out in a fairly long race.”
Darlington Raceway, which is nicknamed as “The Lady in Black” will host the next Cup Series race of the 2022 season after Dover. The race is scheduled to be held next weekend at 3:30 p.m. EST.