Chris Buescher goes Back-to-Back at Michigan

Image: Paul Sancya/The Associated Press

As the NASCAR Cup Series departed from Richmond, their next stop was the Irish Hills of Michigan. Michigan has always been known for one thing. That’s being fast. Michigan is one of the fastest stops on the NASCAR circuit, if not the fastest. With speeds approaching 205 MPH entering turn one, this track has always been a hit with fans and drivers. Michigan has been dominated by Ford in the last five years. Very fitting for Ford’s home track. That being said, there was another Ford driver that won at Michigan. But it was not the Ford driver that most people picked to go to victory lane in Michigan.

Back-to-Back Buescher:

Last weekend, Chris Buescher won at Richmond for a breakthrough win for the season. That was Buescher’s third career win and the first of the season. That was a momentous win not only for Buescher but for Roush. The team has been finding speed each week thanks to the hard work of both Buescher and Brad Keselowski. With that being said, no one picked Buescher to win at Michigan despite starting in fourth position. It was a bit of a slow start for Buescher to start the race. The race was red-flagged for almost 20 hours due to lingering rain at lap 75. The race was not official because it did not reach lap 100, the halfway distance of the race. Alex Bowman was the leader at that time.

After the red flag was lifted, Buescher cycled up to sixth place due to pit strategy. This gave Buescher a chance to show how fast his car was. Buescher finally got the lead at the start of the final stage. With a few untimely cautions throughout the final stage, Buescher was finally able to show the field what he had in the last 50 laps. He had to overcome a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr in the closing laps, but Buescher was able to do it. Chris Buescher picked up his fourth career win on Monday afternoon after leading over 50 of the last 80 laps. This is the first time that Buescher has gone back-to-back in his career. This is exactly what he and his team needed heading into the playoffs. But coming from Michigan, Buescher’s impressive win was not the big headline from the weekend.

What’s Next for Noah Gragson?

It was announced Saturday morning that Legacy Motor Club driver, Noah Gragson, has been suspended indefinitely by both the team and NASCAR. This was due to Gragson liking an insensitive meme on Instagram that mocked the death of George Floyd. Gragson did make a statement Saturday morning on Twitter after the announcement of his suspension. So, what are the next steps for Noah Gragson? Recent reports on Tuesday morning stated that Gragson has been fired by Legacy. However, there have also been more statements that claim that Gragson is still with the team. But it is expected that Gragson’s future with Legacy is not going to last much longer. The team has announced that Mike Rockenfeller will drive the #42 car for the next two races.

So, what is the future for Noah Gragson? Despite being 33^rd in the Cup Series points, Gragson is a young man with a lot of talent. It was announced earlier this year that Legacy will be switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota next year. If Gragson complies with NASCAR for the sensitivity training he will more than likely have to take, he will be back in a NASCAR seat. It may not be a Cup Series ride, but his future more than likely lies in the Xfinity Series. Gragson went on an absolute tear in 2022 with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series with eight wins, four of which were in a row. It will be a bumpy road for Gragson back to NASCAR, but we should have our answers in the coming days about Gragson’s future.

What to Expect from Indianapolis:

This coming weekend the stars of NASCAR will take on the Indianapolis Road Course. If this race has shown anything in the last two years, it is going to be pure chaos. Especially on the late race restarts. But if there is one driver to keep an eye on, it would be Chase Elliott. Elliott had a disastrous day in Michigan. On lap 36, Elliott had what seemed to be a right rear tire failure, which resulted in his car hitting the wall with the rear very hard. This would result in a 36^th-place finish for Elliott. Currently, Elliott is 55 points shy of making the playoffs with three races left before the playoffs. Two of the following three races are road courses. Elliott is the modern-day road course king with seven wins on road courses. Expect Elliott to be up front this coming Sunday at Indianapolis.