DARLINGTON, S.C. – Chris Buescher took off his helmet, got out of his car and headed straight toward Tyler Reddick on pit road after Sunday’s Cup race at Darlington Raceway.
In a matter of steps, about the same time it took Buescher to get his first win of the season finale thanks to Reddick, Buescher confronted Reddick, shoved him and yelled, “What was that?”
Reddick, helmet still on, leaned toward Buescher so he could hear Reddick’s muffled voice.
“As soon as I knew it wasn’t going to work, I tried to back out,” Reddick said.
That was too late.
Sunday’s race changed when Reddick attempted to pass Buescher for the lead with 10 laps remaining. Reddick darted down the court and looked to slide in front of Buescher. Instead, Reddick slid into Buescher’s car, forcing him to crash into the wall.
Both had to pit for a cut tire, while Brad Keselowski took the lead and took his first win since April 2021. Buescher finished 30th. Reddick was in 32nd place.
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Brad Keselowski’s victory snapped a 110-race winless streak.
On pit road after the race, Reddick looked at a fiery Buescher, who had been knocked out of the last two races, and said, “The last thing I want to do is run through your car. I couldn’t care less about mine. I’m sorry.”
Buescher leaned toward Reddick and said forcefully, “It’s not working for me.”
Buescher looked past Reddick and focused on the victory sticker on Reddick’s car door from his win at Talladega last month.
“We don’t have,” Buescher said, pointing to the sticker, “that (winning) sticker on our door right now. You need to be better.”
Without a win this season, Buescher’s chances of making the playoffs are not assured. He is 14th in the playoff standings halfway through the regular season. Buescher is just 15 points ahead of Bubba Wallace, the first driver out of a playoff spot, after Sunday’s race.
Buescher then pointed to Reddick and said, “We’ve raced well for a long time.”
He turned around and walked away.
“I’m sorry friend.” Reddick said.
Moments later, standing next to his car, Reddick said, “(Buescher) was going to win that race if he hadn’t tried.”
A couple of cars away, Buescher leaned against the wall separating pit road from the track and tried to rebound with another painful loss.
Last week, Buescher lost by 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closest finish in NASCAR history. Buescher admitted this week that the ending was “annoying for two days.”
This may take longer to overcome.
“This one here, to ruin both of our days or something,” Buescher said shaking his head, “I’m struggling to understand why.”