Chris Buescher a strong underdog in NASCAR's title fight

Chris Buescher and the No. 17 RFK Racing team are simultaneously an underdog in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship hunt but also a contender. 

Buescher's RFK tenure (2020-present) has yielded five victories but has mostly been defined by quiet consistency. He won three races en route to a seventh-place points finish in 2023 before barely being on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in both 2024 and 2025. 

But in a new points format that rewards consistency at a higher level, Buescher is well-equipped to not just make the Chase, but contend for the series title. With 12 races left in the regular season, he's eighth in the standings but only 56 points back of fifth, which is seen as the threshold in the standings a driver needs to be at to win the title when the Chase rolls around in September. 

"If you really want a chance to win the championship, yes you need to be certainly in the top half, probably top-third of the field," Buescher said Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. "For us, we got there just a couple weeks ago and just had a couple of rough weeks that have set us back."

Chris Buescher staying consistent

Finishes of 30th in the Coca-Cola 600 and 29th at Nashville knocked Buescher back to eighth in the standings. He's been as high as fifth this year.

"We're still in the top half of it by the skin of our teeth," Buescher said. "We gotta get back on track and I have no doubt we can do that. Our weekends that are just decent are still good enough to keep us in the hunt. I know we need to be a little better."

Buescher's first win since September 2024 could very well come this weekend at Michigan. He won at the two-mile track in 2023, finished sixth in 2024 and finished runner-up at MIS to Denny Hamlin a season ago.  

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.