LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo by Myk Crawford)
LAS VEGAS — Over the last 33 NASCAR Cup Series races, Chris Buescher has been running at the finish. That indelible mark came to a crashing halt in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and became the lone retiree of an otherwise clean, yet fierce 267-lap contest.
On Lap 27, Buescher battled Martin Truex Jr. for the seventh position until a faulty right front wheel was the culprit of his downfall. Once the rim came off the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang, it was the end of the day for Buescher as he slammed the Turn 1 wall. An impact so severe, it damaged a part of the wall which forced NASCAR no other choice but to halt the race six laps later.
After repairs were made, the red flag got lifted after 10 minutes and 33 seconds as the remaining 36 cars went on with their afternoons without the RFK Racing competitor.
Entering the race, Buescher only trailed Corey LaJoie for the active streak of most consecutive race finishes. His last DNF was Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2023 where a multi-car crash ended his and B.J. McLeod’s afternoon.
LaJoie, who had a late-race spin in the same corner Buescher’s day ended, still stands tall with a now considerable margin of 20 races ahead of Bubba Wallace as the streak extended to 44 races after crossing the line in 32nd, one lap behind race winner Kyle Larson.
Despite the hard hit and the likelihood of losing a crew member due to the wheel nut coming off, Buescher was checked and released from the infield care center.
“We lost the nut and lost half the wheel. I think the tire stayed up under the fender,” Buescher explained. “I’m not exactly sure just yet, but it looks like the nut came off and something in the suspension actually cut the wheel in half.
“It’s definitely not what we wanted with our Fastenal Ford Mustang out here today. We had a strong day yesterday. I was really proud of that effort. We got a good bunch here and we’re gonna be contenders. We’re gonna win some races, but it’s not gonna happen today.”
No matter how many times Buescher has dealt with tire problems like Sunday’s race, it’ll always come rapidly with reaction time becoming obsolete.
LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)
“That’s kind of been the case with this car. I’ve probably had three of these now through the last couple of years and haven’t had a warning on any of them,” Buescher said on having no warning with tire problems. “It’s nothing like the old five lug stuff where you’d get a vibration or a shimmy or have some kind of clue. It just happens all of a sudden. It’s very unfortunate there, very tough.”
The damage is done with Buescher unable to truly showcase the speed of his Ford Mustang Dark Horse. Heartbreak aside, Buescher remained motivated as the next Cup Series stop is Phoenix Raceway, where he had a strong showing in November highlighted by a Stage 2 win and fifth-place result.
“We have a great group of people on our team right now and we’re gonna bounce back from this and get going in the right direction. That hurts just so early,” said Buescher. “We were able to move forward out of there. We took two tires and was doing OK and holding our own against four tires around us and just ended up out way earlier than we wanted.
“I guess we talked a little bit yesterday and probably truthfully for the first time in my career I’m excited about Phoenix after what we had last time there. I won’t have to lie about that, but certainly a bad day today. It’s very disappointing. That sucks.”
LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)
Buescher’s crash marked the fourth red flag of the young 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and the fifth ever Cup red flag at Las Vegas. The last red flag that took place at the 1.5-mile oval was the September 2018 race, when a multi-car crash involving drivers Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell caused the stoppage.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Red Flags in the Cup Series (racing since 1998):
- 2000 — halted twice for rain (race was called off after 148 laps with Jeff Burton winning the race)
- 2008 — Jeff Gordon’s hard crash on the backstretch after contact with Matt Kenseth
- 2018 — Multi-car crash in Turn 3, forcing the race into overtime
- 2024 — Chris Buescher’s Turn 1 crash damaging the wall
Additionally, for the first time since collecting red flag data dating back to 1990, the opening three points-paying races had at least one red flag.
Furthermore, with the second Duel race at Daytona having an in-race stoppage, it’s only the fourth time in the Cup Series since 1990 that a red flag occurred in four consecutive Cup-sanctioned races. The three previous occurrences unfolded in the years 2004, 2016 and 2020.
Cup Series Seasons Which Had Four Consecutive Races w/ A Red Flag (since 1990):
- 2004 — All-Star Open at Charlotte (exhibition race), All-Star Race at Charlotte (exhibition), Coca-Cola 600, Dover I
- 2016 — Brickyard 400, Pocono II, Watkins Glen, Bristol Night Race
- 2020 — Darlington II, Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte (oval), Bristol
- 2024 — Duel Race No. 2 at Daytona (exhibition), Daytona 500, Atlanta I, Las Vegas I
LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Myk Crawford | The Podium Finish)
Never in 34 years has a Cup race had five straight events halted as the series heads to Phoenix Raceway — a venue that’s had 16 red flags since first competing there in 1988. However, the last red flag at Phoenix came in 2018 with a pair of red flags that ended both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman’s days.
Time will tell how next Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will unfold, but one can hope the streak doesn’t come to fruition.
