Buescher, who began in the 26th position, showcased exceptional performance alongside his teammate and co-owner Brad Keselowski from RFK Racing. Together, they were the top contenders at Richmond, leading a total of 190 out of the 400 laps.
After the last round of pit stops, Buescher took the lead in the race. However, his significant advantage over Hamlin vanished when Daniel Suarez spun, causing a late caution and leading to a restart with only three laps left.
Hamlin initially remained in close proximity to Buescher but momentarily veered towards the outer edge of the track with only two laps remaining, granting Buescher an opportunity to create distance. Nonetheless, Hamlin managed to maintain his position and secure his inaugural triumph of the 2023 season, winning by a margin of 0.549 seconds.
Buescher expressed his satisfaction with the seamless experience of handling his car. He praised the RFK team, specifically the No. 17 crew, for providing him with an excellent vehicle. The car performed exceptionally well, and Buescher’s main focus was to ensure its proper maintenance.
“I received a message from Scott Graves, our crew chief, through the radio, stating that everything was going well and to continue as we were. Shortly after, a caution was announced. This situation seems accurate. I had a strong belief in our performance throughout the race, even during the green flag moments.”
“It’s truly impressive to achieve this. I’m proud of everyone involved. We’ve come a long way from starting at the back of the field. It was an incredible race for our team.”
The win – the third of Buescher’s career and second while at RFK Racing – locks him into this year’s 16-driver playoff field with four races remaining in the regular season.
Kyle Busch ended up third, Joey Logano fourth and Ryan Preece rounded out the top five.
Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-10 positions.
Stage 1
Tyler Reddick dominated on his way to the Stage 1 win over 23XI Racing team-mate Bubba Wallace, leading all 70 laps. Hamlin was third, Chase Elliott fourth and Harvick rounded out the top five.
A.J. Allmendinger, who began the race from the back of the pack due to his absence during Saturday’s qualifying session in order to participate in the Road America Xfinity race, managed to climb up to the 25th position.
Stage 2
After taking the lead during a series of pit stops under green flag conditions, Keselowski comfortably secured a Stage 2 victory with a 3.815-second lead over his teammate Buescher. Reddick finished in third place, followed by Wallace in fourth and Hamlin in fifth.
In the initial stage of pit stops under the green flag, Almirola received a penalty for crossing the commitment line incorrectly, while Christopher Bell was penalized for exceeding the speed limit on pit road. After all the pit stops were finished, Wallace emerged as the new leader in the race.
After the stage, Keselowski took the lead due to a slow stop by Wallace, who ended up in fourth place.
Stage 3
After the second stage, Keselowski was the first to pit, followed by all the cars on the lead lap. He then took the lead at the beginning of the last stage.
With 115 laps still to go in the race, Logano, Keselowski, and Buescher were among the initial drivers to begin a series of pit stops under green flag conditions. Keselowski arrived late and clumsily parked his No. 6 Ford in his assigned pit area, resulting in a slight delay upon exiting and costing him a few seconds.
Buescher regained the lead of the race on lap 305, while Truex stayed on the track and aimed to make only one pit stop in the final stage, unlike most other drivers who planned for two stops.
Around 70 laps remaining, Kyle Larson, who had recently made a pit stop to change tires, provided Hamlin with a push towards the upper part of the track while overtaking him. Hamlin had previously nudged Larson towards the upper part of the track during the previous week, resulting in his victory at Pocono.
With a little over 60 laps remaining, the last set of pit stops began for those following a two-stop strategy. Reddick’s stop was marred by a commitment line violation, resulting in a drive-through penalty on pit road.
After completing the cycle of stops, Buescher regained the lead with 52 laps remaining.
Suarez and Noah Gragson had a collision in Turn 3 during lap 391, causing Suarez’s No. 99 Chevrolet to spin out and resulting in the first caution of the race due to an on-track incident.
Buescher was the first car to pit, followed by all the other cars on the lead lap. When the race restarted with three laps remaining, Buescher was in the lead, followed by Hamlin and Busch.
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