Story By: BRANDON LEE / RFK RACING – NORTH WILKESBORO, NC – RFK put its Ford Mustangs in the mix throughout the weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the 2024 All-Star Race as Chris Buescher led the way with a third-place finish Sunday night after both cars started inside the top five.
As inclement weather dominated the headlines throughout the weekend, Sunday’s 200-lap exhibition event turned out to be picture-perfect, as NASCAR introduced additional strategy options with two different tire options for teams.
Teams were given four sets of softer (red) tires, along with its normal, primary tires for use throughout the weekend. The softer tires initially proved to be quicker in lap times, as NASCAR forced teams to start on those red tires for the 200-lap race. The event featured pre-determined breaks in the action at lap 100 – where teams were required to pit for four tires – as well as a final caution at lap 150.
“We stayed on reds all night, so that worked out pretty good for us,” Buescher said after the race. “I’m really proud of our team. Friday wasn’t very good to be straight up about it and they worked really hard and pulled some strings, hit some buttons and got us a whole lot better for tonight, so I was proud of that to bring our Fastenal Mustang home third.
“I felt like we had a decent shot at it there. I was able to pace the 22 pretty good, but there at the end just took too long to get around the 5 car and really didn’t have sight of the leaders at that point. It’s a good night on a night where only one position matters, but I’m proud of the group. It’s good to keep our momentum up and we’ll go onto the 600 and go win us one.”
6 Recap
Keselowski’s weekend got off to a solid start as the No. 6 pit crew turned in the second-best time in the pit crew challenge, which was ultimately rescheduled for Saturday morning. Keselowski finished second overall in that qualifying session, which would have put him on the pole for the second heat race.
However, inclement weather would wash away the pair of heat races, as the qualifying session set the lineup for the feature event, putting the No. 6 second on the grid Sunday night.
Keselowski maintained the top-5 position for much of the race in the NEXLIZET Ford as he ran third at the time of the halfway break. His lone pit stop came at the halfway point as the team again put on the softer Goodyear tires. Following the final caution at lap 150, Keselowski restarted sixth with 41 laps remaining, but fell back late to finish 16th.
17 Recap
Buescher would have started third for his heat race Saturday night, but ultimately lined up fifth for Sunday based off results from Saturday’s qualifying and pit crew challenge.
Just 50 laps in, Buescher showed his speed in the Fastenal Ford by advancing to second, trailing the eventual winner in the No. 22. He maintained the P2 position at the halfway break, and restarted there at lap 109 once teams put on fresh tires.
Following a pair of chaotic restarts – the final coming with just over 40 to go – Buescher used the long run to again chase down the leaders, ultimately bypassing the No. 5 in the final five laps to finish third, his best finish ever in the All-Star event.
Up Next
Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts the annual Coca-Cola 600 this weekend with race coverage Sunday set for 6 p.m. ET on FOX, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).