Buescher and company frustrated by early Talladega exit

04/27/2025 05:39 PM

Chris Buescher and Scott Graves didn't hide their frustration following an early exit in Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Buescher was leading the inside lane on a lap 52 restart when Christopher Bell was sent across his nose. Bell was pushed from behind by teammate Denny Hamlin and was sent sideways coming off Turn 2. The collision sent both drivers to the inside backstretch wall, which ended with Bell going head-on into the SAFER barrier and Buescher hitting on the driver's side.

"I don't expect it there," Buescher said. "That was still, what, 10 laps to go in the first stage? That's a lot of time to find your position and get to racing and be smart about where we're pushing, and maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe it was just a freak deal.

"But I just feel like we know you can't start pushing in the middle of the corner or on exit. You have to be straight to some extent, just like we know not to push through the tri-oval."

Bell, however, did not place blame on Hamlin. In his interview after being cleared from the infield care center, Bell said it's the nature of superspeedway racing that drivers have to push others and be pushed.

Graves, Buescher's crew chief on the No. 17 RFK Racing team, saw things differently. In the heat of the moment, Graves took to X and posted about Hamlin.

"This team works so hard every week, had our driver in position for the end of Stage 1, and the guys that would consider themselves some of the best drivers in the world can't even get through a restart," Graves wrote. "I see why you have an insurance sponsor (Denny Hamlin). Can I file a claim?"

Progressive sponsors Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Sunday is Buescher’s first DNF this season. He had completed 98.8 percent of laps coming into the weekend.

"There are not many safe places anymore other than the very back," Buescher said of where to run in a pack at Talladega Superspeedway. "And it's just not racing. I've been a part of those, and I've hated every second of it, and I don't want to be a part of it. Jack (Roush) adamantly doesn't want to be a part of it. Brad (Keselowski) adamantly doesn't want to be a part of it. That's not what we're here to do for ourselves as racers, as competitors, for our partners. It's not right. You've got to race, and you've got to accept that you’re going to have moments like this, but that one felt … preventable.

"Again, I haven't seen it, but it sure felt more preventable than a lot of those scenarios where you have big moments where you're four wide and there's only so much you plan for. But you've got to race. I despise hanging around . Like I said, I've been a part of it, it’s not fun as a driver, and the only thing it does is kind of secures you for a decent day. It never really gives you a chance to win the race."