What surprises Chris Buescher about NASCAR’s Magic Mile

LOUDON, NH — The Magic Mile is a challenging NASCAR Cup Series track due to its gently banked turns that test the driver’s precision as he tries to carry as much momentum as possible through the corner before hitting the accelerator on the home stretch.

It’s difficult to win on the oval track when you start in the top five, but Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher will start 15th out of 36 drivers in the field.

Victory Lane at NHMS is something Buescher has seen many times in his racing career, and after walking the track Saturday morning, the driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang noticed one thing.

“I’m shocked that this (track) hasn’t been repaved,” Buescher said before practice on Saturday. “This place has a lot of character and don’t take this as me trying to force repavement here. I don’t want to do that. The character is great. I’m just surprised that this one has held up when others haven’t.”

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In the 17 races this season, Buescher achieved three top-5 and seven top-10 finishes, but was not yet able to achieve his breakthrough and his first win of the season.

“A few smaller things. One or two big things, but ultimately I start with what you can’t control – a little bit of luck is what we need,” Buescher said. “I don’t think you can always control your luck 100%. You certainly control what you can, but a little bit of it is… not much.”

One of the things Buescher can control is qualifications.

“That’s probably the most important thing on the list,” Buescher said. “… It’s made it hard for us to get stage runs. … I’ve been trying to win multiple races all year. But we need to qualify better so we can earn points along the way. That way we’ll be in a good position to make the playoffs and lock in the way we can.”

Unfortunately for Buescher, his starting position was taken away when NASCAR was forced to cancel qualifying for the USA Today 301 due to inclement weather.