One Decade Later, Chris Buescher Reflects on Fog-Filled First Career Win at Pocono Raceway
- Eddie Kalegi
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
EDDIE KALEGI - STAFF WRITER
“It was a big moment for that rookie season of ours.”
This summer’s stock car racing trip to Long Pond, Pennsylvania marks the tenth anniversary of one of NASCAR’s most unconventional race weekends in recent memory. The Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was postponed to Monday due to rain, but the weather didn’t get much better.
With 22 laps to go, rookie Chris Buescher, the defending champion of what was then the NASCAR Xfinity Series, found himself in the lead thanks to some pit strategy during an extended green flag run. Suddenly, a deluge of fog blanketed the 2.5 mile triangular-shaped circuit, bringing the race to an immediate halt. With no clearing in sight, NASCAR was forced to end the race there, allowing Buescher to capture his maiden Cup Series win for Front Row Motorsports.
When Jamie McMurray pitted just before the stoppage, handing Buescher the lead, the Prosper, Texas native joked that he still remembers being naive when concerns started being voiced about the fog.
“They came over the radio and said ‘hey it’s gotten really foggy, I don’t know if we can see you real well, how’s your vision back there?’” Buescher explained. “It didn’t click right away, and I keyed up and said ‘oh no it’s fine, I’m good.’ As soon as I let go of the button I realized that was the exact wrong answer. The next lap they asked me again and said ‘hey I’m telling you it’s foggy,’ and I was like ‘yeah it sure is, I can’t see much, I’m sure it’s feeling dangerous up there!’”
Interestingly, the 2016 Cup Series race wasn’t Chris Buescher’s first bout with fog in the Pocono mountains. In his mind, the victory was vindication for a weekend when the weather wasn’t on his side.
“I very vividly remember having an ARCA race here get fogged out as we were passing for the lead down the short chute,” Buescher said. “Yellow came out, fog rolled in, got cancelled, and we got put back to P2. For four or five years I was really upset about that. And then 2016 rolled around and suddenly I was okay with swapping that win out. Everyone remembers the fog giving, but I remember it taking away as well.”
10 years later, Buescher, now in his seventh season driving for RFK Racing, is a veteran of the series with six career victories. He hasn’t hoisted the trophy at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ since, but Pocono Raceway still has a special place in his heart. He also heads into this particular weekend’s race with plenty of confidence.
“We’ve been really fast here the last couple times, last year was really solid,” Buescher said. “I’ve been looking forward to this one for a lot of weeks.”