NASCAR will be racing at the Charlotte ROVAL in just a few days! That means Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger hold a real possibility of causing an upset in the 2024 Playoffs. Sure, the 17-Turn brand-new road course layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway is bound to throw a curveball at those predicting an easy victory. But make no mistake—the road-course specialists are raring to go, eager to show the world just how well these ‘Next-Gen’ machines navigate those right turns.

However, given Chris Buescher’s disruptive win at the Watkins Glen road course a few weeks ago, his employer/colleague at RFK, Brad Keselowski, has revealed an interesting detail. Would you believe the #17 driver is unironically the highest-averaging road course racer in the Next-Gen era? Well, he is, but that’s not all. His team owner suggests Buescher’s road course prowess equals that of 3x Cup champion, Tony Stewart.

The Chris Buescher-Tony Stewart road course connection

Some might say that comparing Chris Buescher to Tony Stewart is a bit of a stretch. Yes, the talent is there most definitely. And at 31, he still has time to build a legacy that might rival Smoke’s. But over 50 wins across NASCAR’s top-3 National Touring competitions, with a few more in IndyCar, and championships in both those disciplines might prove hard to replicate for Buescher. Heading to Charlotte this weekend, the Texas native has only 6 NASCAR Cup Series wins to show for at the highest level. Still, the discrepancies between both those drivers stick out like a sore thumb.

Regardless, can Buescher make it number seven at the ROVAL? That question has been on the minds of many diehards, especially after that hard-fought road course win at the Glen a few weeks earlier against Shane van Gisbergen. Beating a 3x V8 Supercars champion is no joke, especially at their own game. Hence, Brad Keselowski believes, “Chris Buescher is one of the most naturally-talented road course racers I’ve been around. He doesn’t care to accept that, but it’s true from the get-go.”

But Big Brad isn’t making inferences out of the blue. With twelve top-10s and one win, Buescher is the highest-averaging finisher (7.2) on road courses in the Gen-7 car. What’s his secret? According to Keselowski, “[Buescher] just has a natural knack and a feel for a car on road courses that reminds me of a Tony Stewart. If his career path had taken him that route, he’d be a top-of-the-line road course racer right now in IMSA or IndyCar.”

Hearing such things from a former Cup Series champion is indeed high praise. The Tony Stewart comparison is only icing on the cake. Stewart has won the second-most road course races in the highest tier of NASCAR with 8. Ironically, only Jeff Gordon has more non-oval wins than Stewart at 9. As for Buescher, who secured his first NASCAR win at the Mid-Ohio road course in a 2014 Xfinity Series race, he has a long road ahead to match those illustrious records.

Could a ROVAL rematch shock the playoffs?