It was in Michigan; it was all at MIS. Chris Buescher’s weekend was supposed to be a high point in a season, but it turned into heartbreak instead. The driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang dark horse from RFK had started sixth, led 13 laps unclaimed his first stage win of 2025. After dominating much of the race, he came up clutching disappointment, not a trophy, finishing a painful second.

His best result so far this season, yes, but one that still leaves him just two spots above the elusive playoff cutline. However, Buescher isn’t throwing in the towel. After the weekend, he seems to be back in the grind. The RFK Driver has recently revealed that he knows a turnaround is within reach. He’s determined, he’s hungry, and he’s fixated on the next win. And with the playoff bubble tightening up by the week, his pep talk is more than talk.

Chris Buescher is locked in

Chris Buescher came alive early, rocking to the front by nailing stage one and clocking one of the fastest laps of the day. But when it came down to closing the deal, Hamlin edged him out in a nail-biter, just 1.099 seconds behind the No. 11 driver.  Reflecting on the near miss in his SiriusXM NASCAR interview post on Instagram, Buescher didn’t sugarcoat it.

He took to the mic and said, ” I’m gonna stick to this and say we’re in a must-win situation. I believe that. I think that we will do everything we can to maximize our days and not solely race for points, but good days bring points. But I think that we are in a must-win situation.” 

Despite posting his seventh top 10 of the season and second at Michigan, it’s stung, since the season has lacked the essential win punch, with zero victories through race 15. Buescher knows that in today’s NASCAR, consistency doesn’t always cut it, not when surprise winners keep shaking up the playoff picture.

With Chris ranked 12th in the standings, having gathered 342 points, trailing the winners but inside the pressure zone, he is just two spots above the cut line entering Michigan. He didn’t mince words, saying, “We have been right above that cut line as we’ve gotten to the closing races of the regular season, and we’ve had new winners pop in from deep in the points to right there that we were racing against. We’ve had fuel mileage races that yield surprise winners, and we’ve seen it over and over again.

He’s not wrong, though. Every time a new unexpected winner punches that playoff ticket, it squeezes out one more Driver banking on consistency. The RFK driver isn’t just speaking out of frustration; he’s speaking from hard experience. The cut-off zone is brutal, and with the standings tightening up across nearly a third of the field, he knows his margin of error is nearly nonexistent. He went on: “There’s two or three cars that get in on points, and if you’re not the absolute best of those cars, then you better plan on winning a race. And I believe that’s where we’re at right now, because it is just way too close through—yeah, through nine cars. That’s—that’s insanely tight. So we better plan on getting our stuff together and put the thing in victory lane so that we know where we stand once we get into the playoffs.”

This isn’t a pep talk; it’s a warning shot.

Even veteran Kevin Harvick understood where that frustration came from. And he didn’t dance around it on this week’s Happy Hour podcast: “I get his disappointment. When you have a car like that and you don’t capitalize on it, you don’t get those very often. He saw that last year when he had those opportunities where he didn’t capitalize, and it cost him the playoff position that he needed and didn’t get himself to where he ultimately wanted to be at the end of the year. He knows on those days when you have the capability and the car, that you’ve got to capitalize on it, and they didn’t.”

Now, halfway through 2025, he finds himself close to the cut line, close to breaking through and dangerously close to heartbreak if those chances keep slipping away. The second-place run at MIS was solid, but not securing the win left behind more pressure than pride.

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Brad Keselowski’s “mini me”

Brad Keselowski doesn’t just see potential in Carson Hocevar; he sees himself. The RFK racing co-owner, now a veteran of the spot and a former Cup series champ, looked back at his own early days while standing in the Michigan garage last weekend. And what he described wasn’t polished. It wasn’t perfect. But it got the job done.

The No. 6 driver reflected on his past self, saying, “I bullied my way into the sport to some degree. There were some ramifications for that, but it was better than sitting on the sidelines. I imagine Carson has similar feelings. He’s had to fight to earn his spot to get where he is today.”

Keselowski knows what it means to ruffle feathers. His early years in NASCAR were a whirlwind of elbows out and no apologies. He tangled with some of the sport’s biggest names: Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch. And while it earned him criticism, it also earned him respect. Once he landed at Team Penske, the wins started stacking up, and the ruckus died down.

Now watching Hocevar grind it out at Spire Motorsports, Keselowski sees a younger driver walking a familiar line: aggressive, unfiltered, and hungry. But here’s the twist. Hocevar’s coming up in an era where talent gets sharpened by cutting-edge data and simulation tools. That gives them a shot not just to survive but also to thrive. And so with the playoff clock ticking and tempers tightening, it’s not just about speed anymore; it’s about who’s willing to dig deepest, fight hardest, and leave it all out there. For guys like Buescher and Hocevar, that moment is now.