When Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske faltered in the regular season, a new team emerged as the winning ambassador for Ford. With three wins in the span of a month, RFK Racing‘s Chris Buescher established his place as the fastest Ford driver in the playoff grid. But as the playoff rounds progressed, a threatening competitor emerged.

With his win at the Talladega Superspeedway, Ryan Blaney restored Penske’s glory in the eyes of Ford. But despite being in a must-win situation, Buescher exuded confidence ahead of the deciding race in Martinsville.

RFK Racing’s #17 Ford Mustang is in a “good place” to conquer the Martinsville Speedway

43 points below the cut-off line, Chris Buescher’s qualification would be incredible indeed. The #17 Ford Mustang driver cannot advance solely on the basis of points, even with stage wins. After the elimination of his #6 teammate and RFK Racing owner Brad Keselowski, Buescher became the lone representative in the playoffs. But without a single Top 10 finish in the Round of 8 so far, he has been allocated the last spot in the playoff standings.

On the other hand, his Ford rival Ryan Blaney has a 10-point advantage heading into the Martinsville Speedway. Even for the Xfinity 500 Cup Series race, Buescher has qualified outside the Top 10 in 18th place. Nevertheless, the #17 driver has not yet given up hope amid his disappointing circumstances. In the pre-race interview with FOX Sports, Buescher claimed he was ready to pass cars on the short-track oval.

Watch this story: Chris Buescher: Aiming for a Playoff Comeback

Shared by Bob Pockrass, Buescher stated, “It’ll be tricky but I know we are going to work hard on this. The Ford Mustang is in a good place. I feel like it needs some decent adjustments from practice. I destroyed its nose from the last race here. Trying to figure out how to get better.” With a qualifying lap of 20.274 seconds, he finished just 0.004 seconds behind Ford racer Todd Gilliland.

But dismissing concerns, Buescher declared, “On time, we were right behind, tenth of a second, just on the wrong side of it. It’s not that we’re a whole way off here, just got to make small changes and be ready to pass some cars.” However, Buescher’s bravado does not match his dismal track record.

In this Ford playoff race, Team Penske’s No. 12 driver is already clued in on the penultimate track

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With a single Top 10 in his previous 7 races at Martinsville, Chris Buescher has an average finishing spot of 18 on the oval in the past three years. The overall track record does not fare any better. In Buescher’s entire Cup Series career, the #17 driver has amassed an average finish of 19.4. Moreover, he ended the race outside the Top 20 in 8 out of 16 starts on the oval. 

On the other hand, the #12 Ford Mustang of Ryan Blaney has a great Martinsville record with an average finish of 9.5. The Penske driver’s point cushion, along with seven Top 5s and nine Top 10s previously accomplished on the racetrack, are far more likely to gain Ford’s favor in this championship battle. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Blaney would be racing after the runner-up high at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In the post-race interview, Blaney candidly admitted, “It’s no secret that we haven’t been as competitive as some of those guys throughout the year but we’ve been putting together really good last couple weeks.” Even in the spring Martinsville race, Blaney finished within the Top 10 in 7th place.

When enquired about his impressive familiarity with the track, the #12 Ford Mustang driver responded, “It’s nice to go back to a place where you feel like you have somewhat a clue to how to get around there and know what you need, but at the end of the day, you never know what’s going to happen. We had a pretty good run there in the spring. Hopefully, we can replicate it.”

Chris Buescher might be ready to put his best foot forward, but Ryan Blaney is miles ahead in his Ford Mustang. Will Buescher be able to catch up with him in the Xfinity 500?

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