July has been a month to forget for NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader Chris Buescher.
Buescher thrilled in the first five months of his sophomore season with Roush Fenway Racing, scoring eight top fives and two wins in a series typically dominated by Sprint Cup Series veterans.
July, however, has been a different story. After finishing outside of the top 10 only four times in the opening 14 races of the season, Buescher failed to crack the top 10 in the four races of July, bringing home a best finish of 11th at Kentucky.
Buescher’s worst race of the month came in Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 16th-place struggle in which the three-time NXS winner never seemed competitive.
“It was a long day for us,” said Buescher after the race. “I felt we were getting a little better in the middle of the race and for whatever reason that last run was a lot tighter. It might have just been a bad set of tires but we couldn’t do anything with it. “
Despite Buescher’s bad month, the Texan still holds a 25-point advantage over defending champion Chase Elliott in the championship points standings. Elliott’s 14 top 10s showcase the Georgian’s advantage in consistency over Buescher’s 10, but Buescher’s two wins continue to keep him afloat.
Buescher still holds the championship edge, he just needs to regain speed and consistency before he throws it away.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.