On a final round of pit stops on Lap 438 of 500, Buescher was the first off pit road thanks to a two-tire pit call but he also got a little help.
Two of the top contenders for the win – Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin – both had problems during their respective stops that shuffled them back in the field.
On the restart with 57 laps to go, Buescher got a big jump on Elliott and quickly cleared him for the lead. He then deftly navigated lapped traffic before clearing Elliott by 0.458 seconds for the win.
The victory ends a 222-race winless streak for Buescher, whose last victory – and first of his career – came in a rain-shortened race at Pocono Raceway in 2016.
Buescher, 29, becomes the 19th different race winner of the 2022 season, tying a NASCAR record. He also is the third straight non-playoff driver to win in the first three races of the 10-race playoffs, also a first.
“It’s so special here. I love this race track,” Buescher said. “I love the fans. I love every time we come here. It’s so special. It’s pretty awesome.”
Asked if he was worried about the two-tire call on his final stop, Buescher said, “I wasn’t a bit. It was up to me at that point. I made it work and we had a really fast (car). We knew we had a really fast race car in practice and didn’t quite get the job done in qualifying – but what a race car.
“We got (Roush Fenway Keselowski) Racing for the first time. I don’t know what all to say right now. I’m out of breath. This place will wear you flat-out and I love that about it.
“It’s just a special night.”
Four drivers – Kyle Busch, Harvick and both Richard Childress Racing drivers, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick – were eliminated from further contention for the series championship.
Advancing to the Round of 12 which begins next weekend at Texas are Christopher Bell, William Byron, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric.
Byron ended up finishing third in the race, Bell was fourth and Larson rounded out the top-five.
Completing the top-10 were Chastain, A.J. Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Hamlin and Harvick.
Stage 3
Following the break between Stages 2 and 3, several lead-lap cars pit but Bell remained on the track and in the lead when the race returned to green on Lap 260. He was followed by Elliott, Byron, Larson and Harvick.
On Lap 270, smoke began pouring out of the No….
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