Keselowski knew Buescher was “somebody we could build around”

But this one was different. The playoffs opened with Erik Jones earning his third career win at Darlington in what was for sure a surprise, and it was quite the moment to see the iconic No. 43 back in Victory Lane for the first time since 2014.

At Kansas the next week, Bubba Wallace scored his second career win and the third for 23XI Racing since it joined the Cup Series last year, which was another impressive feat.

However, this past weekend’s surprise winner at Bristol feels different. Chris Buescher hadn’t won a race in over six years, which was a story all on its own, but what is it that makes this playoff spoiler different than the previous two? To me, it’s who he was driving for.

A look back on Roush’s former glory

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, as it is now known, has been around for a long time. The name has changed slightly over the years, but Jack Roush has been there from the start. Once upon a time, they ruled the track at the Cup level. While winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, they also collected 14 victories in 72 races. In 2005, they won 15 of the 36 races on the schedule, taking second, third, and even fourth in the championship while just missing out on a third straight title.

They were a powerhouse, at one point fielding five full-time entries.

Going into 2015, they had enjoyed 14 consecutive multi-win seasons. They were often talked about in the same way as Hendrick Motorsports is spoken of today  — a true titan of the industry.

But after dozens of victories through the years, they went winless in 2015 and 2016. They managed to win two superspeedway races in 2017, courtesy of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., but it then took over five years for them to win again.

A new venture

That brings us to 2022. Former Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski leaves a comfortable position at Team Penske to take up a driver/ownership role at the once prominent team. Now just fielding two entries, and considered a welcomed surprise every time they managed to run up front, Keselowski hoped to return Roush to their former glory.

One of the things he inquired about when joining up was in regards Chris Buescher himself, and how long RFK had him locked in for. Keselowski had his eye on the young driver dating back to at least 2015, and even wanted to see him in the Wood Brothers No. 21 machine in the not-so-distant past.