Ranking 5 drivers most likely to win first Cup Series title in 2024
Except for Hamlin, the 31-year-old Buescher has the most Cup experience on this list as he will make his 300th start in the seventh race of the season.
He enjoyed his best season in 2023 as he led RFK Racing with three victories and a seventh-place overall finish in points.
Can he really win it? Yes. Buescher is unflappable and won the last NASCAR national series title for Roush — in 2015 in the Xfinity Series.
Plus, he has enough experience to build on 2023. He said the key is having success earlier in the season. Last year, he won his first race in late July (as part of a run where he won three of five races to end the Cup regular season).
“Understanding that last year was very difficult and we were able to show that we’re ready for it, we’re capable of doing big things — it will be difficult to repeat,” Buescher said. “But we don’t want to repeat. We want to do better. Bring on the challenge.
“And I think the big thing for us is trying to take 2023 and use that as our floor and as our baseline to figure out where to go from there and how to make it make it better.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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