DOVER, Del. (AP) — Chris Buescher stretched his fuel, connected with a teammate and held on to win the Xfinity Series race at Dover International Speedway on Saturday.
Buescher, the series points leaders, has emerged as the driver to beat in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He edged Chase Elliott for a win two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway and followed with his third career Xfinity win.
Buescher conserved enough fuel to drive a whopping 98 miles on his final run in the No. 60 Ford, a stellar effort for the Roush Fenway Racing driver.
“I was clutching it a lot those last 15 laps trying to save all we had there,” he said.
Owner Jack Roush was one of the first to congratulate Buescher.
He might have to play peacemaker this week.
Buescher knocked fellow Roush driver Darrell Wallace Jr., also slowing to conserve fuel, out of the way late in the race to take the lead. Wallace, who started on the pole, lost his left rear tire and was forced to pit. He led 52 laps and finished 17th.
“It’s my teammate, so I can’t really say much,” Wallace said. “I’m just saving fuel there and he runs over me.”
Matt Kenseth was second, followed by Regan Smith, Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne.
Smith won a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher among the four designated in the series’ Dash 4 Cash race. He’s now eligible for the $1 million prize should he again have the best finish among four drivers in the next three Dash races and wins the Darlington race.