As the NASCAR Cup Series went to Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, the pressure seemed to be on just a handful of drivers. Among those drivers were 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher. Both drivers qualified for the NASCAR Cup Playoffs in 2023. Buescher and Wallace are among some major names that miss out on the playoffs this season.
Wallace entered the night 21 points out of the playoff field. As for Buescher he certainly thought he had the last spot in the playoffs entering the race 21 points to the good. Everything seemed like it was going to work out for either Wallace or Buescher early in the race. Especially when Martin Truex Jr crashed out of the race on lap three.
Things quickly took a major turn for both Wallace and Buescher as it soon became a dogfight for that final playoff spot. Both Truex and Ty Gibbs earned the other two spots available coming into the night. So it appeared like the final battle was going to for sure come down to Bubba and Chris.
As it turns out pressure quickly got to both drivers as they were busy trying to outrace each other. That and something completely out of their control all but ended their chances.
Pressure and New Winner Derail Playoff Hopes for Big Names at Darlington
While Wallace and Buescher continued to fight to stay ahead of each other, other drivers further below them in the standings were taking advantage. It was that hard to tell how the 2024 season has gone, a new winner was almost a guarantee going into this final race of the regular season.
With 46 laps to go in the race, Buescher found himself in trouble as he and Todd Gilliland got together to cause a caution. Which led to Wallace seeming to get the momentum in his favor for the final playoff spot. That was a trend throughout the Southern 500 as both kept fighting to stay ahead of the other. Officially Wallace needed to finish 12 spots ahead of Buescher to get the spot. After the Buescher-Gilliland incident, Wallace got ahead of Buescher by about 10 spots, heading into a very important restart.
Momentum then once again turned to Buescher as he had fresher tires during the next restart. Things seemed to start to fall Buescher’s way when Bubba got caught up in a multi-car pile-up only a few laps later. That’s when luck completely changed for both drivers, as their long document battle during the race broadcast was completely made irrelevant, as Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe was taking advantage of everybody.
Buescher Vents Frustration at System
Briscoe outdueled Kyle Busch for the win in the Southern 500 and won his way into the NASCAR Playoffs. In doing so he claimed the final spot, and knocked Buescher out, despite Chris finishing the race in sixth. Officially he missed the playoffs by six points, which is a tough pill to swallow given how well he performed all season.
"Frustration and disbelief all together."@Chris_Buescher leaves @TooToughToTame as the first driver below the elimination line. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/zul2pz5gXq
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 2, 2024
Frustration was clear when Buescher spoke with Nick DeGroot from motorsport.com.
” It’s frustration and disbelief all together,” Buescher said. “We felt like we did, for the most part, what we needed to do today. We got back in contention there at the end and got a decent finish out of it. We just didn’t quite get it done again and we’re on the outside looking in. It’s just the system we’re all playing in. We had such a great year. Everyone at RFK has worked so hard. We’ve been so fast. We’ve outrun so many of these cars that are gonna get to run for a championship, but that’s the system and we didn’t work it right.”
It’s easy to fully believe the pressure got to Buescher during such a big moment. That can be true just as much as his point about the playoff system. Five drivers that made the playoffs this season were well below him in the point standings. However, that’s the rule in NASCAR, win and you’re in. It makes you wonder, what other controversy there would be if Austin Dillon’s Richmond win counted to the playoffs.
Wallace Upset, But Keeping Head Up
Wallace on the other hand certainly looked to have put himself in the right position to be happy at the end of the night. Heck, he started the weekend right winning the pole. Emotions were high for 23XI Racing after the race ended. They were happy for Tyler Reddick winning the regular season title, Wallace among those happy for his teammate, but he certainly wasn’t thrilled about how the night ended for himself.
It wasn’t for a lack of effort by Wallace and his team they gave it their all, the whole season. Wallace told NASCAR.com they just didn’t have the juice at the end when they needed it the most. He was hoping for car owner Denny Hamlin or even Kyle Larson to be able to hold off Briscoe’s No. 14, but it didn’t work out.
Bubba Wallace on coming up 27 points short of making the playoffs: pic.twitter.com/QKy8QPHge2
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 2, 2024
” We weren’t good enough, simple as that; last two-thirds of the race I said I hope the 11 (Hamlin) and 5 (Larson) stay up there because the 14 (Briscoe) is fast,” Wallace said. “Who won? The goalpost moved again. They were better and deserving so congrats to the 14. We come back tomorrow and gotta hit it harder than we did. That’s sports. You go up and down and round and round. Gotta put this weekend behind and put the disappointment behind of not making the playoffs and go give your all for the next 10.”
That’s spoken by someone who isn’t going to let it bug him the rest of the year. He’s been in the situation before, and went out and got his first career win at Talladega in 2021, so anything can happen in the final 10 races.
Is It Time to Rethink the Playoff System?
This year’s playoff field certainly proves, that maybe the win and your in system may need a looking at. Buescher and Wallace are huge names that missed the playoffs, but they aren’t alone. Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch are also not in the field this year. That’s four drivers alone who made the playoffs last season. Three of the four won more than once in 2023. I guess it’s just the name of the game, but it’s going to be weird not having these four drivers running for the championship when all four have done so previously. In Wallace, Buescher, and Chastain’s case, they all have over 10 top 10 finishes this season compared to what may be two of three for the likes of Harrison Burton and Austin Cindric.
It’s too early to say how the 2024 playoff will shake out, but the system certainly appears like it needs some work. The pressure to win has been pushed to the max it appears.
