First pole has Buescher on a roll

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher capturing the pole at Dover Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Cup Series race was both a milestone and a confidence booster for driver and team.

The pole is the first for Buescher in the series in 233 starts. It’s also the first for RFK Racing on a non-superspeedway since 2013, when its former driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started up front at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I guess it’s not something that I’ve ever had a whole lot of emphasis on,” Buescher said of qualifying. “At the end of the day, it’s all about that checkered flag at the end of the race. It’s really cool, though. I’ve been really close here at Dover on the Xfinity side, and this is a place I’ve loved coming to forever.

“I love watching it on TV. It’s cool to get it here. I still have one of the smaller Miles the Monster trophies from the Xfinity side in the office at home. It’s a special place for me, and it’s cool to get our first pole here. It’s been a long time coming. Heck of a start for us. I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow with our Fastenal Mustang.”

Buescher’s previous best qualifying effort in the Cup Series was fourth place at Daytona and Martinsville earlier this season.

In his seventh full season in the series, it’s a different-looking one for Buescher and company as Jack Roush welcomed Brad Keselowski into the ownership fold. The organization has undergone numerous changes, from those having no effect on performance like repainting the shop to those that do, such as personnel moves.

Buescher and Keselowski came out swinging with a sweep of the Duel races in Daytona, and both had speed in the Daytona 500. But superspeedway success has yet to carry over as Buescher is 20th in the standings, and Keselowski is still digging out of a hole from an L2 penalty last month.

Buescher has two top-10 finishes this season.

“We’re slowly and steadily building up momentum through the season, which is nice after a really tough Talladega finish for both teams, us especially,” Buescher said. “We have a lot of laps left to go but a heck of a start and no better place to see the green flag fall.”