Four drivers in the NASCAR XFINITY Series enter the weekend with a realistic shot of winning the 2015 championship. Those drivers include Chris Buescher, defending champion Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon and even Regan Smith. Three of these drivers go into the Homestead-Miami Speedway weekend looking to score their very first NASCAR championship.
Buescher enters the weekend leading the series standings by 18 points over Elliott. The driver from Texas can clinch the title with a finish of 13th or better. He can also walk away with the championship by leading a lap and finishing in 14th or 15th with the most laps led.
“If I told you there was no pressure, I would be lying to you. We’re handling it as best as we know how. I think I’m a pretty laid back person and pretty calm. I can handle that part of it. Scott is the same way, he’s very calm,” said Buescher on Friday at Homestead. “We’ve been able to get places because of that during weekends. When something doesn’t go exactly right there’s no blow-up, there’s nothing that’s gonna turn a bad weekend into a catastrophic one, so that’s been a huge part of our success this year. So I feel like we can handle the pressure at this point. We want to be here. It’s not by accident. It’s not something we’ve just backed in to. We’ve earned the right to be here, and going to your next question, in a way, we’ve earned the right to be a little bit more defensive this weekend.”
Buescher already has some experience of winning a championship in the ARCA Racing Series. The young driver won four races with the Roulo Brothers in 2012 and earned 12 top five and 16 top 10 finishes. He also ended the season by finishing every race on the lead lap
But the two doesn’t even compare to Buescher.
“The ARCA championship in 2012 is obviously not of the same caliber,” said Buescher in a press conference two weekends ago at Texas. “There was more cushion there at the time and here we are in these last three and it has been extremely competitive and we have bounced around that 30-20-point range the last 10 or 15 weeks it seems like.”
As for Elliott, problems this season hasn’t given them some of the finishes they had hoped for. The Georgia native enters the weekend with one victory, 11 top five and 26 top 10 finishes. Elliott finished last season with three victories, 16 top five and 26 top 10 finishes and would later score the championship by 42 points over Regan Smith.
“It’s been a great ride and one I’ll never forget,” said Elliott in a release. “Last season was special one, but this year you really want it after being on top and seeing what’s it like. We have had our spells this season, but the adversity is something I’ll look back on and learn from on down the road.”
The team hasn’t showed signs of giving up as they have inched closer and closer at the point lead.
“Ernie (Cope, crew chief) and the guys haven’t given up and it shows in the last few weeks where we’ve made gains on Chris (Buescher, points leader) This team is relentless,” continued Elliott. “Like I said last week, 18 points isn’t all that much. That’s one mistake away in my mind, and we’ll be ready. Our plan of attack for Homestead is to leave nothing behind. We’re going in hungry and I can’t wait to get started.”
Ty Dillon goes into the Ford EcoBoost 300 looking 22 points behind the current point leader and only four points behind Elliott for second-place. Dillon has captured 12 top five and 24 top 10 finishes over the course of 32 races in the series this season.
Dillon’s goal is to focus on everything they can control this weekend.
“What an incredible season up to this point,” said Dillon in a release. “We’ve battled all season long and really have been a very consistent team. We’ve almost doubled our top-five finishes from a season ago and matched our top-10 finishes. This team never gave up, even after some misfortunes in Dover back in October. We’re going to give it our all this weekend. We’ll focus on what we can control and hope for the best with the three other competitors. It will be a great battle Saturday afternoon and I hope the fans will enjoy watching.”
The No. 3 Chevrolet team will not strategize any different than before. Their goal is simply to just win the race.
“No. We focus on winning the race and controlling what we can control. I’ve got a great team around me that will give me the best possible race car to drive and give me an opportunity to race up front. When it’s all said and done and we happen to not win the championship, it won’t be based on lack of effort.”
Smith goes into the weekend sitting 24 points behind the series point’s leader. The native of New York has taken his No. 7 Chevrolet to two victories, 11 top five and 25 top 10 finishes throughout the year. Smith has some momentum on his side after scoring the victory at Homestead in 2012.
Earning maximum points this weekend is one goal for the 31-year old driver.
“We gained points at Phoenix, but not enough. This weekend, we’re going to have to get max points and let the rest of the chips land where they land. For where we were after Daytona, and through the ups and downs of the past 32 races, to have a chance at the championship is all that matters. It will take some doing, but stranger things have happened at times like these. We have had a lot of success in the 99 starts I’ve had at JRM, and we’re looking forward to making No. 100 match up with No. 1, which was a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway.”
Smith has one victory, one top five and two top 10 finishes through five starts at Homestead. He has an average start of 22.2 and an average finish of 19.0.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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