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True Chris Buescher is still 6 points out of the required Top-30 in points to make the chase, but with 5 races it's highly possible and could upset drivers like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott (Who isn't having a very good summer), or really anyone looking to point their way into the chase. Now with 12 drivers in the chase with a win, it leaves just four spots for either drivers who win in the next 5 races or those who are going to gamble on points.
With Chris Buescher winning it shows something that many fans have been asking for for years and that is a level playing field. Drivers like Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears, David Ragan, Regan Smith, along with a few other drivers are looking to do as well as possible in the equipment given and when these drivers make the chase or win a race, no matter how it's won, it looks great on these drivers to certain people and maybe certain sponsors.
These drivers are the underfunded guys who celebrate a Top-15 finish whenever they get one. We commonly talk about these guys on here and there's a reason. These guys always get looked over and sometimes laughed at but what people don't recognize is that these teams are that makes the feel good stories. With the new Chase format it allows these drivers to number one
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get more TV time, sometimes these drivers just get TV times because they never do otherwise. It allows these drivers to interact with fans more and become more of a heard of driver than a guy who is known for just riding in the back and trust me there isn't anything wrong with running in the back. Also by virtue of winning a race these drivers make the chase and the purse of winning a race can send some of these drivers into higher caliber rides than before for a few races because the team has more money for Research and Development. Making the chase also gives these drivers a chance to get noticed more on TV especially when they can make it past the first round which is something that hasn't happened yet but I could predict could happen this year.
In these next 5 races we could see at least 2 more Underfunded teams in victory lane. AJ Allmendinger is always a commonly looked at driver whenever we head to a road course and I think this is his year. After Watkins Glen we head to Bristol and that track already had a feel good story before this season back in April with Matt
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DiBenedetto. True Matt hasn't had the best of luck recently but when you head back to a track where you finished your career best, your morale has to be high. After Bristol we have Michigan, Darlington, and Richmond which are tracks that either can make or break a chase run and for these drivers. Once in the chase, if they can string three consistent finishes at Chicago, New Hampshire, and Dover they will make Round 2 which contains an important necessity for these teams named Talladega. Talladega could be the place that sends a Underfunded Driver into Round Three and if things could go right in Round Four a Underfunded team could be represented in the Final Four which would be a phenomenal representation of the Underfunded Teams.
As time continues toward the Chase we have one driver who is so close to representing the Underfunded teams in the Chase and that would have a combination of different drivers. From Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski who both have 4 wins to Chris Buescher and Tony Stewart who have 1 win. It will certainly be a great showing even if Chris doesn't make Round two but I think he can. (Koelle,2016)
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