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Chris Buescher and his #17 RFK Racing pit crew were subjected to a fiery test in the Southern 500 playoff opener at Darlington Raceway last Sunday (September 3).
In his first playoff appearance for the RFK team, Buescher lined up eighth on the grid and secured a top-10 finish in the first stage which was run entirely under the green flag. However, there was plenty of action from then onwards with the #17 crew also chipping in with its fiery pitstop.
The incident occurred late in the second stage when Chris Buescher pitted for a four-tire change and fuel. The fuel leaking from the rig caught fire with the left rear side of the car engulfed in the flames. The crew member holding the dumpcan swiftly moved away while the left rear tire changer didn't flinch until completing his task.
Here's the clip of the incident that occurred in the pitlane at Darlington Raceway:
While the incident looks horrifying at the outset, none of the #17 pit crew members were injured as they were protected by their firesuits. The pit crew displayed tremendous courage and grit as they continued to service Chris Buescher's car under dangerous circumstances.
After the hairy incident, Buescher didn't let the team down either as he took home a third-place finish as he charged through the field in the final stage. Teammate Brad Keselowski finished sixth to wrap up a successful outing for RFK Racing.
Chris Buescher reflects on his best finish at Darlington Raceway
The #17 RFK Racing driver entered the playoffs in hot form after winning at Daytona. He has continued to the momentum into the post-season as he secured his best finish at Darlington Raceway.
Despite securing his best result on the track dubbed as 'Too Tough to Tame', Buescher regretted the chance of losing out on a victory.
"We were trying. It was just we were all running the same groove trying to make speed and obviously playing other games there, too, and Byron was faster at the end and had to defend that a little bit."
However, he admitted that he lacked pace to race-winner Kyle Larson and runner-up Tyler Reddick. He also added about the restarts in the final stage as he said:
"I don't know, we tried to start on the front row, what, three times next to Larson, so we had our chance and got close when Brad pushed us one of those restarts, and just the outside had the momentum for sure, and they were really good. But also hurts just a little bit to be that close."
Chris Buescher is currently fourth in the standings and 27 points above the cutoff line as heads to Kansas Speedway for the second race in the Round of 16.
