LONG POND, Pa. -- Chris Buescher sat in his Ford, hoping that the fog would stick over Pocono and the cloud over the rookies middling season would start to lift.Buescher idled in his car, then stood with his arms folded on pit road.I tried not to get my hopes up, he said.Buescher emerged from the fog to become a surprising winner in Mondays shortened Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. He is now on the verge of being in the mix for NASCARs championship after not finishing better than 14th all season before Monday.Imagine a title push that kicks off with Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and little-known Buescher in the field.The plan was to always make the Chase, Buescher said. Were that much closer now.Hes not there yet. Buescher is six points behind David Ragan for 30th to reach the cutoff needed to become eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.Buescher, who drives for underfunded Front Row Motorsports, was the beneficiary on a rare Monday race postponed a day by rain. With nasty weather punishing the track, NASCAR called the red flag with 22 laps left and parked the cars on pit road. Buescher was as much a spectator in the No. 34 Ford as the few fans left in the stands, though NASCAR let drivers get out of their cars after about 10 minutes as they waited out gloomy conditions.Im a little scared to get out, Buescher said.No need. He was declared the winner after about an 80-minute delay. He was doused with beer and water in a makeshift victory lane celebration inside a garage stall, his Ford covered on rainy pit road instead of bathed in confetti.Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Jeff Gordon finished 27th driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.In order to qualify for the Chase, drivers must rank 30th or better in points. Buescher will need to find a way to climb higher over Ragan in the final five races before the Chase field is set.Buescher won twice last season in the Xfinity Series and won the series championship. He will spend 2016 as basically the fourth Jack Roush driver because of a shared technical alliance between the organizations.He finished 30th or worse 10 times this season. Ragan had Front Rows only victory 118 races ago in fall 2013 at Talladega.Veteran crew chief Bob Osborne gambled with the decision to keep Buescher on the track while others made pit stops with 28 laps left. Once the cars were halted, Buescher and his crew rooted for the rain and fog to stick around. At one point, the 23-year-old Buescher, a former ARCA champion, rested against a fence and was swarmed by fans and photographers wanting a picture before the race was even called.Im trying to remember every rain dance Ive ever learned, he said in the car.Buescher is now on the brink of becoming the first Chase bracket buster. Led by four-time winners Busch and Keselowski, there are 11 slots seemingly set for race winners, and Buescher would make 12. Jamie McMurray, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, and Kyle Larson are among the four winless drivers battling for the final four spots.This is going to change our whole year right here, Buescher said.Drivers with a Chase spot secured enjoyed Bueschers feel-good victory that broke up the recent Toyota hot streak.I told him, `If I couldnt win, it was cool to see him win, Keselowski said.NASCAR defended dragging out the decision to call the race, even as severe storms hit a track where a fan was killed by a lightning strike in 2012.We never lost the track, said Steve ODonnell, NASCARs chief racing development officer. I think most NASCAR fans want to see a complete race.Here are other items of note from Mondays race:SO CLOSEWith rain looming toward the halfway point, Larson and Dillon engaged in a thrilling five-lap battle for first. Larson kept his tight lead with a timely block of Dillon just two laps shy of the halfway point. Dillon dipped low and briefly snagged the lead, only for Larson to snatch it right back at the halfway point that made the race official.But Larson and Dillon took their door-to-door battle on the high line, allowing Joey Logano to swoop low and seize the lead in one of the most exciting mid-race moves of the season. Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 champion, pulled away in the fog -- but Elliott got loose and turned Logano into the wall with 55 laps left in the race and sent his 22 to the garage.FLAT TRUEXMartin Truex Jr. run up front from the pole was a short one, the former Pocono winners race derailed by a flat right front tire. Truex led 16 laps early until the tire blew and forced him to pit road for repairs. He had multiple issues once he returned to the track and finished 38th.Truex has one win this season and won the June 2015 Pocono race. Truex said his No. 78 Toyota was strong enough to contend for a victory.A lug nut spun off, hit the ground, bounced behind the wheel somehow and knocked the inner valve stem off, he said.GORDONS RUNJeff Gordons track record for wins remains at six. Gordon, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the second straight week, battled a seat belt issue and finished 27th. Earnhardt missed his third straight race because he suffers from symptoms of a concussion. Hendrick Motorsports has not said who will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet on Sunday at Watkins Glen.UP NEXT:Logano is the defending race winner at Watkins Glen.---This story has been corrected to show that winning is not a requirement to qualifying for the Chase. Sean Bunting Youth Jersey . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. O. J. Howard Youth Jersey . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Vita-vea-buccaneers-jersey/ . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. John Lynch Womens Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. Mike Evans Youth Jersey . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. RIO DE JANEIRO -- They are the purple circles that set social media on fire Sunday night, the circular bruises on Michael Phelps right shoulder that left television viewers around the world wondering if the most decorated Olympian of all-time had contracted some rare skin disease, been attacked by an octopus, or perhaps was part-Dalmatian.The answer, of course, was none of the above. The bruises were the result of a form of cupping therapy Phelps had endured Sunday morning to treat some shoulder discomfort that set in after waiting in line for 40 minutes at the Olympic Village wearing a backpack. A day later, the mysterious circles became an international inquisition. Following Phelps prelim swim in the 200 butterfly on Monday, the first question a reporter asked a perplexed Phelps was about cupping.Ive done this for a while, he said. I asked for a little cupping yesterday and [trainer Keenan Robinson] hit me pretty hard with one and it left a couple bruises.Robinson, USA Swimmings director of high performance, was equally entertained Monday, suggesting that all the attention over the $30 cups was missing the bigger picture of all that goes into preparing Phelps and other athletes to compete at their highest levels.Its like asking a chef about his garnish when youre missing the main meal, Robinson said. Youve got this beautiful steak and vegetable medley -- thats what youre paying $75 for. Not the garnish. But this recovery modality shows the blemishes when he walks around, so people ask.The practice of Chinese cupping has been around for more than 2,000 years. But Robinson and USA Swimming chiropractor Kevin Rindal said that the form of therapy used on Phelps is somewhat different. Its essentially the opposite of a massage, using the suction from perfectly circular cups to manipulate and help separate the various layers of fascia and muscle beneath the skin. The end result is decreased discomfort and an increase in range of motion.Think of us as an Indy Car pit crew, Rindal said, looking at the structure and alignment of the vehicle to see if there is any kind of drag or anything. And if you think of how close these racers are, a little bit of restriction adds up in each stroke and can prevent a full reach. Its basically the fine-tuning of the tissue.Robinson, Phelps longtime trainer, said he has been using the therapy on Phelps since the fall of 2014. He brought the idea to the swimmer as a way to help the then-29-year-old recover from his two-a-day training sessions.Mike is probably the best at telling you whats voodoo and whats actually working, Robinson said. Hee was like, OK Keen-dog, what are you bringing me this time? But then hell do it and instantaneously hell tell you its hokey-pokey business or if its kind of effective.ddddddddddddPhelps took to the treatment and, according to Robinson, has used it about twice a week since. Sometimes it can leave dark red bruises, other times there is no mark at all. The visibility of the bruising or lack thereof has no impact on whether or not the sometimes painful therapy has been effective. Since Phelps began using the treatment several other athletes have followed suit, including Dana Vollmer, who has already won two medals in Rio 17 months after giving birth.I know it looks weird but it really helps with blood flow, helps pull swelling out of different areas, she said. It works great for a lot of us.Added U.S. teammate Cody Miller: Its superficial bruising. Its not real bruising. Your muscle tissue isnt torn up in there. Its pulling blood into a certain area where tension has built. Its great. My fiancee does it to me in training.Robinson said that the training staff is constantly evaluating all the U.S. swimmers and the tension, stress and range of motion in their joints. Everything from massages to stretching to ice baths to the Graston technique, a form of therapy that uses instruments to massage the skin, can be used to treat inflammation or increase range of motion.We dont want people banged up, he said. We dont want broken products here at the Games.Not everyone agrees the cupping treatment even works. As is often the case with any type of alternative therapy, it takes just a few minutes online to find a detractor who doesnt believe there is a correlation between the treatment and athletic success. Robinson suggests the naysayers are wrong.Im not just going to throw a stick of butter on him and say, Well, I read that Usain Bolt or whoever is doing this, Robinson said. Im going to have an educated approach to it. You can stand on either side of the spectrum that it doesnt work. But we know the science says it is not detrimental and in some cases can really help out.In other words, its the latest in a long line of high-performance therapy fads that include everything from electrotherapy and cryotherapy (ice baths) to Kinesio tape and acupuncture needles. But this one has now been endorsed by the most decorated Olympian of all-time, after one of the most impressive races of his career.Its going to blow-up now, Robinson said. Actually, it just did. ' ' '