Restart pile-up cuts James Buescher's day short at Gateway

[NickHolt]

Restart pile-up cuts James Buescher's day short at Gateway

 

James Buescher came into Gateway International Raceway with high hopes of capturing a solid top-10 finish, as he earned his career best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish of seventh at the 1.25-mile oval in 2008. At the start of the 18th race of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Buescher and his team fine-tuned the handling of the MaxxForce International Ford F-150, allowing the 19-year-old to move closer to his goal. Unfortunately, on the lap 80 restart, fellow competitors in front of Buescher slowed, causing a chain-reaction and major damage to the front and rear of the No. 10 Circle Bar Racing entry. After repairing the damage, Buescher returned to the track for a few laps, picking up one position before ending his day for good in the 23rd position.

 

Starting the 160-lap event from 16th-place, Buescher quickly moved up two positions, as a caution came out on lap 13. When the field returned to green-flag conditions, the Texas native was running in 13th-place. Buescher reported to crew chief Jamie Jones that the MaxxForce Ford was “tight off”, when the third caution of the Copart 200 slowed the field on lap 38. When pit road opened, Jones called Buescher to the attention of his pit crew for four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment, along with a fuel and track bar adjustment stop the following lap. On lap 46, Buescher restarted from the 18th position, and the teenager didn’t waste any time before moving back towards the top-10. Within three laps, the No. 10 Ford F-150 was running in 14th-place.

 

As the longest green-flag period of the race ensued, Buescher moved into 13th-place as another caution slowed the field on lap 76. Jones once again called Buescher to pit road for four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment, followed by a fuel and track bar adjustment stop the next lap. After a solid pit stop sequence, Buescher restarted from the 12th position on lap 80. As the field was shifting through the gears on the restart, fellow competitors in front of Buescher slowed the pace, which started a chain-reaction in front of and behind the Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender.

 

Returning to the garage, the Jones-led team repaired the extensive damage on the front and rear before sending Buescher back out on the track on lap 131. After the rookie picked up one position, Buescher returned his Ford F-150 to the garage, as there were no more positions to be gained. This ended Buescher’s day early and relegated the team to a disappointing 23rd-place finish.

 

“It was definitely disappointing for that to happen on the restart,” said Buescher. “We kept making adjustments to our MaxxForce International Ford and it was getting really good. We were sitting right outside the top-10 and I know that we would have been able to finish in the top-10 and maybe even contend for a spot in the top-five. It is just a shame; I saw it coming because they had been trying to do for awhile there but there was nothing I could do since I got hit from behind. The guys on this team worked hard to get the truck back out there and we were able to gain one position. We will have to put this one behind us and head to New Hampshire next week.”

 

Despite his third Did Not Finish (DNF) of the season, Buescher moved up one position to 14th-place in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship point standings. He is currently 160 points behind 13th-place Terry Cook and 188 points behind 12th-place Stacy Compton.

 

The next stop for James Buescher and his No. 10 MaxxForce International Ford F-150 team will be New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 19th. The green flag will drop on the Heluva Good! 200 shortly after 3:00 P.M. Eastern. SPEED will have live television coverage of the 200-lap event, beginning at 2:30 P.M. Eastern. Select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio Channel 128 will have the live radio broadcast.