Misfortune strikes James Buescher at Phoenix

[NickHolt]

JAMES BUESCHER/NO. 1 PHOENIX RACING CHEVROLET POST-RACE REPORT

 

VENUE: PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (1-MILE TRI-OVAL)

CIRCUIT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

RACE: BASHAS' SUPERMARKETS 300 (RACE 6 OF 35)

DATE: APRIL 9, 2010 (200 LAPS, 200 MILES)

 

START: 27th

FINISH: 28th

 

RACE RECAP:

- James Buescher and his Phoenix Racing team had their first one-day show of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, beginning with practice early in the morning, followed by qualifying taking place in late afternoon. Buescher, fighting a loose condition in his time trials, qualified his No. 1 Chevrolet in the 27th position.

 

- Returning to the site of his first NNS start two years ago, Buescher quickly moved up into the top-20 by the time the first caution waved on lap 17. As only a handful of drivers elected to come to pit road, Buescher restarted on lap 21 from the 17th position.

 

- As the second caution of the evening came out on lap 32, Buescher came to the attention of his pit crew for four fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments to help the handling of the No. 1 Chevrolet. The field returned to green-flag conditions on lap 36, with Buescher in 23rd-place. The 20-year-old continued to work his way back inside the top-20.

 

- By lap 50, Buescher was in the 19th position, which is where the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Contender remained for the next 20 laps, as the field spread out on the one-mile oval. Another caution came out on lap 74, as all teams returned to pit road for fresh tires and fuel.

 

- As the field restarted on lap 78, Buescher fought to break into the top-15. Running in the 16th position for numerous laps, the Texas native continued to look ahead as a caution slowed the field on lap 113. Buescher returned to pit road for fresh tires and fuel, as well as adjustments. The Phoenix Racing crew and Buescher kept working together to make the car even better to make a charge to the front.

 

- Looking to come home with a solid finish, Buescher unfortunately found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on the lap 137 restart. As the leader slowed, a chain-reaction resulted in a 10 car pile-up. Buescher received front end damage, but was able to drive his Chevrolet to pit road. A nine-minute red flag halted the work to Buescher's car, but gave the crew time to make a game plan to fix the damage. The Phoenix Racing crew did a great job of fixing the damage and had Buescher returned to the track quickly.

 

- Around lap 160, Buescher lost a lap to the leaders, as his car felt the effects of the damage. In the final 40 laps, Buescher remained on the racetrack to complete as many laps as possible, but lost two more laps.

 

- As the checkered flag waved at lap 200, Buescher was left with a disappointing 28th-place finish.

 

Kyle Busch won the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Brendan Gaughan, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five finishing positions.

 

FAST FACTS:

 

- Buescher remained in the 21st-place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings. The rookie is only one point behind 20th-place Kelly Bires.

 

- The NASCAR Nationwide Series will head to Buescher's home state for racing action this Saturday, April 17th at Texas Motor Speedway for the seventh event of the 2010 season. Live coverage of the O'Reilly 300 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 3 PM ET. Buescher made his first start with Phoenix Racing at TMS last November.

 

JAMES BUESCHER QUOTE:

 

"Unfortunately we had no luck again this weekend. There was nothing anyone could do on that restart; everyone just checked up and ran into each other. It was really disappointing because I definitely think we could have finished inside the top-15 and maybe even fought for a spot in the top-10. All of the guys on this Phoenix Racing crew did a great job again of giving me a good Chevrolet. We will try to put this stretch of races behind us and move on to Texas. I always enjoy racing at Texas, in my home state and we raced good there last November."