James Buescher 7th at Charlotte in Nationwide event

[NickHolt]

James Buescher - No. 30 ABF Chevrolet - Charlotte Motor Speedway – History 300 - May 26, 2012

 

James Buescher and the No. 30 ABF Chevrolet team netted their second consecutive top-10 finish on Saturday afternoon at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway, crossing under the checkered flag in the seventh position.

 

The team spent the two practice sessions on Thursday trying to find the balance on the No. 30 ABF Chevrolet Impala. Buescher radioed to his team explaining his machine was too tight on initial entry into the high-banked corners of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The crew immediately went to work making significant adjustments to both the front and the rear of the car, hoping to find a combination which was both comfortable and fast. By the end of final practice, Buescher felt confident in his racecar for Saturday’s 200-lap event.

 

Buescher started the History300 on the outside of the fourth row, but immediately started to navigate his way to the front. During the first segment of the event, Buescher radioed into crew chief Trent Owens to explain that his car was tight on initial entry into the corners. He was content with how his machine was handling through the center and exit of the corners of the Concord, N.C .track, but needed to be a bit freer off the wall.

 

When the caution flag was displayed to the field on lap 53, Buescher prepared to bring his ABF Chevrolet down the pit lane. He rolled into his pit stall on lap 54 for service. The team went to work changing all four tires and filled the car with Sunoco racing fuel. They also made a slight chassis and air-pressure adjustments, hoping to free the car up for the next green-flag segment.

 

The race was again put under green at lap 58 and Buescher had the No. 30 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet in the seventh spot. He instantly radioed into his team, explaining the changes seemed to help the car on initial entry into the corner but his ABF Chevrolet was too loose-handling in the center of the corners. Owens started to formulate a plan of what changes he was going to make during the next round of pit stops.

 

At the halfway point in the race, Buescher had his ABF Chevy in the 10th position, still running lap times consistent with the top-five competitors.

 

On lap 112, Buescher brought his ABF Chevrolet to pit road under the green flag for routine service. The pit crew once again changed four tires and filled the car with fuel. The team also made another chassis adjustment, hoping to find the balance Buescher was looking for.

 

The caution flag was displayed to the field for a fifth time on lap 124 and the ABF Chevrolet crew started to prepare to see their driver on pit road. Buescher again rolled down the pit lane on lap 126 for service. The crew immediately went to work changing all four Goodyear Eagles and filling the car with racing fuel.

 

Buescher restarted the event in the ninth spot on lap 130. He radioed back into his team eight laps later, explaining the adjustments really seemed to help the car rotate through the corners. The 22-year-old Texas native started to stalk his competition. In the last 50 laps, the ABF Chevrolet Impala passed a number of his competitors to cross over the finish line in seventh place.

 

“The ABF Chevrolet was really strong all day,” commented Buescher after the race. “We struggled with a tight car early in the event but [crew chief] Trent [Owens] made great adjustments. Our car was really good on long runs and as the sun started to go behind the grandstands the track gained a lot of grip. We are consistently finishing inside the top-10. We definitely are moving in the right direction. I am looking forward to next week in Dover.

 

The NASCAR Nationwide Series is back in action next Saturday at Dover International Speedway. The 5 Hour Energy 200 be seen live on ESPN with race coverage beginning at 1:30 pm EST. The event can also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 90.