James Buescher rolled into Michigan International Speedway, ready to continue his streak of impressive results as the 20-year-old had claimed three consecutive top-six finishes in the three previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events (Dover, Charlotte, Texas).
During Saturday morning’s qualifying session in the Irish Hills of Michigan, Buescher captured the third starting position with a lap of 40.966 seconds. This marked Buescher’s third straight top-three starting position, dating back to his second-place effort at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Starting the 100-lap race from the inside of row two, Buescher quickly reported that his No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet faced a loose handling condition as the young gun slipped back to the sixth position when the first caution of the afternoon waved on lap five. Under caution, Buescher made adjustments with the internal fans to help tighten the Chevrolet, but remained on the 2-mile D-shaped oval to restart on lap eight.
The afternoon’s second caution slowed the field on lap 12, with Buescher scored in the eighth position. Crew chief Michael Shelton called Buescher to pit road for fuel and a track bar adjustment before returning to the track for the lap 19 restart. Buescher quickly moved his way into the fifth position before reporting to his Wolf Pack Rentals crew that his Chevrolet was “loose in and tight late off but definitely better.”
Over the next 10 laps, Buescher dropped back to seventh-place before the third caution was displayed for rain on lap 35. Still 15 laps short of halfway, Buescher came to the attention of his Wolf Pack Rentals crew for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help the handling. The field was stopped on pit road under red flag conditions on lap 39 as a quick but heavy rain shower passed through Brooklyn, Michigan.
After a 40-minute red-flag period, Buescher and the rest of the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 42, with the No. 31 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet scored in 10th-place. A 40-lap caution free period ensued, forcing Buescher to deal with traffic on the track. The Wolf Pack Rentals truck was very aero-sensitive, hindering Buescher from making progress towards the front of the field.
By lap 70, Buescher was scored in the 15th position as the field began green-flag pit stops. Five short laps later, the young gun came to pit road for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments to help the Chevrolet get through traffic better. The fourth caution was displayed on lap 85 with Buescher in 15th-place. Buescher remained on the track and restarted on lap 89.
Another quick caution slowed the pace one lap later, as Buescher was running in 12th-place. Over the final eight laps, Buescher was shuffled back to 16th-place, bringing a disappointing end to his top-six finishing streak.
Aric Almirola won the VFW 200. Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch, Ron Hornaday Jr., and Austin Dillon completed the top-five finishing positions.
FAST FACTS:
The caution-flag was displayed five times, accounting for a total of 24 laps.
This was Buescher’s third consecutive top-three qualifying effort – the first time he has accomplished this feat in his NASCAR career.
Buescher and the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet will take a three-week break before returning to racing action at Iowa Speedway, Sunday, July 11th. Live coverage can be seen on SPEED beginning with the Set-Up show at 1 PM Eastern, as well as the live radio broadcast heard on MRN Radio and Sirius-XM Satellite Radio.
JAMES BUESCHER QUOTE:
HOW WAS YOUR RACE?
“It was disappointing to finish and run how we did. My Wolf Pack Rentals team started the weekend great during practice and qualifying. It felt good to continue qualifying up front – our third straight week of starting in the top-three – but once the green-flag flew we just struggled to get the truck to work in traffic. We will have to go back to the shop and regroup over these next off-weeks to get ready for our long stretch. My Turner Motorsports team is good and I’m confident that we can get back to finishing in the top-six like we have in the past.”
-TMS-
BUESCHER: MICHIGAN RECAP
