BUESCHER AT GATEWAY… Buescher has made two career starts at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway – one in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In 2008, Buescher climbed behind the wheel for Braun Racing in the NNS, making his first trip to the 1.25-mile oval. After scraping the wall in qualifying and starting the race from the 41st position, the young gun came back to capture a seventh-place finish on the lead lap. Last season in the NCWTS, Buescher was working his way through the field with a pile-up on a restart caused major front-end damage, cutting the afternoon short and relegating the driver to a 23rd-place finish.
CHASSIS INFORMATION… Crew chief Michael Shelton has chosen Turner Motorsports chassis No. 005 for Buescher to run at Gateway this Friday. Previously chassis No. 005 has been raced twice, both times by teammate Ricky Carmichael and the No. 4 Monster Energy team. Carmichael raced this Chevrolet at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway earlier this season, claiming 15th-place and fourth-place finishes respectively. In addition, this Chevrolet raced twice in 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway with drivers Scott Wimmer and Carmichael respectively.
LOOKING BACK… Last Sunday, the Truck Series kicked off its nine-week stretch, beginning at Iowa Speedway and ending at Kentucky Speedway in September. After qualifying in the 14th position, Buescher worked his way into the top-10 before his primary battery lost voltage and was required to come to pit road to change the battery. A timely caution allowed the Wolf Pack Rentals team to change the battery without losing a lap. Over the final 60 laps, Buescher charged back towards the front of the field and finish in the fifth position. This was Buescher’s third top-five and fourth top-10 in six starts with his Turner Motorsports team.
MOST POPULAR DRIVER… NASCAR has created an online ballot for the fans to vote for their favorite driver for the Most Popular Driver Award. Fans are allowed to vote once a day, until the polls close on November 12, 2010. The results of the balloting will be announced at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series banquet at the end of the season. Go to www.nascar.com to cast your vote!
MEET THE DRIVER… Fans will have the opportunity to meet Buescher this weekend, as he is scheduled to take part in GIR Autograph Session on Friday afternoon from 3:15 to 4:30 P.M. Central. Buescher, along with fellow NCWTS and NNS drivers, will be signing autographs on pit road at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway.
TWEET OF THE WEEK… Earlier this week, Buescher tweeted about the launch of Turner Motorsports’ new Fan Vault team store. The 20-year-old and Carmichael’s merchandise is available at www.teamturnermotorsports.com. Buescher has a new designed kid’s tee available for pre-orders at this time. To stay up-to-date with the Texas native, follow driver Buescher (@JamesBuescher) and team Turner Motorsports (@TurnerMotorspts) on Twitter.
STAY UP TO SPEED… The CampingWorld.com 200 from Gateway (Ill.) International Speedway will take the green flag this Friday, July 16th at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. Race coverage will be televised live on SPEED, beginning at 8:30 P.M. Eastern. In addition, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast, beginning at 8:30 P.M. Eastern.
QUOTES FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL:
BUESCHER (On competing at Gateway International Raceway): “Gateway is a different track compared to most of the racetracks that we go to in the Truck Series. Both corners are on opposite ends of the spectrum, with turn one and two being completely different than turns three and four. That makes the racing exciting for the drivers and also the fans. I’ve raced at Gateway twice – once in the Nationwide car and once in the Truck last year, so I do have some seat time there. I finished seventh in the Nationwide race after hitting the wall in qualifying and starting in the back. So I know how to get to the front of the field when you do get in the back. Hopefully we will be up front all day though and won’t have to worry about that. The guys are working hard as always and we are carrying some momentum off our top-five finish in Iowa.”
-TMS-
