BUESCHER AT ORP… Buescher has made two career starts at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis (ORP) – one in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In his first start at the .686-mile oval in 2008, the Texas native climbed behind the No. 32 Braun Racing entry in the NNS to finish in the 28th position after tire issues forced the youngster to make an unscheduled pit stop and lose valuable track position. Last season, Buescher made his first Truck Series start at ORP where he brought home a sixth-place finish after starting in the 17th position.
CHASSIS INFORMATION… Crew chief Michael Shelton has chosen Turner Motorsports chassis No. 17 for Buescher to run at ORP this Friday night. This particular Chevrolet is brand new to the Turner Motorsports stable and will see it’s first laps on track during the first Truck Series practice. Chassis No. 17 is a Leavitt chassis with Kevin Harvick Inc. body.
TOP-10 CONSISTENCY… Since making his debut with Turner Motorsports at Kansas Speedway in April, Buescher has qualified inside the top-10 five times in his seven starts with the first-year team. Buescher has tied his career-best qualifying effort in the Truck Series twice – second-place – at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and last week at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway.
POINTS JUMP… After Buescher’s first Truck Series start in 2010 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway with Stringer Motorsports, the 20-year-old sat in the 44th position in the NCWTS Championship Point Standings. Fast-forward to heading into this Friday’s event at ORP – Buescher currently sits in 14th position, gaining 30 spots in a total of eight races. All 13 drivers ahead and four drivers behind Buescher have competed in all 11 events. Buescher is only 79 points behind 13th-place Justin Lofton.
ON STAND BY… On Saturday, Buescher will be getting back behind the wheel of the car that he made his first career start with at ORP – the No. 32 Dollar General entry for Braun Racing. As driver Reed Sorenson will be fulfilling his duties in the Sprint Cup Series, Buescher will practice the entry and remain on stand by for qualifying. In 2008, Buescher made six starts in the Nationwide Series with Braun Racing.
LOOKING BACK… Last week at Gateway International Raceway, Buescher tied his career-best qualifying endeavor in the Truck Series with his second-place effort. After a local power outage forced NASCAR to postpone the NCWTS event until Saturday afternoon in the heat of the day, all teams were faced with the challenge of tuning in the handling. Crew chief Shelton and the Wolf Pack Rentals crew made numerous changes to help alleviate the tight Chevrolet, but the condition persisted. Buescher crossed the finish line in the 12th position – his sixth top-15 of 2010.
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!
TWEET OF THE WEEK… This past Sunday, the Turner Motorsports teams were hard at work, preparing Chevrolets for this weekend’s event in Indy. Buescher stopped by to help out and tweeted a picture of the guys working hard. 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 AAA Insurance 200 from O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis will take the green flag this Friday, July 23rd at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Race coverage will be televised live on SPEED, beginning at 7:30 P.M. Eastern. In addition, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast, beginning at 7:30 P.M. Eastern.
QUOTES FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL:
BUESCHER (On competing at ORP): “Short track racing is always exciting for the drivers and fans alike and the two races that I have been in at ORP have been just that. A lot of beating and banging happens at ORP but if you have a good truck you can get to the front. Spotters are very important since the track is so small and you can get caught up in someone else’s mess. The Turner Motorsports guys have been working extremely hard these past couple of weeks and I’m looking forward to taking a brand new Chevrolet to the track this Friday.”
-TMS-
BUESCHER: ORP PREVIEW
