Buescher’s enjoyment is only amplified by the strong run he had last week at Martinsville, which he felt could have been even better had qualifying not been washed out last Friday.
“For me, that was definitely the best we’ve run at Martinsville … and I’m still pretty bummed that we didn’t get to qualify. I feel like we could have had a better day yet. But, for us to start where we did, and be able to work our way up through it; that was big for us. Trent (Owens, crew chief) made some really good calls. Our car was really good through the second half of the race, and really before that, our first run wasn’t quite where we needed it but we were able to work on it and get it rolling.”
Entering Texas, the 24-year-old is now 27th in points — meaning that he is inside the threshold to claim a second-consecutive playoff berth should he and his No. 37 Chevrolet crew be able to snag a win during the regular season.
That fact looms large on the mind of the sophomore Cup driver, who parlayed pit strategy into a win at Pocono Raceway last July after fog rolled into the Pennsylvania mountains and shortened the race.
“For us, (Martinsville) was huge for our point situation,” Buescher said. “It was huge to be able to get a good run and it was huge for JTD Daugherty … and also for A.J. to go up there and run sixth. So, that was huge for him as well to be able to make up all the spots that he did. For me, it’s a place where A.J. has run really well in the past and I was able to lean on him to try and figure that place out a little more and look at a lot of data as we were at the race track. It just enabled us to go out there and be a little bit more competitive than we have in the past and that was definitely big.”
“We proved that we have good mechanical grip in out race cars and we have speed in them. We’ve just got to fine-tune as we go to some of these larger tracks.”
Buescher’s quest for a strong run at home will reach its peak on Sunday, when the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 takes the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM).
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: [email protected]
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