Chris Buescher headed to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for his first NASCAR Nationwide Series attempt on a restrictor plate track. After a solid qualifying effort the Roush Fenway Racing driver started the Aaron’s 312 from eighth, but was quickly shuffled back early after losing the lead pack. Buescher fought hard all day and gradually worked his way up the field to place himself in the top-five on the final restart of the day. The No.60 Roush Performance Parts Ford Mustang charged forward to the front and finished the day in a season-high second-spot after a nail-biting fight for the lead on the final lap.
“It was wild, that’s for sure,” said Buescher. “It was just a matter of holding on to what we had at that point. I didn’t want to do anything crazy. Regan Smith pushed me great right there at the end. That’s about all you can ask for because I’m still very new to this speedway racing, so to be able to pull off a second is really cool to me. This Roush Performance Parts Ford Mustang was fast all weekend and we got the finish we deserved today.”
Buescher rolled off in eighth to begin the day and quickly joined forces with fellow Ford drivers Ryan Blaney and Ryan Reed to make a run for the front. He lost the pack and was pushed back early on, coming into pit road in 24th when the first yellow came out on lap 29.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender knew that he had a fast race car and he needed to find the right line. Buescher ran up top for most of the day and was able to work his way up the field after teaming up with some speedy packs. By the halfway point of the 117-lap race he was sitting in 16th.
After realizing that the high line was not the way to go to reach the front, Buescher dropped down to the inside and found even more success on the superspeedway. The No.60 team had taken four tires and fuel on their first three pit stops of the day and then opted to take fuel only on their fourth and final stop with 34 to go.
When the final caution of the day came out, Buescher had made his way up to fifth with three laps to go. The Prosper, Texas native charged up to the front and took the lead on lap 116. When the white flag waved it was a tight battle to the end as Regan Smith tried to push him to the checkers. Elliott Sadler had just a little more momentum and took the top spot, as Buescher captured a career-high second-place finish.
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