TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
James Buescher — Notes & Quotes
Daytona Media Day – February 13, 2014
JAMES BUESCHER, No. 99 Rheem Toyota Camry, RAB Racing
How is this season going to be different for you?
“This year is definitely going to be different for me — finally full time in the Nationwide Series after being in the Truck Series for a couple years. It’s going to be different from a lot of different aspects. Also, change in manufacturers and change in teams — going to RAB Racing and changing everybody that’s on my team. Chris Rice is my crew chief and Robby Benton owning the team and everything is going to be different this year other than having Rheem come with us from the Truck Series up to the Nationwide Series. Just the learning process of getting everybody to work well together and get off the ground and running, it’s a process and hopefully we can speed it up and come out of the box strong.”
How has the transition been to a new team?
“It’s going really well. We’ve gotten to do a couple tests — we went to Nashville over the off-season and also the Daytona test and both went really well. We were really fast down here at Daytona. I’m looking forward to getting down here for the race and really seeing what we have and hopefully getting a good, solid finish and maybe winning this thing again. The off-season has been pretty short it seems like, but very busy. I’m looking forward to getting the season started and getting some races in.”
What are your memories of winning the Nationwide race at Daytona?
“Fortunately for me, I’ve been able to be in victory lane a couple times now here at Daytona and that Nationwide race at Daytona was kind of a shocking win for all of us since halfway down the back straightaway we really weren’t in position to win. We were there and we were the first ones to the finish line. It will definitely be something I will always remember as my first win in NASCAR. The 2012 season started off with a bang here at Daytona and finished up with a championship in the Truck Series.”
What is your goal for this season?
“Winning races. I think we have what it takes to win races in the Nationwide Series. Toyota has been a lot of fun to work with over the off-season and I think it will only get better and better. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and everybody that helps out RAB Racing — it’s been fun over the off-season and I’m looking forward to getting the racing season started and seeing what we’re capable of. I think we’re capable of winning races and we’ll have to go out there and prove it.”
Does it take a lot of work to be a race car driver?
“Being a race car driver takes a lot of work to be successful and I’d say that work ethic is something I have. I’ll put in the hours if it’s necessary, I’ll travel all night long to get to wherever I need to go for the next day of work. I’ve always worked hard to be successful in this sport, even from the beginning when I was 13 years old — I would spend my summers in the race shop working on the race cars and it was an hour-and-a-half from my house. It wasn’t like just hanging out with my friends all summer long, it was school was over and it was time to go to work. It’s kind of been my mentality of it growing up and working on my race cars from Bandoleros all the way through Late Models and the Hooters Pro Cup Series and I enjoy working on the cars. As busy as everything keeps you in this sport, you don’t get to anymore. It has been a lot of work to get to this point, but I think I’ve had the work pay off and had success. If I keep up the work ethic, I think I’ll keep having success.”
How big of an adjustment do you have to make going from the Truck Series to the Nationwide Series?
“The schedule is longer in the Nationwide Series, but I think that’s a good thing. Two years ago in the Truck Series I was able to win some races and win the championship in 2012 and that year we ran 20 Nationwide races on top of that. So, my schedule was pretty slam-packed in comparison to last season. I think the longer schedule is only going to help me stay fresh. The off-weeks don’t keep you in the race car and the more you’re in the race car the fresher you’ll be to know what you’re looking for as far as feel and everything else. I think the longer schedule is going to help me for sure.”
How important was it for you to test at Daytona in January?
“It was really important. Not only from the car aspect and seeing what we had on the race track, but just more time working with Chris Rice (crew chief) and my team and getting to know each other and how the communication is going to work and what he needs from me to make the cars go faster and what I need in the race car to go faster. It was good to speed up the learning curve for sure.”
Are there tracks looking ahead that you may want to test at?
“I’m looking forward to all of them, but I’m really looking forward to the Texas race. My home track and I feel like I’ve had some success there. I haven’t been able to win a race there, but I’ve came close a lot and RAB Racing was really fast there last year with the 99 car at both events. So, it would be really cool to win a race at my home track.”
