CHRIS BUESCHER
NO. 37 COTTONELLE MEGA ROLL / CHEVROLET SS
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PRE RACE REPORT
Event: ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CLASH
Date/Time: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 / 8:00 PM ET
TV Network/Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Event: DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING PRESENTED BY KROGER
Date/Time: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 / 3:00 PM ET
TV Network/Radio: FOX / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Event: THE DUELS
Date/Time: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 / 7:00 PM ET
TV Network/Radio: FOX SPORTS 1 / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Event: DAYTONA 500
Date/Time: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26 / 3:00 PM ET
TV Network/Radio: FOX / MRN / SIRIUSXM
Chris Buescher Quotes:
THE CLASH SPONSOR:
For the Clash, we’ve got Kroger ClickList on the hood of the No. 37 Chevrolet SS. ClickList is an online grocery ordering service where the customer can pick up their groceries at their convenience. It’s just a one off race, but I’m looking forward to having Kroger ClickList on the hood and being able to show fans how easy and convenient ClickList is.
DAYTONA 500 SPONSOR:
For the Daytona 500, Cottonelle Mega Roll will be featured on the hood of the No. 37 Chevrolet SS. Cottonelle Mega Roll is four rolls of bath tissue in one. The awesome thing about this year and being at JTG Daugherty Racing is I get to highlight a new sponsor each week, and we’re thrilled to have Cottonelle Mega Roll on the hood for one of the biggest races of the season.
NEW TEAM, NEW YEAR, NEW MANUFACTURER:
“There was a lot that went into this off season, probably too much to explain,” Buescher said. “But for a new team, new manufacturer, new crew chief, everything is coming along really well. I’m excited to be here at JTG Daugherty Racing. There are a lot of good people over here. I’ve been talking with Trent Owens (crew chief) a lot trying to get ready and prepared. I really just want to hit the ground running. We want to get to Daytona and be ready to go.”
NEW CREW CHIEF:
“I knew Trent from all of our meetings last year,” Buescher said. “Not very intimately, but through all of our debriefs with the drivers and crew chiefs. I had a little bit of an idea of his personality and how he approaches things. As the off season has gone on, I’ve been able to spend more time in the shop with him and talk about things other than race cars, which is really important in being able to get to know each other. We’ve also been able to talk about where our strengths and weaknesses are at certain racetracks to give us a framework of what to work on this season. They’re all things you put together to make sure you are ready to be competitive when the new season starts.”
WHAT DOES RACING AT DAYTONA MEAN TO YOU:
“Daytona, especially the 500, is obviously a huge race for us and for our sport,” Buescher said. “To be a part of it is very special. I have a love/hate relationship with Daytona. I have had some really good highs there on the XFINITY side, and on the Cup side it really beat me down last year. The good news is I’m pretty sure I got all of my bad luck out of the way last year, so we will be able to come into this year strong.”
THE CLASH:
“The biggest thing for me racing in the Clash this weekend is going to be just getting the feel of the car and learning my crew chief,” Buescher said. “This is a big race, not in points, but because it’s the first time the No. 37 team is all going to be on track together. That’s the one learning curve we haven’t been able to test yet, but I’m really looking forward to getting back in the racecar and using The Clash as a learning tool for the Daytona 500.”
DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING:
“The new race format is going to bring out a few different things this season among the competition and the drivers, but getting a good qualifying position is going to be imperative,” Buescher said. “The new format lends itself to being important to getting out front and staying in the front early on, and that all starts with your qualifying position on Sunday the week before the Daytona 500.”
THE DUELS:
“Just as qualifying in a top position for the Daytona 500 is important, keeping that top position in The Duels is going to be just as important,” Buescher said. “There’s so much luck involved in Daytona. The Duels are going to be really good because we’ll be able to get a feel for our Daytona 500 car, which is different from the Clash car. Just making sure the handling is right is going to be so important to keeping us out front and in the draft when we get to the 500. Having that Duel race to test that out is going to really help us and hopefully get us a front starting spot.”
DAYTONA 500:
“I have a love/hate relationship with Daytona,” Buescher said. “It’s something I can be good at. I have been able to figure it out sometimes. Every superspeedway race we’ve been in, we’ve been able to get to the front and be in that lead pack to be competitive. We just have to figure out how to reduce our chances of getting caught up in something like that at the end. I know I say I don’t like plate racing, but I don’t go into it saying I hate being there. You put a smile on your face and you go out there and you get prepared to do a good job. That’s the big part of it is that you go in and try to be optimistic about it. We will definitely go in there and try and have some fun. It is the Super Bowl of motorsports after all.”
NEW RACE FORMAT:
“The way I see it, I see two really important things that it addressed,” Buescher said. “It addressed the fact that you can go out and have a great day, run in the top-5 all day and get to a green-white-checkered and crash and have nothing to show for it. Now, you have points you’ve accumulated up to that. That’s a really big point to make. The second one is I really think it’s going to help our superspeedway racing. For what that end of the race points that has meant to the Chase and getting in and not having a bad day, I think that has led to some of the lulls in the middle of our superspeedway racing because the points are definitely weighted at the end. But I think it gives a little more incentive to try and push to the front at two other times during the race. The third part of it – that’s the unknown to me. I don’t know how it’s going to change the races. From the driver’s seat, I don’t think it’s going to change a whole lot. We’re always going out there trying to get everything we can out of the car on every lap. Does it mean you might be a little bit more aggressive towards the end of a stage? Probably. But I hate to know what’s going to happen when there’s a big wreck racing for a stage win versus a wreck at the end for a race win. It’s going to create some drama at an earlier point of the race than just the checkered flag finish. Lots of changes and I’m a visual person so I’m going to have to see it play out for a couple of races before I really understand it. But I’m excited and I think it’s going to help a couple of the situations that we’ve been lacking on and create great racing.”
TEAMMATE:
“AJ is very outgoing, whereas I’m the polar opposite,” Buescher said. “He’s been good to work with so far, we’ve had a couple of events and he’s fun to be around. He’s probably the best road racer we have and he’s really good at short tracks. I’m excited to sit down with him when we get to those places and try to figure out how to make my road racing better. It’s something I enjoy and have been successful at but learning from someone who’s the expert in that category is really valuable. Then we go to some of these places where its going to be about trying to work together to have a teammate to bounce things off of will be good for AJ. Just knowing how hard it is to be the single guy out on the island and trying to talk to the team to figure out what you need, while someone else has what you need and they’re discussing and talking about what you’re looking for, then you have somewhere to go with that. You have someone to talk to about it and it makes things a lot easier. And they’ve had teammates and with their relationship with RCR, but it’s different when the entire team is around each other 24/7.”
TRENT OWENS, CREW CHIEF QUOTE:
Morale and attitude is definitely good here at JTG Daugherty Racing. Any time you come off the season like they did at the end of 2016 with the speed they found makes the winter a lot easier. Expanding to two teams has presented some challenges and learning curves, but Tad and Jodi felt it was the time to expand to two teams and I’m really looking forward to working with Chris, spending time with him the past few weeks has been good to get to know him. I was very impressed with the efforts he put in last year.
TAD GESCHICKTER, TEAM OWNER QUOTE:
FAMILY ATMOSPHERE:
“Everyone in the garage is a family, so I’ve always been a Trent Owens fan,” Geschickter said. “But that relationship is critical. You have to have Chris involved in that. Just like AJ was involved in every step in choosing Randall. It’s a critical relationship. They have to be comfortable together right off the bat. And it’s a big decision but we feel really confident in the choices we made.
COME A LONG WAY:
“When we started in NASCAR, we were on dirt floors and had five employees,” team owner Tad Geschickter said. “We’ve come a long way and we’ve been very blessed. We’ve reached another milestone expanding to a two-car team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and are grateful to have the opportunity. We’re also fortunate to have so many great brands. Cottonelle and Kroger ClickList will kick off our season in the Daytona 500 as hood sponsors for the No. 37 (Chris Buescher) and 47 (AJ Allmendinger) cars respectively. We’re passionate about our brands and their brand message. I’ve found out for myself that Kroger’s ClickList is great and easy for me and Jodi to use. You can buy your groceries online and then pick them up whenever you’re ready. It’s perfect for being on the go every week. And, who doesn’t need Cottonelle. They are promoting their Mega Roll, which essentially is four rolls of bath tissue in one. We’re all looking forward to working together and getting the season started.”
Fast Facts:
Career Starts: 42
Wins: 1 (8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway)
Top-fives: 2
Top-10s: 2
Pole Awards: 0
First Start: 3/22/2015 Auto Club Speedway
First Pole: N/A
Last Pole: N/A
Best Start: 12th – 8/21/2016 Bristol
Best Finish: 1st – 8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway
Driver DOB: 10/29/1992
Hometown: Prosper, TX
Crew Chief: Trent Owens
