CHRIS BUESCHER
NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CHEVROLET SS
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES ALL-STAR RACE PREVIEW
Date/Time: Saturday, May 20th at 8:15 p.m. ET
TV Network/Radio: FS1 / PRN Radio / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
CHRIS BUESCHER QUOTES:
FIRST CUP SERIES ALL-STAR RACE:
“We tried really hard to get into the All-Star Race last year,” Buescher said. “And just weren’t able to do it. But with that win at Pocono last season we’re qualified in so we’re taking what we’ve got and we’re ready to go racing. We get to qualify with the other ‘all stars,’ which is always interesting with the no speed limit pit road qualifying format. It’s going to be a busy weekend. It’s going to be exciting racing for a million dollars for the first time. It’s an awesome opportunity and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
UNIQUE QUALIFYING AND PIT STOP COMPETITION:
“I’ve witnessed this a lot,” Buescher said. “It’s always been kind of comical to watch how difficult it is and see how easy it is to slide through the pit box and make a mistake. When you’re not trying to participate in it, it’s a lot of fun to watch. But now that we’re in it, it’s a little stressful. As far as prep for it, the best thing we can do is try to watch video from previous years. We do have a short time allotted to practice this no speed limit concept on pit road, and that will give us an opportunity to see how everything will work out and get our braking points. The pit crew members cannot jump over the wall until the car comes to a complete stop. So from a safety aspect, NASCAR has done a good job making sure it’s plenty safe for the pit crews. All we can do is study and learn from trial and error. I’m going to bring our No. 37 BUSH’S Beans Chevrolet down pit road and try not to slide through the pit box.”
SOFT TIRE OPTION AND STRATEGY:
“We look at this other set of soft option tires and you kind of look at it as when do you want to use them,” Buescher said. “With a stage win guaranteeing you to be able to run in the final 10-car shootout, it’s a question of do you want to put them on earlier and try to get a stage win and get a good run at it there? Or do you save them for that last segment and plan on being able to average your way in on the regular tires. And then, the kicker is that if you start on the soft tires in that last segment, you do have to start behind everybody that has the normal tires. So there are a lot of moving pieces in it, and a lot of different thought processes. We don’t really have any way of knowing how much faster that soft tire set will be and if it’s going to be worse starting at the back, or if track position is going to be more important. We really don’t know. And it’s sure to make an exciting weekend. There’s going to be a lot going on, it’ll be a learning process for everyone out there.”
SPECIAL ALL-STAR WIN:
“It would probably top my last win,” Buescher said. “It would be awesome. If we could pull it off, it’d be very special. Our program at JTG Daugherty Racing has gotten much stronger over the last month and a half, specifically, and I’ve been really happy with the progress we’re making. Everything is starting to come together really nicely. We feel like we’re starting to put together really competitive cars on the racetrack, we just have to get through a little bit of bad luck and try to be mistake free. I think there’s going to be the opportunity to make mistakes, and I think that opportunity is going to be larger than it usually is, just with all the different options we have on pit road being such a competitive place. Everyone is going to try to get as much speed as possible and you have to make sure all the lug nuts are tight and that you hit your pit box the right way. It’s going to be a challenge. But if you can pull that one off, it’s going to be a huge thing on your resume to be able to say you got a win at the All-Star Race.”
Fast Facts:
Career Starts: 53
Wins: 1 (8/1/2016 Pocono Raceway)
Top-fives: 2
Top-10s: 2
Pole Awards: 0
First Start: 3/22/2015 Auto Club Speedway
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
