CHRIS BUESCHER
NO. 37 KINGSFORD CHARCOAL CHEVROLET SS
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY PREVIEW
Date/Time: Sunday, June 18 at 3:00 p.m. ET
TV Network/Radio: FS1 / MRN Radio / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90
CHRIS BUESCHER QUOTES:
MULTIPLE LINES AT MICHIGAN:
“Michigan (International Speedway) is very similar to Auto Club (Speedway), in that you have multiple line options to run,” Buescher said. “I really like running at Michigan. You can move around the racetrack and find things that work, and it’s just a fun and enjoyable racetrack. Being able to choose your line on the apron is a really unique aspect of the track.
“I got a win in the ARCA Series at Michigan,” continued Buescher. “And we ran really well here in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. I think Michigan is a track where if we have speed off the truck, we can really run a good, smart race and continue having solid points days. At this point, I think it will take a win to qualify for the playoffs, but I know consistency is a big part of it.”
YOUNG GUNS:
“I’m the same age as a lot of them, so I think I would consider myself one of NASCAR’s ‘young guns’,” Buescher said. “Me and Ty (Dillon) ran ARCA when we were the same age; Austin (Dillon) being a little bit older. And then we’ve had the movement of these other kids, way younger, coming in and participating. And so, I’m part of it. And it’s nice to be there. I saw that there have been five different first-time winners in the past two seasons, and we’re not even halfway through this season yet. It’s really cool to be able to say I’m a part of that, and hopefully continue to build and get another win.
“And it’s going to remain very challenging as the years go on,” Buescher said. “And I’m not getting any younger and it seems like the younger kids keep showing up and I think you look at the feeder series with ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and K&N Series and XFINITY Series, you look at how well some of these kids are doing at the young ages they are, it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves in a competitive Cup ride and are able to be part of that same talk. And so, at some point, it’s going to become the normal. It won’t be a movement; it will just be the field. And I think we’ve seen a lot of shake-ups over the last couple of years. We’re hearing a lot more that are right on the horizon that are going to be moving around here pretty shortly.”
A DARK HORSE:
“I read the comments from Dale (Earnhardt) Jr.’s podcast about me being a ‘dark horse’ in NASCAR,” Buescher said. “And I just want to tell him, ‘Thank you for that.’ When he talks, our fans listen. And so that’s pretty awesome to be talked about in that manner. I think a dark horse kind of sums it up. It’s not quite the most obvious, but it is an opportunity for us to be able to go out there and make a name and gain a fan following through the years as hopefully a really long tenure in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. We’re going to keep working on that and get to the point where hopefully we get talked about as more mainstream in the fan vote going forward.”
Fast Facts:
Career Starts: 56
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
