Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Luke Lambert
Twitter: @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 500 miles, 188 laps, Stage Lengths: 60-60-68
Geico 500 – Sunday, June 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
NASCAR Returns to Action
· NASCAR’s return to racing continues at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, with the first superspeedway race since the Daytona 500. The 500-mile event from the 2.66-mile track was originally set for April 26.
· Despite the horrific last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 in which RFR was potentially in line for a 1-2 finish, RFR has fared particularly well in superspeedway races as of late. Buescher finished third in February in Daytona, while teammate Ryan Newman finished a close second at Talladega last fall.
· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.
Homestead Recap, Talladega Preview
· After earning a crucial stage point in Sunday’s race at Homestead, Buescher went on to finish 23rd in the Fastenal Ford.
· In the original schedule for Talladega, there was one practice session for teams on Saturday. That has since been removed, meaning the Cup Series’ first on-track action will be when the green drops for the 500-mile race.
· The starting lineup will once again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners points. Buescher – 21st in points – will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. The draw takes place at 6 p.m. ET Thursday on NASCAR RaceHub on FS1.
Buescher Historically at Talladega Superspeedway
· Buescher makes his 10th Cup start at Talladega on Sunday, where he has an average finish of 21.9. His best finish of 11th came back in the 2018 spring race.
· Buescher has two Xfinity Series starts at Talladega with a runner-up result in 2014, followed by a sixth-place run in 2015.
Luke Lambert at Talladega Superspeedway
· Lambert will be atop the box for his 16th Cup race at Talladega, where he has an average finish of 14.8 with six top-10 runs.
· He finished fifth in last season’s spring event with Daniel Hemric, his third top-10 in a stretch of three races that also included Newman’s runner-up result in 2017, and ninth-place finish in 2018.
· He also has one Xfinity race at Talladega with Elliott Sadler in 2012, where he started from the pole and finished 10th.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Talladega:
“Historically I haven’t had the best of luck at Talladega, but we had a really fast Fastenal Ford down in Daytona, and I think showed what we can do on superspeedway tracks. Patience is the name of the game at Talladega, and it’s our hope to be there at the end and try and steal one away in our Fastenal Ford.”
On the Car
Fastenal celebrates its 10th season with Roush Fenway Racing in 2020. The Minnesota company spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping to the No. 17 Cup Series entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.
Milwaukee Tool, MCR, Weiler, Sqwincher and Louisville Ladder will ride aboard the No. 17 as Fastenal Racing’s featured suppliers Sunday at Talladega.
Milwaukee Tool Company, a leader in power tools since 1924, will ride on the hood.
MCR, a leader in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE), will be on the TV panel.
Wieler, a leading manufacturer of surface conditioning solutions, we ride on the deck lid.
Sqwincher, a leading producer of electrolyte beverages, will be on the lower rear quarter.
Lousiville Ladder, a producer of climbing equipment and accessories will be on the B-post.
About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.
