CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 9, 2015) – Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher had a fast Zest Ford Mustang in Friday evening’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, coming home with a seventh-place finish. The top-10 finish was Buescher’s 19th of the season, and keeps him in the lead of the driver point standings.
“The good thing is we gained a couple points,” said Buescher. “Our guys have done a really nice job and this is by far the best car I’ve had here at Charlotte, so I’m really proud of that. Our Zest Mustang had a lot of speed. If we would have had a couple more laps we could have gotten them back there, but that was the end of the race and it was a lot of fun.”
The No. 60 Zest Ford Mustang unloaded fast at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Buescher was second and third in Thursday’s two practice sessions. The speed continued on Friday afternoon, as Buescher made it to the final round of NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying, earning his Mustang a fourth-place starting spot.
Early in the 200-Lap, 300-Mile race, Buescher informed his team that his Zest Mustang was a little too tight on entry and a little too free on exit. As the run progressed, the tight condition on entry continued to upset Buescher’s Mustang.
Crew chief Scott Graves used a caution on Lap 48 to bring his driver down pit road for the first time on Lap 50. The pit crew bolted on four fresh Goodyear tires and filled the car with Sunoco fuel, only opting for an air pressure adjustment.
The pit crew held serve, with Buescher lining up in fourth for the restart. Buescher was able to gain one spot early during the following run, before ultimately settling into fifth as his Mustang became tighter over the run.
When Buescher came back down pit road under green on Lap 101, Graves opted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help the tight handling condition. Just a few laps after the green flag stop, Buescher told his team that the minor adjustment had gone much too far; his Mustang was now too free.
Buescher maintained his position in the top-10 during, before coming back down pit road under caution on Lap 143 for four tires, fuel and another chassis adjustment to help tighten his Mustang. A slight mishap on the pit stop put Buescher in 10th for the Lap 146 restart.
A quick caution brought Buescher down pit road again for four fresh tires on Lap 153. Buescher lined up ninth for the final restart of the day on Lap 156. The Prosper, Texas native gained two positions to close out the night in seventh.
With the result, Buescher maintains a 26 point lead over second place in the point standings as the series travels to Kansas Speedway.
NEXT UP:
Kansas Lottery 300
1.5-mile Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kan.
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015
4:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
Started: 4
Finished: 7
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
POINTS SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
2015 Season Total: First with 1055 points
2015 SEASON SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
Starts Wins Top-Fives Top-10s Poles
29 2 11 19 0
