03/15/2015
Buescher And Team Fight For 14th-Place Finish In Phoenix
AVONDALE, Ariz. (March 15, 2015) – For the second consecutive week, Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher piloted his No. 60 Roush Performance Ford Mustang to a 14th-place finish. Buescher’s finish in Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway is his fourth top-15 finish of the 2015 season.
“We have a little bit of work to do yet,” said Buescher. “It was a tough day; hard fought. The guys did a good job on pit road and we got what we could there. We will have to go get them next week.”
Buescher and the No. 60 team barely missed the top-12 cutoff for the final round of qualifying Saturday morning. The sophomore driver lined up 13th to start the 200 Lap race at the one-mile track.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series took the green flag under sunny skies, with Buescher working his way toward the front from the drop of the green. By Lap 34, the No. 60 Roush Performance Mustang was sitting in 11th. Buescher informed the team that his car started too free and then swung to the snug side as the run progressed.
Crew Chief Scott Graves brought his driver down pit road under the first caution flag of the day. Graves opted for a round in the right rear along with four tires and fuel to try and help the tight-handling car. A quick pit stop gained the team one spot on pit road, putting Buescher in 10th for the restart.
Buescher settled into 11th on the next run, radioing to the team that his Mustang was still too free to start the run, but became too tight later in the run. Buescher came back down pit road for four tires and fuel.
The handling did not improve on the next run, and when the caution flag flew again 30 laps later, Buescher radioed to Graves that he thought the car may be easier to drive if the team tightened it up again. The team took one half round out of the right rear, right side tires and fuel on the subsequent stop.
After getting shuffled back to 16th on the ensuing restart, Buescher spent the rest of the race trying to work his way forward. The No. 60 Mustang ultimately crossed the finish line in 14th.
With the result, Buescher remains second in the NASCAR XFINITY Series point standings heading to Auto Club Speedway.
NEXT UP:
Drive4Clots.com 300
Two-mile Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, Calif.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
4:00 p.m. ET on FOXSPORTS1 and MRN
RACE SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
Started: 13
Finished: 14
Complete Race Results:
POINTS SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
2015 Season Total: Second with 143 points
