07/01/2020
Chris Buescher – Indianapolis Advance
ADVANCE NOTES
NASCAR Returns to Action
- The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the 16th race of the 2020 season. Overall, Indy will host three series across two days including the IndyCar Series, with the first time in history both IndyCar and the NCS will runn at the same track in the same weekend.
- The July 4 weekend – historically held for NASCAR’s summer trip to Daytona – was replaced by Indy after the schedule changed heading into the 2020 campaign.
- Sunday’s starting lineup for the Brickyard 400 will be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points. Buescher and the No. 17 team are 21st in points, and will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group.
- 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.
Buescher Historically at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Buescher makes his fifth Cup start at Indy on Sunday, a track where he has one top-10 with an average finish of 15.8.
- His best finish came back in 2017, where he finished ninth after starting 26th. Outside of that run, he has two additional top-15 finishes, including a 14th-place run in 2016, and most recently 15th last season.
- Buescher made two Xfinity Series starts – both in Jack Roush’s No. 60 entry – with an 11th and 16th-place finish in 2014 and 2015.
Luke Lambert at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Lambert heads to Indy for his eighth Cup race at the 2.5-mile track, where he has an average finish of 19.3 with two top-10s.
- Lambert led Ryan Newman to a third-place run in the 2017 Brickyard 400, and followed that with a 10th-place finish a year later. He and Newman also paired up for two 11th-place runs in 2014-15.
- Lambert called one Xfinity race with Elliott Sadler in 2012, finishing 15th.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Indy:
“I’m excited to get back to the famed Brickyard, and think it’s really cool we have IndyCar there with us. Our team has been able to string together some solid finishes as of late, and have put ourselves in good spots with stage finishes, so we hope to continue that trend in Indy. We have SunnyD back on the car, celebrating the Made in America campaign, which goes hand in hand with July 4 weekend and look forward to driving their patriotic scheme on a big weekend.”
Last Time Out
Buescher earned his fourth top-10 of the season in the first of two Pocono races last weekend. He followed that by earning stage points in the second event, running well inside the top-5 early on, before going on to finish 36th after spinning and making contact with the wall.
Where They Rank
Buescher is 20th in driver points entering Indy, within 20 points of 18th, and 43 points out of 16th.
On the Car
Iconic brand and thirst-quenching favorite SunnyD returns to the No. 17 machine this weekend at Indy, for the brand’s third race of 2020. Along with the bright, bold, unique orange and yellow colors, the No. 17 Ford will also sport a new patriotic theme with red, white and blue stars and stripes that reflect both SUNNYD’s heritage and the Fourth of July holiday. Since 1963, SUNNYD has been made in America and celebrates its roots with a limited-edition “Made in America” packaging that is released seasonally each year and available in stores now.
About SunnyD
The iconic SunnyD® brand is owned by Harvest Hill Holdings, a Brynwood Partners owned beverage company. The 54-year-old SunnyD® brand is a leading chilled juice drink in the U.S. In addition to the SunnyD® brand, the company markets the Juicy Juice®, Little HUG®, and Daily’s® beverage brands. Harvest Hill’s products are widely distributed through leading retailers in the U.S. and Canada.
