09/09/2020
Chris Buescher | Richmond Advance
ADVANCE NOTES
Lone Richmond Event Next Stop for Cup Series
- The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Richmond Raceway on Saturday night for its first and only race of the 2020 season at the ¾-mile track, and the second event of the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs.
- Saturday’s race will be the third of five-straight under the lights, and first of two consecutive Saturday night events with Bristol coming up next weekend.
- The starting lineup will once again be set by three competition-based performance metrics, rewarding both season-long and single-race performance. The lineup will be announced later this week prior to Saturday night’s event.
- 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 before the schedule later picked back up in mid-May.
Buescher Historically at Richmond
- Buescher will make his ninth Cup start at Richmond on Saturday. In six prior events, he has a best finish of 17th, which came in the 2017 spring race.
- Last season, Buescher finished 22nd and 31st at the ¾-mile track.
- Buescher made five Xfinity Series starts at Richmond, earning three top-10s with a best finish of seventh in the No. 60 machine in 2014.
Luke Lambert Historically at Richmond
- Lambert will be atop the box for his 15th Cup start at Richmond on Saturday, where he has five top-10s and an average finish of 16.6.
- Lambert finished fifth with Jeff Burton in just his second-ever Cup race at Richmond back in 2013, and also recorded a top-five with Newman (third) in the 2017 fall event. Most recently, Lambert finished 25th with Daniel Hemric last fall.
- Lambert also called a pair of Xfinity events with Elliott Sadler at the ¾-mile track, finishing sixth and 12th in 2012.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Richmond:
“We missed the chance to hit Richmond in the spring, so I’m excited to get back there and try our hand at another short track. We put together a few solid runs there back in my Xfinity days, and a night race on a short track, and in the playoffs is always sure to be a good one, so we’re looking forward to it in the Fastenal Ford Mustang.”
Last Time Out
Buescher finished 26th Sunday night at Darlington.
Where They Rank
Buescher is 21st in driver standings through 27 events.
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.
MCR, Norton, Dewalt, Louisville and Georgia Pacific will ride aboard the No. 17 as Fastenal Racing’s featured suppliers Saturday in Richmond.
- MCR, a leader in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE), will be on the hood.
- Norton Abrasives, a Saint-Gobain brand, will ride on the TV panel.
- DeWalt, an American worldwide brand of power hand tools, will ride on the deck lid.
- Lousiville Ladder, a producer of climbing equipment and accessories will be on the lower rear quarter panel.
- Georgia Pacific, a pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, will ride 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.
