ARCA
Illinois: James Buescher race report
Buescher Impressive Again; Collects Top-10 In Springfield SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Tuesday, August 21, 2007) - - James Buescher stepped up to the plate in a big way Sunday at Illinois State Fairgrounds and delivered his Country Joe Racing team ...
Edited: Aug 22, 2007, 2:50 AM
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Buescher Impressive Again; Collects Top-10 In Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Tuesday, August 21, 2007) - - James Buescher stepped up to the plate in a big way Sunday at Illinois State Fairgrounds and delivered his Country Joe Racing team another whopping top-10 finish in the Allen Crowe 100.
Fresh off a solid sixth place finish the day before in the NASCAR Busch East Series road course event at Lime Rock Park, Buescher entered the ARCA race looking to continue the stretch of good runs under the No. 32 banner and end his busy race weekend on a high note.
Never experiencing the dirt before, the Plano, Texas native stepped up to the plate, delivering a solid performance in practice. In the rain-delayed forty-five minute session, Buescher turned a lap of 34.674 seconds at 103.824 MPH, 19th overall on the run down.
"The car is in good shape," offered Buescher. "The Country Joe Racing guys have once again given me a great racecar. I spent the practice learning the dirt, this is my first ever event on the dirt, I'm excited about it, I just hope we can reel in a good finish."
Mother Nature washed out ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying thus lining up the No. 32 Mercedes Home Dodge Charger eighth on the grid heading into the 100-lap battle.
At the start of the event, Buescher showed patience while quickly moving through the racing order. Early on Buescher reported the car was great, he was just moving up through the field cautiously.
The first caution flag of the day waived on lap 10 when A.J. Fike and Bill Baird tangled. The incident brought the front runners in for their required pit stop. The Country Joe Racing team however decided to use some strategy and keep their young hot shoe on the track and in contention for the lead.
On the restart, Buescher gave no mercy, keeping his No. 32 Charger in the thick of the battle following the veteran Ron Cox for the top-spot. Buescher had easily settled into the top-five when the next caution flag waived on lap 31 when Justin South and Joe Cooksey united.
The caution presented an opportunity for the Minnesota based team to bring their rookie driver down on pit road for their mandatory stop. The team added Sunoco Racing fuel before sending their driver back into competition.
On the restart, Buescher found himself mid-pack, but thanks to great driving and additional coaching from his spotter above, the avid racecar driver inched his way further in the running order. By lap 61, Buescher had moved himself into the 12th position.
Throughout the next forty circuits, the Country Joe Racing prot0x00e9g0x00e9 would pick up the pace on the racetrack moving himself into the top-10 on lap 73.
Under thirty laps to go, Buescher was looking for more. Quickly moving into the ninth position, the kid was on the move.
By lap 87 Buescher would begin trailing smoke on his No. 32 Dodge. With no fluids pouring from the car, the team opted to keep their driver out there hoping the smoke would evaporate. With Buescher continuing to post extremely competitive lap times, his next victim was Ken Schrader. With the pass looking easy, it only reassured the team that he wasn't letting the smoke slow him down.
Inside 10 laps to go, Buescher gave Kelly Kovski a run for his money after the two battled in out for the sixth position. In the end, Kovski kept the No. 32 at bay, but Buescher persevered through the dirt, collecting a stout seventh place finish and his fourth consecutive top-10 run for the Country Joe Racing team.
"A good day, that's the best way to sum up our run," said Buescher. "I can't ask for a better team to be associated with. The car was great all day long. I learned an awful lot on this dirt race. It actually was a lot of fun. Hopefully we can build on this run and go to Milwaukee and have a shot at the win."
Nate Thiesse, Director of Operations for Country Joe Racing said, "James once again did an exceptional job. For his first appearance on the dirt, he looked more like a veteran than a rookie. He continues to impress everyone at CJR and we're looking forward to continuing our momentum at The Milwaukee Mile this Sunday."
Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is a showdown at The Milwaukee Mile. The Governors Cup 200 weekend is set to start with practice and ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying Saturday. The event is scheduled to roll off at 1:00pm EST Sunday with live coverage on SPEED.
For more on Country Joe Racing, please visit -credit: CountryJoeRacing.com
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