James Buescher (pronounced "Busher") makes his first visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. The 18-year-old resident of Sheridan, Texas, is scheduled to compete in his fourth career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.
The International MaxxForce Diesel team will utilize chassis CB-27 this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is the same chassis Buescher drove to a 13th-place finish two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway in California. Crew chief Jamie Jones updated this chassis in the off-season and expects it to be the team's primary truck at the intermediate tracks throughout the season.
Buescher captured his second career ARCA RE/MAX Series victory in the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway in February. Buescher's first series win put him in the record books as the youngest winner in ARCA RE/MAX Series history - at the age of 16 - with his victory at USA Int'l Speedway (Lakeland, Fla.) in 2007.
Buescher will challenge for Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year honors this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, competing in the full 25-race schedule for Circle Bar Racing in the No. 10 International MaxxForce Diesel Ford F-150. Buescher is currently tied for third in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings following a 13th-place finish last race in California.
Adam Crawford, the son of driver Rick Crawford, is the rear-tire carrier for Buescher's No. 10 team on race day. This is younger Crawford's first year performing over-the-wall duties.
Buescher competed in six NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2008. He won the pole at Memphis Motorsports Park in his final start of the season and posted a career-best seventh-place finish at Gateway International Raceway.
Buescher's Thoughts on Atlanta Motor Speedway:
"While I've never raced at Atlanta, I did go to the fall truck series race there in 2007 to spectate from the pits. In fact, I was a guest of my current crew chef Jamie Jones. It's a high-banked, fast-paced track that races almost like a superspeedway. There will be some drafting on the straightaways, and I think the key to success is working on the handling of the truck once the tires go away. The first few laps with new tires, you're going to be able to run wide open, but once the tires fall off in a few laps, you're going to need to lift and get your truck running in the preferred line."
"Most of these tracks this year are new to me, but I've got some familiarity with the truck that we're taking to the track this weekend. It's the same truck we raced at California two weeks ago, so knowing some its basic handling characteristics will hopefully help get the truck dialed into the track a little quicker."
