Jonathan Moore/Getty Images
LEXINGTON, Ohio (Aug. 15, 2015) – For the second consecutive weekend, Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher earned a top-five finish at a road course. Buescher qualified his No. 60 Zest Mustang in second, and ran inside the top-five for most of Saturday afternoon’s 75-Lap NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, ultimately crossing the finish line in fourth.
“It’s a good thing when fourth is a bummer,” said Buescher. “We had a great Zest Mustang, and it was definitely a good points day for us. I was really hoping we’d be able to defend our win and get our Patient Champion William to Victory Lane today. But, I’m looking forward to the next two weeks at Bristol and Road America.”
After a two-round knockout qualifying session on Saturday morning, Buescher lined his Zest Mustang up in second in an effort to defend his 2014 win at the 2.4-mile road course.
At the start of the race, Buescher held his ground in second until visiting pit road under caution for a scheduled stop. Buescher was happy with the balance of his Mustang, so crew chief Scott Graves called for four tires, fuel and no adjustments.
With several cars opting to stay out under the caution, Buescher was forced to restart 19th. Just one lap after the restart, Buescher worked his way up to 13th. When the caution flew two laps later, Buescher had cracked his way into the top-10 in ninth.
The leaders that had not visited pit road yet, made scheduled stops while Buescher was able to stay on the track. Buescher lined up second for the Lap 16 restart, behind Roush Fenway teammate Elliott Sadler.
Buescher took the lead on the restart and held that position for the next nine laps, until relinquishing the spot on a Lap 25 restart. The sophomore in the NASCAR XFINITY Series continued to tick off laps inside the top-five as the race approached halfway.
The No. 60 Zest Mustang visited pit road for the second and final time of the day on Lap 42 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He lined up fourth for the restart, but quickly settled into third.
Multiple cautions in the closing laps ensured that the No. 60 Mustang could make the duration of the race without visiting pit road for fuel. Buescher lined up fourth for the final restart of the day with three laps left, and held that position for the remainder of the race.
With the result, Buescher holds a 24 point leader over Ty Dillon in the NASCAR XFINITY Series point standings as the series travels to Bristol Motor Speedway, where Buescher finished third earlier this season.
NEXT UP:
Food City 300
.53-mile Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tenn.
Friday, August 21, 2015
7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and PRN
RACE SUMMARY
Chris Buescher
Started: 2
Finished: 4
Complete Race Results:
www.roushfenway.com
