FORT WORTH, Texas (November 2, 2014) – James Buescher and the Rheem came into Texas Motor Speedway with high hopes of having a strong showing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge. After struggling to find speed with a new car during the two practice sessions on Friday, the speed was still lacking in qualifying. Buescher started 28th in the field of 40 for the 200-lap Saturday afternoon race. The Texas native’s bad luck continued when on lap seven he reported to the Rheem crew that there was something strange going on in the motor. After continuing to feel it out for the next green-flag stretch, The RAB Racing team got an opportunity under yellow flag to take the time to change out the carburetor on the Toyota Camry. The change however resulted in the team losing two laps to the leader and Buescher restarted back in the 34th position. With their backs against the wall, the Rheem team rallied to come up with a strategy that would get their No. 99 Rheem Camry back on the lead lap. However, the hits kept on coming when on Lap 91, Buescher reported he felt like a tire was going flat. With other drivers reporting tire issues throughout the day, the 24-year-old took no chances and brought his Rheem Camry down pit road for an unscheduled green-flag pit stop to change all four Goodyear tires and receive a full load of Sunoco Racing fuel. The unscheduled pit stop resulted in Buescher dropping two more laps down to the leader. Buescher and the Rheem crew however, kept on fighting to the end and managed to gain a few more positions in the running order and brought home a 24th-place finish, five laps down to the leader.
James Buescher Quote:
“Overall, a really frustrating weekend for my Rheem team. We had such high hopes coming into this weekend with bringing a new car to Texas but we just struggled for speed all weekend. I thought we would have been able to race our way through the field but the bad luck continued to bite us in the race with having to change out the carburetor and having a tire issue. I have confidence in my guys and we’ll go out to Phoenix and hope to put this weekend behind us.”
Upcoming Race:
With only two NASCAR Nationwide Series events remaining, the series will head out west to Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, November 8. The DAV 200 Honoring America’s Veteran’s can be seen on ESPN starting at3:30pm EDT. The event can also be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN Radio.
| First Practice | Position: 24 | Fastest Lap: 30.172 sec. | Laps: 10 |
| Final Practice | Position: 22 | Fastest Lap: 30.095 sec. | Laps: 31 |
| Qualifying | Position: 28 | Fastest Lap: 30.121 sec. | |
| Race | Position: 24 | Laps Completed/Total: 195/200 |
