James Buescher
| James Buescher | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | March 26, 1990 Plano, Texas | ||||||
| Awards | 2004 Bandolero Young Gun National Champion 2006 ASA Most Popular Driver 2006 ASA Late Model Series South Champion | ||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| Car no., team | 30 – Turner Motorsports | ||||||
| 2010 position | 36th | ||||||
| Best finish | 2nd – 2011 | ||||||
| First race | 2008 Bashas' Supermarkets 200 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
| Truck no., team | 31- Turner Motorsports | ||||||
| 2010 position | 11th | ||||||
| Best finish | 2nd – 2011 | ||||||
| First race | 2008 Ford 200 (Homestead) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of August 20, 2011. | |||||||
James Buescher (born March 26, 1990)[1] is a NASCAR driver currently running full-time in its Camping World Truck Series. He drives the No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals/Exide Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports in the Truck Series. He also runs part-time for Turner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, driving the No. 30 ABF Freight System/Fraternity Order of Eagles Chevrolet Impala.
Early career
Buescher's earliest success came in 2004 when he became a national champion in the Young Gun division of Bandolero racing. He then moved on to the American Speed Association where, in 2006, he was named Most Popular Driver as well as winning the Late Model Series South championship. For 2007, James ran a part-time schedule in both the ARCA Series and the NASCAR Busch East Series. He became the youngest winner in ARCA series history when he won at USA International Speedway in his series debut.[2] In six more races that season, he would earn an additional 5 top-10 finishes as well as finish in the top 10 in all 4 Busch East races he entered.
Nationwide Series
In 2008, Buescher signed with Braun Racing to run six races in the Nationwide Series. He made his debut at Phoenix International Raceway in the #32 Great Clips Toyota. He started 17th and stayed in the top 20 all race long, finishing 18th. He would earn his first top 10 at Gateway International Raceway (finishing 7th) and his first pole at Memphis Motorsports Park. He would spend most of the 2009 season in the Camping World Truck Series. Near the end of 2009, Buescher was announced as the 2010 driver for Phoenix Racing.[3] To prepare for the season, he ran two races in the #1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet, finishing 11th at Texas and 13th at Phoenix.
A week prior to the beginning of the 2010 season, it was announced that Miccosukee was dropping its sponsorship of all NASCAR teams, effective immediately.[4] Despite this setback, Buescher responded with an 8th place finish in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. On May 12, 2010 Buescher parted ways with Phoenix Racing and returned to the Camping World Truck Series. He made his return to the Nationwide Series at Kansas Speedway in September driving for Turner Motorsports in the #11 Great Clips Toyota. He ran four additional races for Turner, earning his 2nd career pole at Texas in the #30 Chevrolet.
For 2011, it was announced that Buescher would run part-time in the series, sharing the #30 Chevrolet with several other drivers.
Camping World Truck Series
Buescher made his Truck Series debut in the 2008 Ford 200, the season finale. Driving the #15 Ergon Hyprene Toyota for Billy Ballew Motorsports, he qualified 10th and finished 19th. Prior to the start of the 2009 season, it was announced that James would be replacing Brendan Gaughan in the #10 International Maxx Force Diesel Ford for Circle Bar Racing.[5] He found little success over the course of the season and finished 14th in points. In 25 races, he accumulated just three top-10s, including a 5th at The Milwaukee Mile. At the end of the season, Buescher left the team to focus on his new Nationwide Series ride. It was also announced that he would return to the Truck Series for up to 19 races in 2010 with Turner Motorsports.
After running the April Nashville race in the #90 Great Clips Toyota for Stringer Motorsports, Buescher ran the balance of the 2010 season in the #31 truck. In 21 races for Turner, Buescher would earn ten top-10s with two finishes of 2nd. He narrowly missed a win at New Hampshire, giving up the lead to Kyle Busch on a green-white-checker finish. Despite not running the first three events of the season, Buescher finished 11th in the final points standings, just 16 points out of 10th. Turner Motorsports announced that Buescher would return to the team for 2011, running the full 25-race schedule. Buescher led 55 laps at Daytona before finishing 9th. However, he would DNQ at Phoenix.
Buescher won his first Truck Series pole at Texas.
Personal
Buescher has a cousin, Chris, who races in the ARCA Series as a developmental driver for Roush Fenway Racing.