NASCAR Truck Series - American Ethanol 200
July 13th, 2013 - Iowa Speedway
James Buescher and the Rheem team entered Iowa Speedway coming off their best 2013 finish to date, after finishing fourth two weeks ago at Kentucky Speedway.. The determined Turner Scott Motorsports team showed they were going to be ones to contend with after working their way up from a 12th-starting spot to leading the race by lap 127. After a late-race yellow, the Rheem team ducked down pit road to put on four Goodyear tires and restarted in the sixth position. Buescher made some daring moves to put himself back into the top three, but the team ran out of laps to advance any further. Buescher and the Rheem team bettered their best finish of the season, coming home in third place at Iowa Speedway and moving up to third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Point Standings.
During the nearly six hours of practice time, the Rheem team was able to experiment on their Chevrolet Silverado. However, the team hit a snag when Buescher and the No. 31 blew a motor just before the end of the second practice session on Friday afternoon. The team was able to replace the motor and used Saturday's final practice session to find a comfortable setup for the American Ethanol 200. After qualifying 12th, Buescher made his presence felt early in the race as he raced just inside the top 10, running lap times quicker than the leader. During the first half of the 200-lap race, Buescher was able to pick off positions and fine tune his truck, with chassis adjustments during a pit stop on lap 56.
Continuing his march towards the top of the scoring pylon, Buescher was able to make a stellar three-wide pass down the backstretch after a restart that vaulted him from the second-running position into the lead. In the closing laps of the race, the second-to-last yellow flag was displayed and Buescher surrendered the second spot to come down pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a slight chassis adjustment. Buescher was forced to restart in the sixth position after the top five opted to only take two tires. Buescher wasted no time on the restart and was able to work his way up to fourth before the caution flag waved again. With just six laps remaining, Buescher again used his strong restart skills to battle his way up and cross the finish line in the third position.
It was another great race for our Rheem team and a overall solid points night. It was fun to run out front, and I think we had something for the top two but we just ran out of laps. I ended up getting a little too tight there at the end. I think I made the mistake by calling for a chassis adjustment when I we could have left our truck how it was coming off our last pit stop. Our Rheem team was awesome all weekend, and I can't thank them enough for all the hard work they always put in. - James Buescher
Start - 12, Finish - 3, Laps Led - 39, Points - 42
