LOUDON, N.H. (July 18, 2021) – A wild sequence of weather, wrecks and darkness resulted in a shortened race Sunday afternoon in Loudon, with an early incident halting a solid run for Chris Buescher. He would finish the race 29th in his Fastenal Ford Mustang, placing further importance on winning one of the next four races to lock into the NASCAR Playoffs.

A steady mist let up just before the scheduled start of the race, with Buescher taking the green from the 17th position. However, rain began to fall just after the start of the event, with the wet conditions sending several of the leaders spinning through turn two. The incident brought out a red flag that lasted just under two hours.

As the race resumed, NASCAR was forced to reckon with the encroaching sunset and no lights at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The league informed teams that it would make every effort to complete the scheduled distance of the race, but could shorten the event if needed.

Buescher made quick work of the restart, jumping into the top-15 before more cautions jumbled the pit strategy of the field. He would finish the first stage 21st after electing to pit prior to the end of the segment.

The saying that cautions breed more cautions certainly was true on this afternoon, as a caution just after the start of the second stage once again bunched the field up at the short track. Just laps after that restart, Buescher found himself just behind a spinning competitor and was knocked into the inside retaining wall at the track. He had to pit twice for the Fastenal team to repair damage and returned to the race track a lap down from the leaders in 30th place.
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The team tried to play pit strategies to get the lap back, but with the rest of the race running mostly green as NASCAR tried to complete the scheduled distance they were never able to get back on the lead lap. Buescher would ultimately finish in the 29th position.

Chris Buescher – Loudon Advance
Team:                   No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Luke Lambert
Race Format:     318.5 miles, 301 laps, Stages: 75-110-116
 
Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 – Sunday, July 18 at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
                                                                                                                                                                 
ADVANCE NOTES
Buescher at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

• Buescher makes his eighth Cup start at NHMS this weekend. In six prior events, he has an average finish of 23.6 with a best finish of 15th in 2019.
• In two NXS events, Buescher finished fifth in his first race in the No. 60 entry for Jack Roush in 2014, and followed with a 14th-place run a year later.

 
Luke Lambert at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

• Lambert will call his 15th Cup race at NHMS on Sunday, where he has an average finish of 14.5 with six top-10s. Nine of his 14 starts came with Ryan Newman at RCR.
• He led Jeff Burton to a third-place run in 2013, and followed that with an eighth-place finish that fall. Most recently, Lambert and Newman ran sixth together in 2018.
• Lambert also called one Xfinity event with Elliott Sadler in 2012, finishing seventh.

 
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on Racing at Loudon:
“We need every point we can and we’re going to have to fight hard this weekend in Loudon. We’ve worked hard on places like Loudon to make our days better and capitalize on those. Been doing a lot of sim work to make sure we do everything within our power to be prepared this weekend with our Fastenal Ford.”
 
Last Time Out
Buescher ran 16th in last weekend’s race at Atlanta.

Where They Rank
Buescher remains 17th in the Cup Series standings with five races remaining in the regular season.

On the Car
Fastenal returns to the fold at Roush Fenway for its 11th season in 2021. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping to the No. 17 Cup Series entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Fastenal will feature top suppliers PIP, Medique, Duracell/Procell, ARC and Berkshire Corp. on Buescher’s Mustang as he competes this weekend. For more information on these suppliers, visit Fastenal.com, and stay up-do-date on social @FastenalRacing, @Fastenal.

About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.