FORT WORTH, Texas (June 13, 2021) – Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang was a force to be reckoned with throughout all three stages of Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open, but a chaotic opening ten laps left him just on the outside of the main event.

Buescher began the race from the second position, with the winners of each of three stages advancing to the All-Star Race later Sunday evening. He held serve on the opening lap of the race, but NASCAR initiated a review and ultimately decided Buescher had beat the race leader to the start/finish line and black-flagged him.

The Fastenal Racing team pled their case, but were told to complete a pass-through penalty. Fortunately for the team, a caution came out just before they were to complete the penalty under green. Buescher would have to restart from the tail end of the field on the ensuing restart, where he powered up through the field until contact with the No. 47 sent his Ford Mustang spinning onto the banking of Texas Motor Speedway.

Despite the setbacks, Buescher would recompose himself for a strong showing in the 20-lap opening segment. He drove up to eighth place after the two incidents, then continued to work his way to the front of the field and reached 4th place by the end of the second segment.
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With just ten laps left to race his way into the main event, Buescher pulled out all the stops but dirty air kept him from completing the final passes. Buescher would finish the event in the third position, just missing out on his second All-Star Race appearance.

Team:                   No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:         Luke Lambert
Twitter:                @17RoushTeam, @RoushFenway and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format:     75 miles, 50 laps, Three Segments (20-20-10)
 
NASCAR All-Star Open – Sunday, June 13 at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
                                                                                                                                                                 
ADVANCE NOTES
Another Historic, New-Look All-Star Race on Deck

• After holding the NASCAR All-Star Race in Charlotte for many years prior to 2020, the annual invitational event moves to its third track in as many seasons with the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway set to host the 2021 event.
• Outside of the 1986 event in Atlanta, the race had been held in Charlotte every season. Due to implications from COVID-19 a season ago, NASCAR officials moved the event from Charlotte to Bristol. And this season it moves again, this time to TMS.
• Also new to this season’s version of the ASR is a six-round, 100-lap bout that will see the winner collect $1 million, and an additional $100,000 will be presented to the fastest pit crew in a mandatory pit stop near the end of the race.
• Buescher will compete in the NASCAR Open qualifying race and attempt to race his way into the All-Star field. The Open will be run in three segments – 20 laps, 20 laps and a 10-lap shootout – with segment winners and the overall winner advancing into the main event. Fan balloting will determine the final driver in the field who is otherwise ineligible.
• For the All-Star Race itself, the overall starting lineup will be set by random draw. The format and procedures are below:
  • Round 1: 15 laps. After this round, the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw.
  • Round 2: 15 laps, with entire field inverted after this segment.
  • Round 3: 15 laps, again the field will be inverted starting anywhere from the eighth through 12th positions, to be selected by a random draw after this round.
  • Round 4: 15 laps.
  • Round 5: 30 laps. The lineup for this round will be determined by cumulative finish from the first four rounds, with the best cumulative finisher starting from the pole. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during this round. The crew with the fastest stop will pocket $100,000.
  • Round 6: 10 laps. Cars will line up according to their finishing position from the previous round for the final segment.

 
Buescher Historically in the All-Star Race

• Buescher has one start in the All-Star Race, which came in 2017. He was eligible for that race after winning in 2016 at Pocono, his lone win in the Cup Series to date.
• Buescher finished 17th in the 2017 event. Otherwise, his best finish in the Open (qualifying race) is fourth, which came last season at Bristol. He also finished fifth in the Open in 2018.
• Overall at Texas, Buescher makes his 12th Cup start. His best finish there is 15th, which came in 2018.

 
Luke Lambert in the All-Star Race

• Lambert has called seven All-Star Races all-time, and will again try and race his way in Sunday evening with Buescher. His best ASR finish came in 2013 with Jeff Burton finishing third.

 
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing in the All-Star format:
“This weekend we’ll have yet another new-look All-Star event, both in the track and the format. Last season we were very close in racing our way in at Bristol, and our goal come Sunday is to do just that. Obviously going back home again to Texas is cool for me, and it makes Sunday’s Open that much more special. Sunday is sure to be full of fireworks, and we hope to have our Fastenal Ford in the big show late Sunday night.”
 
Last Time Out
Buescher finished 16th at Sonoma after a hectic ending that saw the race go into NASCAR Overtime.

Where They Rank
With a halt in points racing this week, Buescher maintains his 14th spot in the point standings through 16 events.

On the Car
Fastenal is in its 11th season with Roush Fenway, having first joined the fold in 2010 as the primary partner on the No. 60 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team and driver Carl Edwards. That team went on to win the owners championship with Edwards in 2011. Fastenal later served as a primary on Buescher’s No. 60 Ford that captured the NXS Championship in 2015.

Fastenal will feature top suppliers Louisville, Eaton and National Safety (NSA) 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 helps its business partners strengthen their supply chains, remove unnecessary costs, and focus more resources on what they do best. The company’s distribution system centers on 3,200+ in-market locations, each providing tailored inventory, flexible service, and custom solutions to support the unique local needs of our customers. This customer-centric service network is supported by 15 regional distribution centers, a captive logistics fleet, multiple teams of industry specialists, a suite of e-business and automated supply technology solutions, and robust sourcing, quality, and manufacturing structures – all focused on helping customers reduce costs, capture time, and achieve their business goals.