Michigan Double Header - Race Advance

Chris Buescher – Michigan DH Advance
Team:                      No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief:        Luke Lambert
Race Format:     Saturday: 312 miles, 156 laps, Stage Lengths: 40-45-71
                                   Sunday: 312 miles, 156 laps, Stage Lengths: 40-45-71
 
FireKeepers Casino 400 – Saturday, Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
Consumers Energy 400 – Sunday, Aug. 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
               
ADVANCE NOTES
First of Two Doubleheaders in Three Weeks on Deck at Michigan

• NASCAR heads north to Michigan International Speedway for a doubleheader this weekend, the second of the 2020 season. Both events will run 312 miles (156 laps) at the 2-mile track.
• The Cup Series is coming off Sunday’s race from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the 20th points event of the season. After this weekend, four races remain in NASCAR’s regular season, with the playoffs set to begin at Darlington on Labor Day weekend.
• The starting lineup for Saturday’s race will be determined by a random draw within teams’ order in owners’ points. Buescher will draw for a spot in the 13-24 group. Cars will line up Sunday based off an invert of the top-20 finishers from Saturday, with positions 21-40 lining up in their respective finishing positions from Saturday.
• Four weeks of NASCAR action were initially completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed before the schedule later picked back up in mid-May.

 
Buescher Historically at Michigan International Speedway

• Buescher will make his ninth and 10th Cup start at Michigan this weekend, where he holds an average finish of 21.4. Buescher’s best result at the 2-mile track came back in 2017, where he finished sixth at the August event.
• Most recently, Buescher put together two solid runs a season ago, crossing the line 16th last June followed by a 14th-place finish in August.
• Buescher also has three Xfinity Series starts at Michigan, recording three top-10 results. He finished seventh in the No. 16 entry in 2013, and followed that with a 10th-place effort in 2014, and fourth in 2015.

 
Luke Lambert at Michigan International Speedway

• Lambert will call his 15th and 16th Cup events at MIS this weekend, where he has an average finish of 13.6 with four top-10s.
• Lambert’s best finish of fourth came with Ryan Newman in 2017, and he finished 10th and eighth with Jeff Burton in back-to-back races in 2013.
• Lambert also called one Xfinity event with Elliott Sadler in 2012, finishing 11th.

 
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Michigan:
“Michigan is a big weekend for our sport from a manufacturer perspective, but also for Jack and everyone at Roush Fenway, with the parent company Roush Industries in the back yard of MIS. Michigan tends to be a track that brings in strategy calls, specifically with fuel mileage, so that will make things interesting in back-to-back events this weekend. We’re looking for a strong run in our Fastenal Ford Mustang.”

Last Time Out
Buescher finished 25th Sunday at Loudon.

Where They Rank
Buescher is 21st in driver standings through 20 events.

On the Car
Fastenal celebrates its 10th season with Roush Fenway Racing in 2020. The Minnesota company 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.

While the overall Fastenal scheme will remain the same for both races this weekend at MIS, different suppliers will be highlighted aboard the No. 17 as Fastenal Racing’s featured suppliers.

• Saturday
  • Wypall (KCP), a brand under the Kimberly-Clark umbrella that specializes in task-specific wipes and cloths, will ride on the hood.
  • JET, with 50 years’ experience in the industrial tool category, will be on the TV panel.
  • T-Rex tape, a Shurtape brand, will ride on the deck lid.
  • Sqwincher, a leading producer of electrolyte beverages, will be on the lower rear quarter panel.
• Sunday
  • Loctite, a leader in adhesives, sealants and surface treatments will be on the hood.
  • 3M, who works in the fields of industry, worker safety, US health care, and consumer goods, will be on the TV panel.
  • Sammys, an ITW brand, will ride on the deck lid.
  • MSA, a maker of sophisticated safety products, will ride on the lower rear quarter panel.

 
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.