NASCAR-NS: Buescher last-lap victor in Nationwide Daytona 300
Joe Jennings, NASCAR correspondent
Buescher weaves through debris to win at Daytona
Running 11th coming off the final turn in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at the Daytona International Speedway, 21-year old James Buescher thought his race was over until a multi-car wreck wiped out the front-runners and the young driver weaved his way across the finish line.
The win marked the first Nationwide Series victory for the 22-year old Texan, and it came in his 35th NS race. He drove the FOE Chevrolet owned by Harry Scott Jr. The winning team collected $114,288 for their victory.
“I had lost my teammate Justin Allgaier and no one would draft with me, except for Joe Nemechek, who helped me a lot,” the victor said. “I had gotten caught up in one of those late-race wrecks and had lost track position. Using everyone else’s draft, I worked my way back up there with help from my spotter.
It is hard to describe the feeling when you make it through the wreck and you’re the only guy.
“(On the final lap) I was 11th coming off fourth turn and I didn’t know who the leader was. Someone blocked me and no one would draft with me,” the winner said. “I saw the wreck happening in front of me, picked up a little draft, went to the bottom and dodged the bullet. It is hard to describe the feeling when you make it through the wreck and you’re the only guy.
“Being in victory lane is incredible and the top of the list for any race driver. I won my first ARCA race here, so it is the second time at Daytona and I hope there’s more to come. I will never forget this one.”
Said crew chief Trent Owens, “This is a very big, big victory for us, and we are looking for great things ahead.”
Owner Scott stated, “This win means a lot to our organization. We like to work with young drivers, and we like to make drivers comfortable in our cars.”
Brad Keselowski survived the carnage to grab second place while Elliott Sadler took third place.
Keselowski drove the Discount Tire Dodge and Sadler the OneMain Financial Chevrolet.
Regarding the finish, Keselowski said, “Coming off (turn) 4, I saw ‘em all wrecking and got underneath it. Someone got into my door but I saved it somehow. I feel like I won the lottery just to finish second. But I also feel like I was that close to winning at Daytona, and I wanted to win a race in Speed Weeks so bad.”
Sadler, too, was happy to come out of it in third place. “It’s a normal Daytona,” he said. “You don’t ever know till you see the checkered flag what’s really going to happen. We had a ton of steam coming in the backstretch, and I thought we were going to win the race. Then Kurt (Busch) and Joey (Logano) came by and Joey pinched us all into the wall. I hung a left off the wall and found my way to the finish line.”
The two drivers agreed that the yellow flag should have come out sooner, to end the race and freeze the field.
Rookies Cole Whitt and Austin Dillon finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Tayler Malsam came in sixth ahead of Timmy Hill and Tony Stewart. The latter led five times for 22 laps and was seeking his fifth straight NS win at Daytona.
Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-10 finishers. The elder Busch led 42 of the 120 laps, the most of any drivers.
As always at Daytona, the competition was keen and 16 drivers led the race with a record 38 lead changes taking place.
Also, there were eight caution periods for 35 laps along with a brief race stoppage near the end of the 120-lap fray.
Three multi-car wrecks occurred in the closing laps, including an 11-car bash just short of the finish line. The first wreck involved many cars and when track crew couldn’t fix the damaged fence in a timely manner, the race was stopped for a brief period.
On the restart, Kurt Busch led Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch with Sadler immediately behind them.
Three laps later, a second wreck involving 14 cars took place, setting up the late-race charge to the finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolet was damaged in this one, sending him to the pits for repairs. He ended up 15th.
Going into the final run, Kurt Busch led Stewart and Kyle Busch with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano in hot pursuit.
Drafting down the backstretch, the leaders were setting up for the finish; instead, one car got loose and mayhem broke out, catching those intent on winning.
Said Kyle Busch, “I don’t know what happened but I thought I had the race won. When they all crashed up high, I thought I was clear. I shot low but then someone tagged me in the back. It was a hard hit. Within a split second, I was in the fence and wrecked.”
He had been running with his brother Kurt Busch for many laps prior to the final wreck.
Teammate Denny Hamlin had a different perspective. “I think the Busch brothers shot up the middle with a lot of speed and surprised two other guys,” he said. “Everyone had a little bit of over-reaction, cars started bouncing off each other and then it was a chain reaction.”
Trevor Bayne, who had made up two lost laps, ended up 11th after being wrecked at the end. “The finish was crazy,” he said. “I thought Joey (Logano) and I were going to have a shot at winning the thing.” Logano was scored 16th.
The opening laps featured tandem racing but pack racing took over thereafter. As the race moved on, the car formations alternated between the popular pack and the less popular tandem formations. The race looked like it would end in pack-style but the wreck changed everything.
Danica Patrick started from the pole and ran near the front early-on before dropping to mid-pack. Entering the third turn on the 49th lap, Patrick’s car was touched by that of teammate Cole White with the former spinning and hitting the outside wall. While she was able to limp to the pits, the car had to be taken to the garage for extensive repairs.
She returned 48 laps later and motored to a 38th-place finish after completing 72 laps.
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