Catchfence

PREVIEW: JAMES BUESCHER (NO. 1 PHOENIX RACING CHEVROLET)

VENUE: DARLINGTON RACEWAY (1.366-MILE EGG-SHAPED OVAL)

CIRCUIT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES (RACE 10 OF 35)

DATE: MAY 7, 2010 (147 LAPS, 200 MILES)

BUESCHER AT DARLINGTON… Friday night’s race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway will be Buescher’s first start at the “Lady in Black”. Buescher will see the legendary track for the first time during Friday morning’s one and only practice session. This will be the second consecutive week that the NASCAR Nationwide Series has had a one-day show.

RUNNING MATE… For the Royal Purple 200, Phoenix Racing has partnered with Republican gubernatorial front runner Lt. Governor Andre Bauer to support his campaign for South Carolina Governor. The Andre Bauer Republican for Governor logo will adorn Buescher’s No. 1 Chevorlet this weekend. The South Carolina connection is evident as the long-time NASCAR team is based out of Spartanburg, S.C.

GAINING GROUND… Heading into the 10th race of the 2010 season, Buescher is gaining ground in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year battle. Capturing his second Rookie of the Race honors last Friday night at Richmond, Buescher holds the second position in the point standings and is currently only five points behind leader Brian Scott.

POINTS CHECK… With his solid finish at Richmond, Buescher gained two positions and currently holds the 18th-place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driver point standings. The young gun is 61 points behind 15th-place Jason Leffler and only 14 points behind 17th-place Michael Annett.

LOOKING BACK… Last week at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Buescher competed in his first race at the Virginia short track. After qualifying in 18th-place, Buescher quickly moved into the top-15, but had to come to pit road under the second caution to take tape off the grill, lowering the 280 degree water temperature. Restarting from the 27th position, the 20-year-old broke back into the top-10 by lap 103. A late-race caution set the field for a green-white-checkered flag finish and in the final two laps, Buescher gained two positions to come home with a 12th-place finish.

DID YOU KNOW?… After competing at Richmond, Buescher flew to Kansas Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Qualifying in the 11th position, Buescher quickly moved into the top-five where the youngster ran for the majority of the race. Unfortunately with eight laps remaining, Buescher’s No. 31 Wolf Pack Rentals Chevrolet ran out of fuel, relegating the Turner Motorsports team to a 16th-place finish.

TWEET OF THE WEEK… Last week while spending time in North Carolina, Buescher took time to autograph his Press Pass Trading Cards. On April 26th, the young gun tweeted a picture of all the cards he had just finished signing. Visit your local retailer to purchase your own Buescher trading card. To stay up-to-date with the Texas native, follow driver Buescher (@JamesBuescher) on Twitter.

STAY UP TO SPEED… The Royal Purple 200 from Darlington Raceway will take the green flag this Friday, May 7th at 7:45 P.M. Eastern. Race coverage will be televised live on ESPN2, beginning at 7 PM Eastern. In addition, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast, beginning at 7 PM Eastern.

QUOTES FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL:

BUESCHER (On racing at Darlington Raceway): “This is the second week in a row that I’m heading to a track that I haven’t raced on before. I had never been to Richmond before last week and it turned out well with our 12th-place finish so hopefully we can go to Darlington and get the same results. My Phoenix Racing team has been working extremely hard and we will continue to compete for the top-10s and then break consistently into the top-five. Once we do that, I’m confident that our first win will come. We have Andre Bauer’s logo on our Chevrolet this week, spreading the word about his Republican run for Governor of South Carolina, so that is really cool.”

- Phoenix Racing Press Release