|
 The 22-year-old Roush Fenway Racing driver took the lead at the
.533-mile track Friday after electing not to pit on Lap 192 of 300.
Buescher paced the field for the next 106 laps, but a fuel pickup
issue on the penultimate go-round of the race ended any hopes of
triumph. Buescher was relegated to 11th, while Ty Dillon finished
third, cutting Buescher's NASCAR XFINITY Series points lead to 19.
If Buescher hadn't gone for the win, he wouldn't have lost as many
points to Dillon.
"We had the speed, but it wasn't meant to be," Buescher said. "I'm
glad we took the chance. I wouldn't change it if we could do it over
again, but unfortunately it knocked us right out of a top-10
(finish) and out of a win."
Buescher and Dillon will continue to battle for the points lead
Saturday in the Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. (3 p.m. on NBCSN). It's the third and
final XFINITY Series road course race of the season. The two drivers
are the only competitors who finished in the top five of the
previous two road course races.
A natural on road courses, Buescher won at Mid-Ohio last year and
also has been in the top five in both road races this year. He
placed 18th in his lone start at Road America last season.
"Road America is a very difficult and unique road course," Buescher
said. "I love road racing and look forward to the challenge."
Dillon finished 19th in his first series start at Road America last
year. He enters Saturday riding a streak of four top-five finishes.
"Our team is looking at the big picture and sometimes we have to
take a step back and realize that this is a long season, to take it
little by little," Dillon said. "This past weekend in Bristol was a
perfect example. We struggled the first part of practice, but (crew
chief) Nick (Harrison), (race engineer) Danny (Efland) and the team
just took a step back and reevaluated. We have a championship to win
here and it won't be easy.
"We have 11 races to go and we're not going to let up."
'HOMECOMING' FOR HAYLEY
No one would blame Cameron Hayley for getting homesick.
The 19-year-old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver resides in
Sandusky, Ohio, where his ThorSport Racing team is based -- 1,891
miles away from his hometown of Calgary, Alberta. Most of the tracks
he races at are even farther away.
Distance has not stopped Hayley from chasing his NASCAR dream.
Hayley will have a homecoming of sorts when he performs in front of
his fellow countrymen Sunday in the Chevrolet Silverado 250 at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1). It's
the NCWTS's only road course race of the season.
"Not only is this a track I've been to before; it's also in my home
country," said Hayley, who ranks sixth in the NCWTS standings on the
strength of three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 14 starts
this season. "I just hope that I will have a good run for all of my
Canadian fans."
An alumnus of the NASCAR Next initiative highlighting the sport's
top up-and-coming drivers, Hayley is still searching for his first
NASCAR national series win. If he takes the checkered flag Sunday,
he would be the first Canadian to win a NASCAR national series race
since Ron Fellows visited Victory Lane in Montreal's Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve in 2008.
Racing in his first full-time NCWTS season, Hayley has gained
momentum lately, logging six top-10 finishes in his last eight
starts, including a career-best fourth-place showing at Pocono. He
made his series debut at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last season,
finishing 11th, and believes his experience there will help him
Sunday.
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"We've done really well at tracks that I've been to in the past this
year, already," Hayley said. "I've been to Sonoma a couple times and
that place was really difficult. You look at Canadian Tire
Motorsport Park and think it can't be as difficult as Sonoma, but
it's a very fast race track, and fast race tracks are not forgiving.
It takes a lot of finesse and a lot of guts to go out there and get
it done. We are bringing a really good truck, so I think this will
be another good race for us to go out and get a solid top-five, if
not a win."
NASCAR RACE WEEKEND GUIDE
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Road America 180
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Date and Time: Saturday at 3 p.m. ET
On the Air: NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 182.16 miles (45 laps)
What to Watch For: Comcast announced the creation of the Comcast
Community Champion of the Year Award, honoring NASCAR team members
for their outstanding charitable endeavors. Comcast's XFINITY brand
is the title sponsor of the NASCAR XFINITY Series. ... NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series driver Paul Menard, from Eau Claire, Wis., will pilot the
Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet. ... Defending Road
America race winner Brendan Gaughan is the only former victor in the
field who has taken the checkered flag at the Wisconsin road course.
... Daniel Suarez attempts to increase his 27-point lead over
Darrell Wallace Jr. in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. ...
NASCAR Next alum Dylan Kwasniewski will make his third start for
Obaika Racing this season. ... Boris Said and Kenny Habul will
compete for Joe Gibbs Racing for the third time this season (all at
road courses). ... Chase Elliott will attempt to post his 25th
career top-five finish. He ranks third in the series standings, 23
points behind Chris Buescher.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race: Chevrolet Silverado 250
Track: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Date and Time: Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (ET)
On the Air: FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 157.37 miles (64 laps)
What to Watch For: Canadian Alex Tagliani will take the wheel of the
Brad Keselowski Racing No. 29 Ford F-150 at Canadian Tire Motorsport
Park, where he is the defending Coors Light Pole Award winner. ...
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship points race is
packed, with Tyler Reddick leading Matt Crafton (seven points
behind) and Erik Jones (eight). ... NASCAR Next alum Gray Gaulding
will take the wheel of a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra for
the first time. He logged a career-best fourth-place finish at
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last season. ... Daniel Hemric is
going for his fifth consecutive top-five finish. ...
Chinese-American Brian Wong will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series debut.
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