James Buescher Ready To Make Chicago ARCA Debut

Topics:  James Buescher, Chicagoland ARCA 200

Chris Knight
Win-Tron Racing
September 4, 2008

JOLIET, Ill. (September 4, 2008) - - James Buescher has been a busy man in 2008. From the ARCA RE/MAX Series to the NASCAR Camping World Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, Buescher has hardly had a weekend off and the first weekend of September will prove to be no different for the upcoming star as he’ll make his second straight start for Win-Tron Racing at Chicagoland Speedway for Saturday’s Chicagoland ARCA 200 in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Buescher is looking to add a second career ARCA win to an already impressive résumé and swings into the Windy City excited to make his first mile-and-a-half start of the 2008 season. He has made four starts in 2008 all coming on short tracks. Buescher made his season debut at the Iowa Speedway before tackling ARCA’s return to Canada at Cayuga Motor Speedway before playing in the Music City at Nashville Superspeedway last month. Earlier this week, Buescher competed in the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, finishing ninth.

Switching gears back to asphalt, Buescher is eyeing Saturday’s event as an opportunity to continue Win-Ton Racing’s streak of winning at least one race since 2005. With time running out and Buescher on deck, a win is not out of the picture.

“I’ve never competed at Chicagoland Speedway but I’m looking forward to it,” said Buescher, a native of Plano , Texas . “Win-Tron Racing has run very strong on the mile-and-a-half tracks this year, so we’re expecting to unload strong and remain in contention.”

In an effort to give Buescher a head-start for this weekend’s activities, Win-Tron Racing participated in the open test at the 1.5-mile speedplant following Buescher’s top-20 run at Nashville Superspeedway last month.

Throughout the eight hour test, the team played with the setup on their No. 32 Dodge Charger trying to find their comfort zone. By the end of the day, Buescher had climbed the speed charts and unofficially posted the fifth fastest lap, mounting a lap of 31.180 seconds. “We were satisfied with the test but we knew we still had some work to do,” offered Buescher. “We felt the test gave us a baseline for where we needed to be, but everyone agreed that there were changes we could make to make our car faster. Hopefully those changes will pay off this weekend.”

Even with his limited experience at the Joliet , Illinois track, Buescher knows that he’s in great company heading into the 17th race of the season. “Mike [Chaffee, crew chief] and Kevin [Cywinski, driver coach] have plenty of laps at Chicagoland, which makes my job a little easier. As a driver, I’m not happy unless I’m in the hunt to win and this team deserves to win. That’s our goal Saturday afternoon.”

Win-Tron Racing nearly tasted victory in 2006 when ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie-of-the-Year Blake Bjorklund piloted the team’s No. 32 entry to a runner-up finish after starting eighth. In 2005, ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie-of-the-Year captured the ARCA SIM Factory pole award at Chicagoland Speedway for the Lakeville, Minnesota based team.

Win-Tron Racing General Manager Nate Thiesse commented, “It’s hard to believe that with all the races that James has run, he hasn’t been to Chicagoland. But, we’re happy to have him at the helm this weekend and feel we can improve on the test and be a factor Saturday afternoon.”

Buescher is scheduled to be behind the wheel of the No. 32 entry for at least three more events this year including Chicagoland Speedway , New Jersey Motorsports Park and Talladega Superspeedway.

Entering Chicagoland, Win-Tron Racing sits 15th in the ARCA RE/MAX Series owner’s standings after 16 races. 60 credits separate car owner Kevin Cywinski from the 14th position held by Andy Hillenburg (No. 11). The team maintained their position from their last outing at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds where Buescher recorded a ninth place finish.

Mercedes Homes and Win-Tron Racing Driver Development will serve as the marketing partners for Saturday’s event.

Further information on Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on James Buescher, please logon to JamesBuescher.com.

The Chicagoland ARCA 200 (200 miles/134 laps) is the 17th of 21 events on the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The eighth ARCA race at Chicagoland Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday September 5 with a two hour practice session planned from 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag on Saturday September 6 shortly after 5:00 p.m. The race will be next day taped-delay on SPEED (Sunday September 6 at 4:00 p.m.) with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring available online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.