Roush teammates move past Monster Mile incident, look towards Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Chris Buescher and Darrell Wallace Jr., teammates-turned-rivals two weeks ago, said Friday they’ve put their Dover differences behind them, turning their focus toward an all-important track for their Roush Fenway Racing organization.
Buescher enters Saturday’s Great Clips 250 Benefiting Paralyzed Veterans of America (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) at Michigan International Speedway as the NASCAR XFINITY Series points leader. Wallace, in his first year driving for Roush Fenway, ranks 49 points behind his teammate in fifth place.
Their proximity in the standings aside, the two teammates were not exactly chummy after clanging fenders in the latter stages of the series’ most recent race at Dover International Speedway. Buescher drove away to his second victory of the season while Wallace faded with a flat tire.
The run-in made the Roush Fenway camp’s Monday morning meeting after Dover an awkward one, but two weeks later, the waters appear to have smoothed.
“It was hard racing is what it comes down to,” Buescher told NASCAR.com before Friday’s rain-delayed XFINITY practice on the 2-mile track. “We’ve had a talk about it and obviously it was not an ideal situation and we don’t ever want to be in the same situation again. We’ve talked and we’re going to put it behind us. We’re going to go into Michigan and treat it as another race where we need to go be teammates again and go perform at our highest level. And we’ll be OK. We’ve talked about it a little bit, and it’s just a racing deal, you know? You’ll go through that sometimes.”
Wallace’s easy-going Friday demeanor was in direct contrast to his dismay after the checkered flag at Dover. After joking about how “interesting” the Monday meeting was, Wallace said the team was ready to move forward.
“Dover’s definitely behind us,” Wallace said. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye in that meeting. We still know we’ve got to be smart, but I told them they’ve got a lot more to lose than me.”
Both Roush Fenway drivers may be feeling more burden to perform this weekend at Michigan, a longtime stronghold for team owner Jack Roush. The premium on running well in the showcase event for manufacturers Ford and Chevrolet is a tall order, a team edict that places a little more pressure on Saturday’s 250-miler.
“Every time we talk about Michigan, this exact subject comes up,” Buescher said. “It’s Jack’s home track, it’s Ford’s home track — we’re expected to come here and perform at our highest level. This is one that, it’s a tough race to win. It’s a lot of momentum, it’s a lot of drafting, which has been difficult for me to get a hold of at a place like this. We try really hard to make sure we bring the best stuff possible here and get the win.
“There is pressure here. We keep it circled. We know that we need to come and win this race, not only for Jack but for Ford and for our race team.”
Wallace said he participated in a private fantasy league among family members growing up, making sure to stock his lineup with heavily favored Roush drivers for each Michigan race. While Roush Fenway’s XFINITY efforts — with three drivers in the top eight in standings — may be outpacing their Sprint Cup Series brethren (no drivers better than 18th), Wallace suggests that side of the operation may be ready to turn the corner.
“We’ve actually found speed fairly quick,” Wallace said of his XFINITY No. 6 team. “It’s been cool to see (Greg) Biffle finish second in the 600 there, and he was strong during the All-Star Race. They continue to show speed. It’s starting to improve, so it’s cool to see that for the future. Hopefully we can continue to find more speed as a team overall.”