Buescher comes full circle to Martinsville

"It is a different situation for me, but it seems like my life has changed a lot year to year over the last three years," Buescher said recently. "Every year it seems like something different has come my way good or bad. A lot of great things have happened and a lot of humbling things have happened. It just makes you have a different perspective on life and what's important, what you do need to focus on and what you need to be more appreciative about.
 
"It's been a humbling experience ... last year definitely wasn't up to standards as far as my performance on track. It's been a rough go. Try to hit reset this year and come back to the Truck Series, run up front and compete for wins is what I wanted to do."
 
Buescher's limited schedule with NTS didn't originally include this weekend's Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. He was at last week's test at the 0.526-mile track to lend a hand to teammate and rookie Daniel Hemric.
 
Now, he returns as a fellow competitor, driving the team's No. 31 Chevrolet.
 
A winner of six NCWTS races, Buescher won the 2012 title while driving for Turner Scott Motorsports. He finished third in points the following year before moving up to NASCAR's XFINITY Series last season.
 
Although he finished 10th in points, he managed only two top-10 finishes (at Richmond and Bristol) with the Robby Benton-owned team.
 
Another off-season move landed him back in the NCWTS with owner Bob Newberry and NTS Motorsports.
 
"I'm just thankful for the opportunity I have with NTS Motorsports. Bob Newberry's given me a good opportunity. We had fast trucks in Daytona, a fast truck in Atlanta, but couldn't catch a break in Atlanta. We had a top-five truck and passed the second-place truck with 20 or 30 (laps) to go but were stuck a lap down based on pit issues.
 
"If we can eliminate mistakes we can definitely win some races with this team this year. Right now we're working on getting sponsorship together to be able to compete full-time."
 
Buescher finished 17th in the season-opening race at Daytona and eighth a week later at Atlanta. He is currently fifth in points, trailing leader Tyler Reddick (Brad Keselowski Racing) by 24.
 
The series has been idle for the past three weeks.
 
In nine career starts at Martinsville, Buescher has four top-10s and a career-best third-place finish in 2012. Only once has he finished outside the top 14.
 
"I remember getting used up by the veterans for sure," he said of his '09 Martinsville debut.
 
"Martinsville is a place you feel you figure out as a rookie and you've got it mastered the first time you come test or the first time you practice here. You're like, 'oh, it's a short track, it's going to be just like my background in Late Model racing and everything else.' Then after a couple of times you figure out that you've been doing it wrong. It wasn't until my fifth or sixth time here that it clicked and I found what I'd been missing and started running better here."
 
Much of that information he's tried to pass on to teammate Hemric, a 24-year-old with limited experience in the series.
 
"Being a short track, you want to drive it in as far as you can; you think it's going to make the most speed," Buescher said. "But you hear it all the time, slow down to go faster in stock car racing. You have to slow things down and just be patient with the truck, just be smooth and you're going to have faster lap times, you'll be faster through the center of the corner."
 
But, he admitted, "It's hard to make yourself do that."
 
While he's yet to miss a race as he transitioned between teams these last few years, that possibility has given him a new perspective.
 
"I didn't know if I was ever going to get back in a race car," he said.
 
"It does give you a different appreciation for things coming together and how quickly things can change. It wasn't very long ago we were on the championship stage and we definitely still have the potential to do it again this year.
 
"If we can get everything aligned to be on the track every week, I think we definitely have a legitimate shot to go for a championship."

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