By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
JTG Daugherty Racing stayed together throughout much of Sunday’s AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway. Teammates Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger may have qualified 12 spots apart, but they found each other quick and raced nose-to-tail in the top 25.
At the end of 400 laps, it was Buescher who upped Allmendinger to finish in 20th position, while Allmendinger grabbed 21st.
And for one of the small, mid-pack teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, a top 20 isn’t what they would use to define a great day.
“It wasn’t a bad day for us, but I wish it could have been better,” said Buescher.
That statement may seem obvious, but it’s been the story of both Buescher’s and JTG’s 2018 season after 11 races. Not bad, but could be better. The second-year JTG driver of Buescher has only scored five top-20 finishes this year and, for the first time, tied back-to-back top 20s after a 20th at Dover and 11th at Talladega.
The positive thus far was a top five in the Daytona 500, which was the Texan’s first since Bristol in 2016. Since then, he has fallen to 25th in points while Allmendinger sits 24th, six points ahead.
So, a repeat of Sunday’s 20th place in the future won’t do much help for JTG and the No. 37 Chevrolet crew. Dover challenged the 25-year-old, who struggled with rear grip to make significant progress before and after the rain hit with 80 laps to go.
“I just got a little off on the last run of the day as you would have it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost rear grip there. During the weekend, we made some good progress from practice and qualified well. There’s a lot of positives, but still, a lot to work on yet.”
Buescher heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend, a track he drove to a strong sixth-place finish last time out in 2017.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher
Mid-Pack With Zach: Chris Buescher, JTG Daugherty Racing
By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Each week, Kickin’ The Tires will highlight the 20th-place finisher from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Standing as the middleman in weekends with 40-car fields, there is sure to be a story behind each one.
JTG Daugherty Racing stayed together throughout much of Sunday’s AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway. Teammates Chris Buescher and AJ Allmendinger may have qualified 12 spots apart, but they found each other quick and raced nose-to-tail in the top 25.
At the end of 400 laps, it was Buescher who upped Allmendinger to finish in 20th position, while Allmendinger grabbed 21st.
And for one of the small, mid-pack teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, a top 20 isn’t what they would use to define a great day.
“It wasn’t a bad day for us, but I wish it could have been better,” said Buescher.
That statement may seem obvious, but it’s been the story of both Buescher’s and JTG’s 2018 season after 11 races. Not bad, but could be better. The second-year JTG driver of Buescher has only scored five top-20 finishes this year and, for the first time, tied back-to-back top 20s after a 20th at Dover and 11th at Talladega.
The positive thus far was a top five in the Daytona 500, which was the Texan’s first since Bristol in 2016. Since then, he has fallen to 25th in points while Allmendinger sits 24th, six points ahead.
So, a repeat of Sunday’s 20th place in the future won’t do much help for JTG and the No. 37 Chevrolet crew. Dover challenged the 25-year-old, who struggled with rear grip to make significant progress before and after the rain hit with 80 laps to go.
“I just got a little off on the last run of the day as you would have it,” he said. “Unfortunately, we lost rear grip there. During the weekend, we made some good progress from practice and qualified well. There’s a lot of positives, but still, a lot to work on yet.”
Buescher heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend, a track he drove to a strong sixth-place finish last time out in 2017.
List of 20th-Place Finishers So Far in 2018
Daytona: Gray Gaulding
Atlanta: Alex Bowman
Las Vegas: Trevor Bayne
ISM: Trevor Bayne (2)
Auto Club: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Martinsville: William Byron
Texas: Gray Gaulding(2)
Bristol: Landon Cassill
Richmond: Ty Dillon
Talladega: DJ Kennington
Dover: Chris Buescher