Current events are on the docket as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-host Mike Davis unpack the turbulent happenings of NASCAR’s weekend in Texas on this week’s episode of The Dale Jr. Download. Not only that, but they’ve brought in a guest who was very much a part of the turbulence, recent Bristol night race winner Chris Buescher.

Dale and Chris have had some friendly banter over the past few weeks after Dale mistakenly referred to Chris as “Christopher” during a race broadcast. As the misstep reoccurred, Dale began to embrace the name change-up in an effort to catch his fellow commentators in the same spur-of-the-moment confusion. Chris caught wind of the joke via social media and took it in stride, even going as far as to change his profile name on Twitter and the driver name decal on his Roush Fenway Keselowski No. 17 car. 

Dale explains that he first grew to admire Chris when he bested then JR Motorsports driver Chase Elliott in the 2015 Xfinity Series season points standings. They discuss Chris leaving his hometown of Prosper, Texas at the age of 15 to move to North Carolina to pursue a career in motorsports. Chris credits his upbringing from his parents and knowing he was there to work and race.

A huge part of Buescher's journey was a friendship he forged with Ken and David Ragan, which stemmed from a black flag incident during the Summer Shootout Legends car event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Chris recalls getting in trouble for rough driving during the race and being sent to Ken’s office, who was managing 600 Racing at the time. After the Shootout, Ken explained to Chris’ family that if they were serious about racing, they needed to move out east. When they established that they were not in the place to do that at the time, Ken offered the spare bedroom in his house to Chris. 

Chris talks about getting involved in the Roush Racing development program thanks to help from the Ragans. His first step up the ladder was the ARCA Series, where he raced out of Midlothian, Illinois with the Roulo Brothers Racing outfit. He also discusses adapting to a stock car after transitioning out of Legends cars, and how he knocked the nose off his car on a start in one of his first races at Salem Speedway. 

The story of Chris making his Xfinity Series debut is a wild one, as he was tabbed last minute to fill in for Trevor Bayne in 2011, who went on medical leave. After forgetting to plug his phone in overnight, he was awakened by Gary Roulo who informed him “get your stuff, we’re going to the airport”. In the car, Gary explained the situation, and soon Chris was at Richmond Raceway getting fitted to hop into the No. 16 car with no practice laps or simulator time. 

The interview also discusses Chris’ time with Front Row Motorsports after winning the 2015 Xfinity Championship and his rain-shortened Cup victory at Pocono in 2016. Dale asks about the culture change at RFK since the arrival of Brad Keselowski. They also discuss the NextGen car’s tire issues and what changes can be made to Texas Motor Speedway to help better the racing there. 

With only a few races left in the 2022 Cup schedule, Chris is optimistic about where the RFK Racing organization is heading, and he’s looking forward to capitalizing on the momentum they’ve built in the past few weeks. 

DIRTY AIR

ASKJR presented by Xfinity

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