LEXINGTON — It couldn’t have been scripted any better.
Running on fumes and slowed by lapped traffic as he neared the finishing line, Chris Buescher held off a hard-charging Regan Smith to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
And the 21-year-old Buescher reached victory lane for the first time in 30 Nationwide Series starts in the the No. 60 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Ford.
What are the odds?
“To have Nationwide Children’s Hospital on board and with them being the title sponsor of this race, it was a really humbling experience,” Buescher said. “It’s so cool to get my first win here and under these circumstances.
“I’m just so glad we could pull off our first win here today. It was awesome.”
It never would have happened had Buescher not conserved fuel for the last few laps. His last pit stop came on a caution on lap 52 of 90, crew chief Scott Graves said. The fuel pressure gauges in his Roush Fenway Racing Mustang began flashing with two laps to go.
“I spent the last lap shaking it back and forth a little bit making sure we could get all the fuel we could,” Buescher said. “It was cool to be able to pull it off and then have plenty left over for a good burnout at the end.”
As for Graves, he wasn’t surprised to see the rookie make it to the checkered flag.
“We’ve seen it all year. Really this isn’t the first time this year,” Graves said. “He’s quickly gaining a reputation as a fuel saver for sure.”
Smith finished second in the AmericasPower.org Chevrolet No. 7. Brian Scott was third in the Avery Neely/Shore Lodge Chevrolet No. 2.
“I was surprised that he made it,” Smith said of Buescher’s fuel conservation. “I didn’t have much more for him there at the end. I was sitting there watching him, thinking at any point he was going to run out.”
Special Guest: Buescher and Graves were joined in the post-race news conference by 6-year-old Luke Benner of nearby Mount Gilead. Benner, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in early 2013, was a “Patient Champion” paired with Buescher. A photo of Benner adorned the hood of Buescher’s car.
“He told me before the race, ‘You know my face is on the car. We need to go to victory lane,’ ” Buescher said. “I was like, ‘Oh great, no pressure.’ ”
Tough Finish: Buescher inherited the lead from the No. 62 South Point Chevrolet of Brendan Gaughan. Gaughan put himself in position to challenge late in the race but had to head to the pits after overheating.
“We were in a pretty good position, but a car in front of us went off the course and kicked up some grass,” said 1997 Ashland High School graduate Josh Wittman’s Gaughan, gas man. “It’s disappointing, because we were running well.
“What can you do? You win some and you lose some.”
Good Call: Ashland’s Tim Cowan said before the race he was aiming for a top 15 finish. It turns out he was pretty close. Cowan finished 18th in the Cowen Logistics Ford. He started in 30th position but steadily picked his way through traffic all afternoon.
It was Cowan who was bumped out of the way by Buescher near the finishing line as the eventual champ made sure to get to the checkered flag first.
“I did put the bumper to him,” Buescher said. “There was no way that I was going to let something like that cost us our first win. … We did put a bumper to him and just pushed him up top a little ways. That way we could go on about our business and make sure we got to the start-finish line first.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
