NEWTON, IA - SEPT. 07: James Buescher, driver of the No. 31 Motomaster Eliminator Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fan Appreciation 200 at the Iowa Speedway on Sept. 7, 2013 in Newton, Iowa. (Photo by Robert Laberge/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Sometimes in racing, all it takes fresh tires and a fast ride to be successful.
That's exactly what James Buescher had on his side in the closing laps of Sunday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway.
Holding off pole-sitter Ross Chastain, Buescher earned his second win in four races and closed the gap on points leader Matt Crafton.
Using strategy from the outset of the race, Buscher and his Turner Scott Motorsports team was able to save a fresh set of tires for late in the race. Pitting with 20 laps to go, Buescher had fresh rubber, but was forced to work his way through traffic.
Contact with Timothy Peters brought out an additional caution and forced a green-white-checkered restart. Buescher was able to maintain the lead on the restart, but another yellow flew when Brendan Gaughan had an issue with the brakes and collected Joey Coulter.
On the final GWC restart, Buescher once again got the jump on Chastain and was able to drive away for his first win at Iowa.
"Slow and steady wins the race," Buescher said of the points battle. "A little bit is better than not gaining any (points) at all...We're coming for this championship."
Chastain was able to hold on to second, with Johnny Sauter and Darrell Wallace Jr. rounding out the top 5.
After the race, Peters was not happy with the contact with Buescher that sent him sliding out of contention with only a handful of laps remaining. The runner-up to Buescher in the 2012 points battle showed his displeasure after the race by running into the door of the No. 31 as he was celebrating.
Going into Sunday's race, a lot of attention was placed on Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott after last week's last lap wreck for the win. Dillon did not rule out retaliation, but would never get the chance.
Elliott strugged from the outset of the race, going a lap down to the field on Lap 34. The problems only got worse as the No. 94 spun and made hard contact with the outside wall on Lap 37.
Points leader Matt Crafton had a quiet day, bringing the No. 88 ThorSport truck home in seventh. Although he lost 10 points to Buescher, Crafton still enjoys a 37-point lead with seven races left in the season.
