BUSCH

• Buescher picks up first Nationwide pole at Memphis

  
  

  Millington, TN (Sports Network) - James Buescher scored his first pole in the Nationwide Series by grabbing the top starting spot for Saturday's Kroger on Track for the Cure 250 at the Memphis Motorsports Park. The No.32 Toyota driver rounded the .75-mile oval in 22.961 seconds (117.591 m.p.h.).

  Buescher recorded his first pole in just his sixth Nationwide start. He joined Cale Gale (Bristol), Dario Franchitti (Watkins Glen), Bryan Clauson (Daytona), Landon Cassill (New Hampshire), Brad Keselowski (Milwaukee), Joey Logano (Nashville) and Colin Braun (Mexico City) as first-time pole winners in the series this year.

  "I didn't think the pole was going to hold up since we went out 23rd and half of the field still had not gone," Buescher said. "There was a couple of them that I thought were going to get us. Hopefully we should be able to stay out in front, and track position should be pretty big." Buescher, at 18 years, 7 months old, became the third youngest driver in series history to win a pole, as Logano earlier this year and Casey Atwood in 1998 accomplished the feat at a younger age.

  Starting alongside Buescher on the front row will be David Stremme, who posted the second-best time of 22.984.

  "I think the car is very good," Stremme said. "We went and tested a month and a half ago at a little short track, and it showed at Richmond. We finished ninth there and brought the same car here to Memphis. It's been pretty good, just tuned on it a little bit." Josh Wise qualified David Reutimann's car to third place, but Reutimann will have to start in the back of the field since he missed qualifying to practice for the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta. Points leader Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, David Ragan and Marcos Ambrose also missed qualifying and will start from the rear of the field.

  Marc Davis will start fourth in his Nationwide debut. Davis, a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, will drive the No.18 Toyota. His JGR teammate, Logano, will roll off 24th in the No.20 Toyota. Logano did not make the field for the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta since qualifying was cancelled on Friday due to inclement weather.

  Mike Bliss and Steve Wallace will start in the third row.

  Seventh through 10th will be: Cale Gale, Landon Cassill, Jason Leffler and Kenny Wallace.

  Jarit Johnson, the younger brother of two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, will start 42nd in his first-ever Nationwide race. Johnson's No.22 Dodge failed pre-qualifying inspection, and his team could not have the car ready in time for his qualifying attempt. Therefore, he was awarded a starting spot based on owner points.

  Four races remain in the this year's Nationwide season, and if Edwards has any hopes of defending his series title, the time to catch Bowyer in the point standings is now.

  Bowyer currently holds a comfortable 196-point lead.

  The green flag is scheduled to drop around 3:30 p.m. (et).

  10/25 13:14:50 ET