Phoenix Race Preview
DRIVER: Jade Buford / No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Cooler Chevrolet
CREW CHIEF: Patrick Donahue
TRACK: Phoenix Raceway
RACE: Call 811 Before You Dig 200 (200 laps / 200 miles)
DATE: Saturday, March 13, 2021
QUOTES
JADE BUFORD, DRIVER
“I’m looking forward to Phoenix. I think it actually might be a little bit easier to learn from the driving side just because the nature of it not being as steeply banked and the speeds being lower. Any track we go to that has longer braking zones, and can in any way be more similar to a road course than a high-speed oval, will play a little bit to our advantage or at least make for an easier learning curve. I know the team has been working hard to get our Big Machine Spiked Cooler Chevrolet good to go and it’s just a matter of time before we get a top 10 on an oval. Hopefully we can get it done this weekend.”
SCOTT BORCHETTA, TEAM OWNER
“Big Machine Racing will be just 70 days old when driver Jade Buford hits the Phoenix Raceway on Saturday in his Spiked Cooler Camaro. What crew chief Patrick Donahue has done in such a short time in pulling this team together is extraordinary. And Jade, a career road racer, is learning the oval game at a very rapid pace. I’m very pleased with where we are and each week we’re only going to get better, guaranteed.”
NOTES
FIRST TIME IN PHOENIX: This weekend, Buford will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Phoenix Raceway and his first series start on a 1-mile oval. In seven previous races in the NXS, the 33-year-old driver has a best finish of eighth coming at the Charlotte Roval last season.
BUFORD’S SEASON RECAP: This is Buford’s first season competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In his first three starts in 2021, the Tennessee native’s best result happened just two weeks ago in his Homestead-Miami Speedway debut. He drove to a 20th-place finish.
GET TO KNOW JADE: Buford is an accomplished road-course racer out of Nashville who began competing at the age of 18. His record includes wins at Barber Motorsports Park, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Sebring Raceway. He made his debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last year on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Outside the cockpit, this month Jade will compete in season 13 of American Ninja Warrior airing on NBC. This will be his third time competing over the past five seasons.
BIG MACHINE VODKA SPIKED COOLER: Buford’s primary sponsor for the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers, will be available in stores in April. The refreshing ready-to-drink juice pouches feature real fruit juice combined with Big Machine Vodka and will be available in three flavors: Tropical, Lemonade and Cranberry. The eco-friendly pouches come eight to a box and can be served chilled or frozen. Find out more at www.spikedcoolers.com.
TUNE IN
TV: FOX Sports 1 at 4:30 p.m. CT / 5:30 p.m. ET
RADIO: MRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90 at 4:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. ET
