Nationwide Notes: Former Truck champion Buescher to RAB - MotorSportsTalk

After several seasons in the Camping World Truck Series and a 2012 series championship, James Buescher is moving up full-time to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2014 with RAB Racing.

The team announced this afternoon that Buescher has signed a multi-year agreement to drive its No. 99 Toyota Camry. Alex Bowman ran that car for much of the 2013 season, but was released before the season finale last month at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“My first couple of years in NASCAR have been a dream come true, and I can’t thank Turner Scott Motorsports enough for the opportunity they have given me to develop my skills,” Buescher said in a team release. “I am very excited to be able to take the next step in my career, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about the opportunity that RAB Racing is giving me to run full time in the Nationwide Series.

“I am really excited to get back behind the wheel of a Toyota and I am looking forward to driving their cars next year. RAB Racing is a solid organization with great people; I can’t wait to get to work with them.”

Buescher, who won twice in the Trucks this past season, will have the services of Chris Rice as his crew chief. Rice guided the No. 99 to two Top-5 and six Top-10 finishes in 2013. Sponsorship details will be announced at a later date.

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Landon Cassill is also taking a full-time NNS ride for 2014 with JD Motorsports, with Dave Fuge on hand to serve as his crew chief on the No. 4 Chevrolet. A team release stated that Cassill plans on continuing his full-time work in Sprint Cup next year as well.

Cassill made 23 starts this past season with JDM in Nationwide. His best finish in the No. 4 was 17th, achieved twice at Talladega in the spring and on the road course at Watkins Glen.

He will replace veteran Mike Wallace as JDM’s lead driver, and the team is planning to have a second part-time car in Nationwide for driver Daryl Harr.

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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17^th after qualifying 14^th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)