Chris Buescher didn't sugarcoat it. Restrictor-plate racing is not his forte, so he doesn't have grand visions of winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
But the 25-year-old Prosper, Texas, native is hopeful to post a better showing than he has his first two. Buescher had a second-to-last place finish of 39th in 2016, and improved just slightly to 35th last season.
"The finishes have been pretty rough the last two races," said Buescher, driver of the No. 37 Kleenex Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for JTG Daugherty Racing.
"At the same time, we had decent speed. We just have so much still to learn about speedway racing, so we're going to work on doing that ... and surviving."
Yes, surviving the "big one(s)" is the key at restrictor-plate races. Crashes always knock out favorites and contenders in the early and middle portions of the race.
That's why Buescher finished ahead of the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth last season. An early wreck knocked all of those household names out of contention.
For Buescher, though, it's still surreal to be running in the Daytona 500 with the best drivers in the world. The Star-Telegram caught up with him in a phone interview earlier this week.
