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| Krishtian Turner and James Buescher |
James Buescher is known for being the driver of the No. 31 truck for Turner Motorsports. People also now know his fiancée Krishtian after seeing her on the TV show "Say Yes to the Dress." What you don't know is the story behind the longtime couple and the path to their upcoming nuptials.
Kris, as she is often called, is the daughter of Turner Motorsports owner Steve Turner and has a background behind the wheel of a race car herself.
Amanda Ebersole (AE): Can you tell me a little bit about your personal racing background?
Krishtian Turner (KT): Well my dad and my mom have always been into racing. My older sister raced, starting at around the age of 13, so I grew up around it. She quit and my dad always wanted us to race, that was his dream. When I was 13 I started driving a Bandolero at Texas Motor Speedway. I raced there and that was how I met James. I raced until I was 15, racing the Bandoleros and Legends cars and I won the Winter Series Championship over there. Once I met James, it was either him or me racing; both of us could not do it, it was way too much.
AE: So you have grown up around a racetrack your whole life?
KT: For sure, probably since I was about 7 or 8 years old. It has been every weekend and I have always been around it.
AE: Currently do you travel every weekend with James?
KT: For the most part. Right now I am finishing school and I am having tests on Saturdays so I had to miss last weekend and this weekend. If it were not for school, I would be there every weekend. Normally I am.
AE: How do you manage school, modeling and traveling with James as well; that is a lot to handle all at once and try to have a normal life on top of it all?
KT: That is the thing, everyone always asks me how I manage it, I have never known any different. I have always been at the race track every weekend and in college, I have never been in college and not have to go to the track or not have to do stuff during the week. There is no time to relax; I am either doing schoolwork, I am at the racetrack or I am doing something with modeling. It is always something. I finish school in December and I am already looking for something to do because I am so used to being busy.
The Love Story
AE: How did you and James meet. You mentioned briefly that it was while racing?
KT: How it happened was funny. We had just gotten done racing and both of us were going to the grandstands to watch the rest of the races and from out of the corner of my eye I felt like I saw someone walking towards me. James was always, when I first met him, was the shyest person in the world; he would say about two words and that was it. So he walks up to me and says, "How is your car?" and I was like, really? I just answered his question, you could tell he was really nervous, all we talked about was our cars and then he walked away. That night he called me (a friend gave him Kris' number) and ever since we talked on the phone that night, we have been inseparable and that was at the age of 13 or 14 so we have been together for a while now.
AE: Obvious question: What was your father's reaction to dating a race car driver?
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| Steve Turner |
KT: My dad's big thing was that I was the one who wanted to go to the track and socialize and make friends. My dad would say, "No, you are not here to make friends, you are here to race." I would get out of the car and would want to go hang out with my friends. My dad would tell me that I could not do that and finally my dad and I have this joke that he was not allowed to come to the track anymore. I grounded him, told him to stay home because if he was there he would yell at me for hanging out with my friends and that would make me cry. Finally, he didn't come to the races for a while and we always joke that was because I won races when he was not there. When I could socialize (I won) and when I could not, I was not that good but it was just coincidence. When he found out I was dating James, I think he liked it because I was more competitive on track because I would want to beat him, I had to do better than James. I needed something to rag on him about.
AE: That spurred a competition between you and James then?
KT: For sure! There is a funny story about that actually. One weekend we were racing and James was leading; I was in second and was trying to pass him and he ended up spinning me. He knocked the valve stem out of my tire, I had a flat and had to change it and for three days after that (we were dating at the time) I wouldn't talk to him because I was so mad. We had a pretty brutal relationship on track and it was hard to keep it like a normal boyfriend/girlfriend relationship off the track because we were both so competitive.
AE: How long did you both race simultaneously?
KT: We raced together for probably a year. It was pretty interesting. He always joked that "on the restarts Kris just wanted to spin you out" and when he starts telling the stories it causes an argument because both of us have our own sides of the story.
Sharing the scoop on James
AE: Does James have a pet peeve either about you or in general?
KT: Hmm, I got to think about that one. That is a hard one! He really does not get annoyed by anything I do. One of his pet peeves would be he hates that I exercise so much. James is very fit but I am addicted to exercising and eating healthy. I am always reading about different ways to stay healthy and finally he will say "Kris, I do not want to hear about it anymore!" That would probably be the thing that he most gets annoyed with me about.
AE: What is one thing that people do not know about James, it can be something common?
KT: Probably that he has a really soft side to him and that he is pretty emotional actually. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He is probably going to be embarrassed that I said that.
Happily ever after…
AE: If it is not too personal, how did James propose to you?
KT: Oh that is a funny story, too! We have been engaged for two years now but we had been talking about it for about six months before he proposed. I was kind of suspecting things, but when we would talk about it he would say that he was not ready for that yet. The day he proposed - the whole day he would call and text me to tell me that we were going to have an awesome night. He wouldn't tell me anything, it was all a surprise. We went to dinner at our usual place and I kept thinking to myself, why is he making this a big deal. We ate dinner then left to go home! The whole time on the way home I was complaining at him, saying really ... you made me so excited all day long and that's it? We got home and the Nationwide race was on, so I turned the TV on and he kept telling me to turn it off that we really needed to talk. I would not turn it off, I was being so mean to him after I complained the entire ride home. After about 15 minutes of begging me, he just turned the TV off himself. As I was screaming at him, he got down on one knee and proposed. (All the ladies, a collective awww at this point!) Once he did I was bawling because I felt so excited but felt so bad that I was a *itch to him.
AE: So you and James have opted for a destination wedding at the beach?
KT: Well not the beach, but we are getting married in Costa Rica. It's been pretty interesting, it's down to the time to start making the final decisions because we head there in September to see a mockup of the wedding. James has been so involved with planning the wedding, which I was completely surprised by. With his schedule and mine, it is hard to find the time to sit down and make the decisions together. He wants to be involved, I want to be involved, it's crazy. He has been involved in everything, even down to picking the flowers. (The wedding is in January during the off-season from racing.)
AE: Are you headed in the direction of a more private wedding or will there be other NASCAR drivers there as well?
KT: It's actually pretty big for a destination wedding, we have about 120 guests, which is huge. Ricky (Carmichael), Todd (Bodine) Braun (Colin) and there are a bunch more coming as well. It should be interesting.
AE: You were just on the TV show "Say Yes to the Dress." What type of experience was that for you?
KT: I would never do it again! Oh my gosh, it was stressful. Like you saw on the show, I had to try on about 15 dresses that they all wanted me to try on. Some of them were like turtlenecks with long sleeves, ridiculous stuff like that, and finally by the end of it I had enough. I told them that I wanted to try on what I wanted, stop giving me all the other stuff and that made it maybe 20 times worse then just going by yourself. What made it even worse, I would get in the dressing room to try a dress on and then you have to say something about the dress. Well they would not have the equipment set up right, so they would want you to repeat all over, exactly what you just said. I am glad I had the opportunity to do it, but for all the drama and everyone arguing, it was not worth it.
AE: To wrap everything up: what is one thing that you would want fans to know about you and James? As a couple or individually is fine.
KT: Oh wow, you leave the tough one for last. First of all with me: everyone looks at me like I am stuck up, snobby, spoiled brat and that my parents give me everything. I have had to work, probably more than anybody, for the things that I have. I have been working since I was 16, I work everyday and I am not handed anything on a silver platter like most people think.
For James: everyone stereotypes him because he races for my dad and my dad is his boss and he gets off easier. Honestly my dad is probably harder on him than any of the other drivers. He gets it pretty hard; he gets it at the race track, he gets it when he comes home and he gets it when we are hanging out with my family.
James has a lot to live up to, racing for the team that bears the name of his soon-to-be father-in-law but through it all, he has the love and devotion of Krishtian. A love like theirs, that has been tested already, will stand the test of time as well.
A follow-up with Kris: Krishtian and James Buescher's Love Story Has a Fairy Tale Ending was published on February 29, 2012.
NASCAR By the Numbers and In the Rearview Mirror (looking back at NASCAR's history) are Amanda's two weekly columns with Skirts and Scuffs, but as an Associate Editor her duties are limitless. Amanda also strives to provide exclusive interviews for the readers of Skirts and Scuffs. To read her past columns and interviews click here. . Feel free to contact Amanda viaTwitter.
Krishtian and James: A Love Story 
Reviewed by Unknown on Friday, July 29, 2011 Rating: 5
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