Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Christopher William Buescher October 29, 1992[1] Prosper, Texas | ||||||
Achievements | 2012 ARCA Racing Series Champion 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion 2022 Bluegreen Vacations Duel winner | ||||||
Awards | 2011 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
250 races run over 8 years | |||||||
Car no., team | No. 17 (RFK Racing) | ||||||
2022 position | 21st | ||||||
Best finish | 16th (2016) | ||||||
First race | 2015 Auto Club 400 (Fontana) | ||||||
Last race | 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race (Phoenix) | ||||||
First win | 2016 Pennsylvania 400 (Pocono) | ||||||
Last win | 2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Bristol) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
74 races run over 4 years | |||||||
2015 position | 1st | ||||||
Best finish | 1st (2015) | ||||||
First race | 2011 Bubba Burger 250 (Richmond) | ||||||
Last race | 2015 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
First win | 2014 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio) | ||||||
Last win | 2015 Buckle Up 200 (Dover) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of September 17, 2022. |
Christopher William Buescher (born October 29, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 17 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing. He is the 2012 ARCA Racing Series and 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and the cousin of 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher.
Racing career
ARCA Racing Series
Buescher began his professional racing career in 2005, driving Legends cars in Texas for Speedway Legends, winning over 100 races. (Speedway Legends, worked with several top drivers, David Ragan, Jonathan Davenport, etc.) In 2008, Buescher moved to North Carolina to be mentored by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan and signing as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing,[2] Buescher began competing in ARCA competition in 2009; he went on to win the series championship in 2012, becoming the only driver ever to compete every lap in a season of competition in the series.[3]
Xfinity Series
Buescher made his debut in NASCAR competition for Roush Fenway Racing in 2011, driving two races in the Nationwide Series;[4] he returned to the series in 2013, driving in seven races for the team, in addition to a limited ARCA schedule with Roulo Bros. Racing.[5]
In 2014, Buescher moved full-time to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.[6] After failing to qualify at Daytona, Buescher had a solid rookie season, finishing ninth at Las Vegas, 7th at Richmond, second at Talladega, ninth at Charlotte, 11th at Dover, tenth at Michigan, and 12th at the July Daytona race. Buescher finished fifth at New Hampshire to earn a spot in the second Nationwide Dash 4 Cash race at Chicagoland;[7] he would finish 8th at Chicago and 11th at Indianapolis. Fastenal returned to sponsor the 60 at Iowa,[8] where Buescher finished 14th. Cup sponsors Kellogg's and Cheez-It sponsored the car at Watkins Glen.[9] Buescher won the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio on August 16, his first career win.
Buescher returned to the No. 60 Ford in the newly renamed Xfinity Series for 2015.[10] Buescher started the season with a runner-up finish to teammate Ryan Reed at Daytona in the Alert Today Florida 300. Then, Buescher followed up that second-place finish with another top-five finish, fourth, in the Hisense 250 at Atlanta giving him a tie for the points lead with a fellow competitor Ty Dillon. Buescher scored the second series win of his career at Iowa Speedway after passing Chase Elliott for the lead on the final restart of the race, Elliott had led 114 laps but couldn't hold off a hard charge from Buescher.[11] Two weeks later, Buescher would be back in victory lane at Dover International Speedway for his second win in 2015; However, Buescher made contact with teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. near the end of the race to make the winning pass and Wallace was upset with his teammate as he cut a tire as a result of the contact and would go on to say "I would say I am happy Roush won but I’m not."[12]
In the final race of the 2015 season, Buescher won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at Homestead Miami Speedway on November 21, 2015. He finished 11th in the race after receiving the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. Kyle Larson won the race. Buescher was able to hold off defending champion (of the then Nationwide Series) Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, and Regan Smith in points to win the title.
Cup Series
Buescher made his Cup Series debut in the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports at Fontana in 2015,[13] filling in for David Ragan, who had been substituting for Kyle Busch, who was out for a fractured leg; Buescher finished 20th. Buescher ran five additional Cup races for FRM in 2015.
On December 10, it was announced that Buescher would move up to Sprint Cup to drive FRM's No. 34 full-time in 2016.[14] Front Row entered an alliance with Roush Fenway.
Superspeedway wrecks plagued the No. 34 team. Buescher started the season with a hard crash at Daytona with Matt DiBenedetto, finishing 39th. He described this accident, by calling it "the hardest hit of my career". At Talladega, on lap 96, Buescher was involved in a crash that sent his car into a barrel roll, flipping three times before landing; he was not injured in the accident.[15] Buescher also wrecked out of the summer Daytona race, finishing last.
Things began to turn around after Daytona, with Buescher finishing 14th in his rookie attempt at the Brickyard 400. One week later at Pocono, Buescher took the lead late in the Pennsylvania 400 by being on a different pit sequence. Buescher took the lead just before a massive cloud of fog moved over the track. After an hour of waiting, NASCAR gave up on trying to wait out the fog due to approaching severe weather and called the race, giving Buescher his first NASCAR Cup Series victory and the second win for Front Row Motorsports. Buescher, with the win, became the first driver since Joey Logano in 2009 to win a race as a Cup Series Rookie of the Year candidate (In 2011, Trevor Bayne won a race during his part-time rookie season but was not running for the Cup Series Rookie of the Year award). Buescher also became the first rookie to win at Pocono since Denny Hamlin in 2006. Buescher also brought Front Row Motorsports its first win in 118 races going back to David Ragan at Talladega in 2013.[16] Despite the win, Buescher was not automatically guaranteed a Chase position because he was outside the Top 30 in driver points, the minimum standing required to qualify for the Chase. At Bristol, Buescher finished 5th to move into the 30th points position, moving past David Ragan. Buescher passed his teammate Landon Cassill for 29th in the standings at Richmond and locked in his place in the Chase.
He began the Chase in the 13th position in points. Buescher would be easily eliminated after the first round though due to underfunded equipment and poor finishes. He finished 28th at Chicagoland, 30th at New Hampshire, and 23rd at Dover.
On November 29, 2016, Roush Fenway announced the sale of their charter for the No. 16 car to JTG Daugherty Racing, with Buescher taking over the new ride.[17] The car was officially announced as No. 37 on December 12.[18]
Buescher began 2017 with a crash in the Daytona 500, finishing 35th. The next week at Atlanta, he finished 24th. In the next race, Las Vegas, he finished 23rd. He followed this up with a 27th place outing at Phoenix, and then 25th place at Auto Club. At Martinsville, Buescher scored a season-best 11th-place finish, one spot shy of a third career top 10. He eventually scored his first Top 10, with JTG at Daytona, finishing 10th. The Coke Zero 400 was also the first time that both JTG Daugherty cars finished inside the Top 10, with teammate A. J. Allmendinger finishing 8th.
In 2018, Buescher would get his third career Top 5 at both the February Daytona 500 race, and the July Daytona night race. He would be shy of three top 10 finishes in 2018, finishing in the 11th–13th position four times, and failed to finish thrice, once due to transmission failure. He ended the season 24th in points, two positions behind Allmendinger.
In 2019, Buescher scored the first consecutive Top 10 finishes of his Cup Series career, as he followed up a 10th-place finish at the 2019 Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway with a sixth-place result at the 2019 Coca-Cola 600. On September 25, 2019, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Buescher will replace Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Ford in 2020.[19][20]
Buescher started the 2020 season with a 3rd-place finish in the Daytona 500. Buescher struggled initially when returning from the COVID-19 pandemic, but scored a Top 10 in the Coca-Cola 600. Through the latter half of the regular season, Buescher scored 4 more Top 10s, including 5th place at the inaugural Daytona Road Course race. Buescher would finish the season 21st in points, with a career-high 8 Top 10's throughout the season, doubling his previous best in a season which was 4.
Buescher displayed more consistency in his finishes during the 2021 season, staying within the top-20 in the points standings. He finished second at the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, but was disqualified when his car failed post-race inspection due to a rear sub-frame assembly violation.[21]
Buescher started the 2022 season with a 16th place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He also scored top-10 finishes at Phoenix, Atlanta, and Dover, where he recorded his first career Cup Series pole. At the Coca-Cola 600, Buescher was involved in a crash early in the final stage after he hit Daniel Suarez who spun on the restart. Buescher's right front wheel dug into the tri-oval grass, lifting the car off the ground and sending it into a barrel roll. Buescher's car rolled 5 times before landing upside down. After his car was rolled back over by safety officials, Buescher walked out of the car under his own power. Buescher was forced to miss Gateway after testing positive for COVID-19; he was substituted with Zane Smith.[22] A week later, Buescher returned to the No. 17 and finished second to Daniel Suárez at Sonoma.[23] On June 28, crew chief Scott Graves was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss at Nashville.[24] Despite not making the playoffs, Buescher led a race-high 169 laps and managed to score his second career win at the Bristol night race, snapping a 222 race winless streak for himself and a five-year drought for the team.[25]
Personal life
Buescher married in 2018, during the Easter off weekend in the NASCAR schedule.[26] In September 2022, he announced that his wife is pregnant with their daughter.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Cup Series
Daytona 500
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 17 | 39 |
2017 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 37 | 35 |
2018 | 21 | 5 | ||
2019 | 15 | 37 | ||
2020 | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 19 | 3 |
2021 | 22 | 31 | ||
2022 | RFK Racing | 4 | 16 |
Xfinity Series
NASCAR Xfinity Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | NXSC | Pts | Ref | ||||
2011 | Roush Fenway Racing | 16 | Ford | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI | CAL | TEX | TAL | NSH | RCH 17 |
DAR 17 |
DOV | IOW | CLT | CHI | MCH | ROA | DAY | KEN | NHA | NSH | IRP | IOW | GLN | CGV | BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | DOV | KAN | CLT | TEX | PHO | HOM | 57th | 54 | [35] | ||||
2013 | Roush Fenway Racing | 16 | Ford | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI 7 |
CAL | TEX 17 |
RCH | TAL | DAR 12 |
CLT 38 |
DOV | IOW | MCH 7 |
ROA | KEN | DAY | NHA | CHI | IND | IOW | GLN | ATL 13 |
RCH | CHI | KEN | DOV | KAN 16 |
CLT | TEX | PHO | HOM | 34th | 199 | [36] | |||||||
6 | MOH QL† |
BRI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 | 60 | DAY DNQ |
PHO 15 |
LVS 9 |
BRI 16 |
CAL 14 |
TEX 27 |
DAR 34 |
RCH 7 |
TAL 2 |
IOW 13 |
CLT 9 |
DOV 11 |
MCH 10 |
ROA 18 |
KEN 18 |
DAY 12 |
NHA 5 |
CHI 8 |
IND 11 |
IOW 14 |
GLN 29 |
MOH 1 |
BRI 10 |
ATL 13 |
RCH 10 |
CHI 12 |
KEN 7 |
DOV 4 |
KAN 28 |
CLT 6 |
TEX 13 |
PHO 12 |
HOM 5 |
7th | 1014 | [37] | |||||||
2015 | DAY 2 |
ATL 4 |
LVS 14 |
PHO 14 |
CAL 5 |
TEX 9 |
BRI 3 |
RCH 20 |
TAL 6 |
IOW 1 |
CLT 11 |
DOV 1 |
MCH 4 |
CHI 5 |
DAY 12 |
KEN 11 |
NHA 14 |
IND 16 |
IOW 13 |
GLN 3 |
MOH 4 |
BRI 11* |
ROA 9 |
DAR 5 |
RCH 10 |
CHI 7 |
KEN 7 |
DOV 8 |
CLT 7 |
KAN 6 |
TEX 11 |
PHO 13 |
HOM 11 |
1st | 1190 | [38] | ||||||||
† – Qualified for Trevor Bayne |
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
ARCA Racing Series
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Racing Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | ARSC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||||||
2009 | Roulo Brothers Racing | 17 | Ford | DAY | SLM 4 |
CAR | TAL | KEN | TOL 17 |
POC | MCH | MFD 3 |
IOW 4 |
KEN | BLN | POC | ISF | CHI | TOL 8 |
DSF | NJE | SLM 21 |
KAN | CAR 6 |
25th | 1560 | [39] | |||||||||||||||||
2010 | DAY | PBE | SLM 12 |
TEX | TAL | TOL 1* |
POC | MCH | IOW 11 |
MFD 7 |
POC | BLN | NJE 3 |
ISF | CHI | DSF | TOL 1 |
SLM 11 |
KAN | CAR 7 |
20th | 1625 | [40] | |||||||||||||||||||||
2011 | DAY 2 |
TAL 5 |
SLM 22 |
TOL 5 |
NJE 15 |
CHI 2 |
POC 2 |
MCH 5 |
WIN 2 |
BLN 7 |
IOW 3 |
IRP 22 |
POC 3 |
ISF 8 |
MAD 2* |
DSF 1 |
SLM 1* |
KAN 2 |
TOL 1 |
2nd | 4880 | [41] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 | DAY 20 |
MOB 6 |
SLM 7 |
TAL 17 |
TOL 1* |
ELK 3 |
POC 5 |
MCH 1 |
WIN 4 |
NJE 3 |
IOW 13 |
CHI 4 |
IRP 7 |
POC 5 |
BLN 1 |
ISF 5 |
MAD 1* |
SLM 2 |
DSF C |
KAN 8 |
1st | 4885 | [42] | |||||||||||||||||||||
2013 | DAY 30 |
MOB | SLM | TAL | TOL | ELK | POC | MCH | 46th | 575 | [43] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
99 | ROA 1 |
WIN | CHI | NJE 22 |
POC | BLN | ISF | MAD | DSF | IOW | SLM 18 |
KEN | KAN |
References
- ^ "Chris Buescher birth_date = . www.racing-reference.info October 29, 1992<!". Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ^ "Roush Fenway Racing Signs Chris Buescher as Development Driver". Roush Fenway Racing. October 9, 2009. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ^ Fraley, Gerry (October 25, 2012). "Chris Buescher adds to family's success by winning ARCA title". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Chris Buescher - NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona Video Updates". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Stewart, Stenhouse Get New Crew Chiefs". ABC. November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
- ^ "NNS: Smith, Sadler, Scott, Chris Buescher in Dash4Cash this weekend". MotorSportsTalk. July 18, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – Iowa Advance". Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ "Paint Scheme Preview: Watkins Glen". August 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ^ http://www.roushfenway.com/?q=story/buescher-looks-build-last-season%E2%80%99s-momentum [bare URL]
- ^ "NASCAR Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers".
- ^ "NASCAR Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers".
- ^ Spencer, Lee (March 20, 2015). "Buescher to drive the No. 34 Ford Sprint Cup car at Fontana". Motorsport.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
- ^ Turner, Jared (December 12, 2015). "XFINITY champ Chris Buescher to race full time in Sprint Cup". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
- ^ "SEVEN-CAR WRECK SENDS BUESCHER FLIPPING, JOHNSON SPINNING". NASCAR. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
- ^ Pockrass, Bob (August 1, 2016). "Cup rookie Chris Buescher gets surprise first win". ESPN. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ Long, Dustin (November 29, 2016). "JTG Daugherty expands, signs Chris Buescher to drive in 2017". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- ^ Jensen, Tom (December 12, 2016). "Chris Buescher to drive No. 37 for JTG Daugherty Racing". Foxsports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ^ "Buescher in, Stenhouse out of Roush Fenway's No. 17 ride for 2020". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ Page, Scott (September 25, 2019). "Chris Buescher to replace Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. at Roush Fenway next season". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ "Coke Zero Sugar 400". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- ^ "Chris Buescher out at Gateway due to COVID-19 protocols; Zane Smith to drive No. 17". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ Ihargrove (June 12, 2022). "Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results". Official Site of Nascar. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
- ^ "NASCAR issues four-race suspensions for RFK Racing crew members after Nashville". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ "Chris Buescher scores Bristol victory, champions eliminated from playoffs". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 17, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ Pockrass, Bob (April 6, 2018). "Chris Buescher got married last weekend so he was nervous when weather threatened a couple of races and rumors were floating of a potential Easter weekend race. He talks about the worries of scheduling a wedding during the NASCAR season: and Buescher is a Methodist". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ "Chris Buescher – 2013 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
External links
- Chris Buescher driver statistics at Racing-Reference