Chris Buescher

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 Dark Horse 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 one hundred 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 Cup Series driver David Ragan and signed as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing, Buescher began competing in ARCA competition in 2009; he went on to win the series championship in 2012, becoming the only driver ever to complete every lap in a season of competition in the series.

Craftsman Truck Series On August 4, 2025, it was announced that Buescher would compete in the race at Watkins Glen, driving the No. 66 Ford for ThorSport Racing.

Xfinity Series Buescher made his debut in NASCAR competition for Roush Fenway Racing in 2011, driving two races in the Nationwide Series; 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.

In 2014, Buescher moved full-time to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. After failing to qualify at Daytona, Buescher had a solid rookie season, finishing ninth at Las Vegas, seventh at Richmond, second at Talladega, ninth at Charlotte, eleventh at Dover, tenth at Michigan, and twelfth 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; he would finish eighth at Chicago and eleventh at Indianapolis. Fastenal returned to sponsor the 60 at Iowa, where Buescher finished fourteenth. Cup sponsors Kellogg's and Cheez-It sponsored the car at Watkins Glen. 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. 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. 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 Bubba Wallace 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."

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 eleventh 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 Front Row Motorsports (2015–2016)

Buescher made his Cup Series debut in the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports at California in 2015, 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, 2015, it was announced that Buescher would move up to Sprint Cup to drive FRM's No. 34 full-time in 2016. 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. Buescher also wrecked out of the summer Daytona race, finishing last.

Things began to turn around after Daytona, with Buescher finishing fourteenth 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. Despite the win, Buescher was not automatically guaranteed a Chase position because he was outside the top thirty in driver points, the minimum standing required to qualify for the Chase. At Bristol, Buescher finished fifth 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 thirteenth 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.

JTG Daugherty Racing (2017–2019) On November 29, 2016, Roush Fenway announced the sale of its charter for the No. 16 car to JTG Daugherty Racing, with Buescher taking over the new ride. The car was officially announced as No. 37 on December 12, 2016.

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 eleventh-place finish, one spot shy of a third-career top-ten. He eventually scored his first top-ten with JTG at Daytona, finishing tenth. The Coke Zero 400 was also the first time both JTG Daugherty cars finished inside the top-ten, with teammate A. J. Allmendinger finishing 8th.

In 2018, Buescher would get his third career top-five at both the February Daytona 500 race and the July Daytona night race. He would be shy of three top-ten finishes in 2018, finishing in the eleventh–thirteenth 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-ten finishes of his Cup Series career, as he followed up a tenth-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 would replace Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Ford in 2020.

RFK Racing (2020–present) Buescher started the 2020 season with a third-place finish at the 2020 Daytona 500. He struggled initially when returning from the COVID-19 pandemic, but scored a top-ten at Charlotte. Through the latter half of the regular season, Buescher scored four more top-tens, including fifth place at the inaugural Daytona Road Course race. Buescher would finish the season 21st in points, with a career-high eight top-tens throughout the season, doubling his previous best in a season, which was four.

Buescher displayed more consistency in his finishes during the 2021 season, staying within the top-twenty 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.

Buescher started the 2022 season with a sixteenth-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He also scored top-ten 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 Suárez, 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 five 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. A week later, Buescher returned to the No. 17 and finished second to Daniel Suárez at Sonoma. On June 28, 2022, crew chief Scott Graves was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss at Nashville. 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.

Buescher began the 2023 season with a fourth-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He held off Denny Hamlin to win at Richmond to make his first playoff appearance since 2016. Buescher would go back-to-back for the first time in his career and win the next week's race at Michigan, the first time RFK Racing had won two consecutive races since Carl Edwards won the final two races of the 2010 season. He then scored his third win at the Daytona night race. Buescher would advance to the Round of 12 in the playoffs and then to the Round of 8, both for the first time in his career. Despite failing to make the Championship 4, Buescher finished a career-best seventh in the points standings, with three wins, nine top fives, seventeen top tens, and an average finish of 12.2, all career highs.

Buescher started the 2024 season with an eighteenth-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. At Kansas, Buescher finished second to Kyle Larson by 0.001 seconds - the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history. The following week, during the 2024 Goodyear 400, Buescher was walled by Tyler Reddick in a fight for the win after Reddick dove to Buescher’s left in Turn 3. Reddick drifted high and contacted Buescher, who had nowhere to go but to bounce off the SAFER barrier to his right. Buescher unleashed his frustrations on him with a shove and a stern discussion, Reddick didn’t offer a defense for the contact and was apologetic after climbing out of his damaged No. 45 Toyota. Despite missing the playoffs, Buescher won at Watkins Glen after Shane van Gisbergen brushed the wall near the Bus Stop on the final lap.

Buescher started the 2025 season with a tenth-place finish at the 2025 Daytona 500. Following the Kansas race, the No. 17 car was issued an L1 penalty after R&D discovered the reinforcement behind the front bumper foam exceeded two inches. As a result, the team was docked sixty owner and driver points, five playoff points, and fined 75,000, and Graves was suspended for two races. After the National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard the testimony, three members of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel ruled that the No. 17 team broke one or more, but not all, of the rules originally in the penalty. They decided to amend the L1 level penalty, which, after being amended, included a loss of thirty championship driver and owner points, from the original sixty point deduction, a loss of five driver and owner playoff points, a two-race suspension for Buescher's crew chief, and a 75,000 fine for RFK Racing.

Buescher started the 2026 season with a seventh-place finish at the 2026 Daytona 500. Buescher signed a multi-year extension with RFK Racing on June 16.

Personal life Buescher married in 2018, during the Easter weekend in the NASCAR schedule. Buescher and his wife Emma live on a micro-farm near New London, North Carolina with their many pets and outdoor toys. They also volunteer with the local humane society in Albemarle.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Position 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Roulo Brothers Racing 7 0 3 5 1560 25th 2010 ARCA Racing Series Roulo Brothers Racing 8 2 3 5 1625 20th 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 2 0 0 0 54 57th ARCA Racing Series Roulo Brothers Racing 19 3 14 16 4880 2nd 2012 ARCA Racing Series Roulo Brothers Racing 19 4 12 16 4885 1st 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 7 0 0 2 199 34th ARCA Racing Series Roulo Brothers Racing 4 1 1 1 575 46th 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Roush Fenway Racing 32 1 5 14 1014 7th 2015 NASCAR Cup Series Front Row Motorsports 6 0 0 0 0 NC† NASCAR Xfinity Series Roush Fenway Racing 33 2 11 20 1190 1st 2016 NASCAR Cup Series Front Row Motorsports 36 1 2 2 2169 16th 2017 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 0 4 564 25th 2018 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 2 2 585 24th 2019 NASCAR Cup Series JTG Daugherty Racing 36 0 0 4 729 20th 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 2 8 645 21st 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Roush Fenway Racing 36 0 1 8 771 19th 2022 NASCAR Cup Series RFK Racing 35 1 3 10 727 21st 2023 NASCAR Cup Series RFK Racing 36 3 9 17 2310 7th 2024 NASCAR Cup Series RFK Racing 36 1 6 15 930 17th 2025 NASCAR Cup Series RFK Racing 36 0 5 16 889 17th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ThorSport Racing 1 0 0 0 0 NC† Ineligible for championship points.

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series NASCAR Cup 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 35 36 Pts Ref 2015 Front Row Motorsports 34 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT KAN TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 62nd 0 2016 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN DOV CLT POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN BRI MCH DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT KAN TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 16th 2169 2017 JTG Daugherty Racing 37 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 25th 564 2018 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 24th 585 2019 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL MAR TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV KAN CLT POC MCH SON CHI DAY KEN NHA POC GLN MCH BRI DAR IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 20th 729 2020 Roush Fenway Racing 17 Ford DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DRC DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV KAN TEX MAR PHO 21st 645 2021 DAY DRC HOM LVS PHO ATL BRD MAR RCH TAL KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IRC MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL ROV TEX KAN MAR PHO 19th 771 2022 RFK Racing DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRD TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IRC MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 21st 727 2023 DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH BRD MAR TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC RCH MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 7th 2310 2024 DAY ATL LVS PHO BRI COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC IND RCH MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 17th 930 2025 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI TAL TEX KAN CLT NSH MCH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN RCH DAY DAR GTW BRI NHA KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 17th 889 2026 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN CLT NSH MCH POC COR SON CHI ATL NWS IND IOW RCH NHA DAY DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

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 2023 9 4 2024 19 18 2025 6 10 2026 41 7

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 Pts Ref 2011 Roush Fenway Racing 16 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX TAL NSH RCH DAR 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 2013 Roush Fenway Racing 16 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX RCH TAL DAR CLT DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 34th 199 6 MOH BRI 2014 60 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 7th 1014 2015 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 1st 1190

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 Pts Ref 2025 ThorSport Racing 66 Ford DAY ATL LVS HOM MAR BRI CAR TEX KAN NWS CLT NSH MCH POC LRP IRP GLN RCH DAR BRI NHA ROV TAL MAR PHO 101st 0

Season still in progress 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 Pts Ref 2009 Roulo Brothers Racing 17 Ford DAY SLM CAR TAL KEN TOL POC MCH MFD IOW KEN BLN POC ISF CHI TOL DSF NJE SLM KAN CAR 25th 1560 2010 DAY PBE SLM TEX TAL TOL POC MCH IOW MFD POC BLN NJE ISF CHI DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR 20th 1625 2011 DAY TAL SLM TOL NJE CHI POC MCH WIN BLN IOW IRP POC ISF MAD DSF SLM KAN TOL 2nd 4880 2012 DAY MOB SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH WIN NJE IOW CHI IRP POC BLN ISF MAD SLM DSF KAN 1st 4885 2013 DAY MOB SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH 46th 575 99 ROA WIN CHI NJE POC BLN ISF MAD DSF IOW SLM KEN KAN