Nathan Buttke

Nathan Buttke (born May 8, 1975) is an American former stock car racing driver. The Randleman, North Carolina native competed in 55 NASCAR Busch Series races and 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races between 1992 and 2001.

Racing career

Winston West Series Buttke made one foray into the NASCAR Winston West Series, running one race in 1996 for Spears Motorsports. Running at Mesa Marin Raceway, he qualified fourth and finished in that position.

Craftsman Truck Series Spears Motorsports signed Buttke partway through the 1996 season to drive the No. 75 entry. He recorded three top ten finishes, but also crashed out of two races and failed to finish five others with mechanical issues. Buttke did not return to the team in 1997, or even the series, focusing his efforts on the Busch Series. He attempted one race in 1998 for CSG Motorsports, finishing seventeenth at New Hampshire. He returned to the series in 2001, running the first eight races of the season for Ware Racing Enterprises. Buttke and the team mutually parted ways before Texas Motor Speedway in June, with Buttke searching for more opportunities.

Busch Series Breaking into the series in 1992, Buttke drove three races for his family team, finishing 23rd at Orange County Speedway, 17th at Martinsville Speedway, and 19th at Hickory Motor Speedway. In 1993, the team expanded its reach to more than half the schedule, and changed its number from 82 to 66. Buttke attempted nineteen races as part of a campaign for Busch Series Rookie of the Year, qualified for seventeen, and recorded his first career top ten, at Hickory. The following year, he ran five races for his family team and three more for Owen Racing, recording a top ten in the No. 9 car at South Boston Speedway, the track at which he ran best, posting an average finish of 17th. Skipping the 1995 season, he ran seven races and failed to qualify for three more in 1996. He failed to finish six out of seven races that year, including the South Boston race, where he qualified second. He also ran the second half of the Craftsman Truck Series schedule that year for Spears Motorsports. In 1997, after acquiring sponsorship from Carquest Auto Parts, he attempted four of the first ten races and made three. He was then signed by Don Browder and the No. 78 Mark III Racing team. Attempting twelve more races, he posted three top ten starts and a best finish of eleventh at Bristol Motor Speedway. His first opportunity in the 1998 season was to race for Phoenix Racing, running races 22 to 24 on the schedule and placing 22nd at Michigan International Speedway, ninth at bristol, and 17th at Darlington Raceway. He then joined Washington-Erving Motorsports for one race, falling out with brake issues at Dover International Speedway. Finally, Buttke returned to the Mark III team for the final four races of the season. His final Busch race came in 1999, competing at Myrtle Beach Speedway for NorthStar Motorsports, finishing 16th.

Post-NASCAR Buttke has remained an active racer at Caraway Speedway and in the Goodyear Challenge Series.

Personal life Buttke attended Randleman High School while racing.

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.)

Busch Series NASCAR Busch 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 Pts Ref 1992 Buttke Racing 82 Olds DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB NZH CLT DOV ROU MYB GLN VOL NHA TAL IRP ROU23 MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR17 CAR HCY19 61st 312 1993 66 Chevy DAY CAR30 RCHDNQ DAR31 BRI29 HCY ROU17 MAR26 MLW24 TAL IRP31 MCH NHA35 BRI DAR17 RCH27 DOV31 ROU16 CLTDNQ MAR29 CAR24 HCY8 ATL 28th 1490 Pontiac NZH34 CLT DOV MYB19 GLN 1994 Owen Racing 9 Chevy DAYDNQ CAR RCH ATL MARDNQ DAR HCY BRI ROU19 NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB28 GLN SBO8 TAL 49th 716 Buttke Racing 66 Chevy MLW29 HCY18 IRP MCH BRI34 DAR29 RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR32 1996 Buttke Racing 66 Chevy DAY CAR40 RCHDNQ ATL NSV DAR39 BRI HCY29 NZH CLTDNQ DOV SBO29 MYB27 GLN MLW35 NHAWth TAL IRP17 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 54th 493 1997 DAY CAR RCHDNQ ATL LVS DAR20 HCY TEX BRI25 NSV41 TAL NHA NZH 41st 1135 Mark III Racing 78 Chevy CLTDNQ DOV SBO14 GLN MLW36 MYB18 GTY33 IRP16 MCHDNQ BRI11 DAR21 RCH38 DOV CLT38 CAL CAR17 HOM 1998 Phoenix Racing 4 Chevy DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH22 BRI9 DAR17 RCH 55th 577 Washington-Erving Motorsports 50 Ford DOV39 CLT Mark III Racing 78 Chevy GTY23 CAR26 ATLDNQ HOMDNQ 1999 30 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLTDNQ DOV SBO GLN MLW 100th 115 NorthStar Motorsports 89 Chevy MYB16 PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM

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 26 27 Pts Ref 1996 Spears Motorsports 75 Chevy HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I707 IRP8 FLM19 GLN29 NSV28 RCH6 NHA17 MAR28 NWS21 SON27 MMR14 PHO25 LVS33 23rd 1435 1998 CSG Motorsports 57 Ford WDW HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA17 FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 89th 112 2001 Ware Racing Enterprises 81 Ford DAY31 HOM16 MMR29 MAR23 GTY26 DAR19 PPR17 DOV18 TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 37th 767

Winston West Series NASCAR Winston West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pts Ref 1996 Spears Motorsports 75 Chevy TUS AMP MMR SON MAD POR TUS EVG CNS MAD MMR SON MMR PHO LVS 49th 160