Chris Buescher

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chris Buescher
Chris buescher (51383523004) (cropped).jpg
Buescher at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2021
BornChristopher William Buescher
(1992-10-29) October 29, 1992 (age 29)[1]
Prosper, Texas
Achievements2012 ARCA Racing Series Champion
2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion
Awards2011 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
222 races run over 7 years
Car no., teamNo. 17 (RFK Racing)
2021 position19th
Best finish16th (2016)
First race2015 Auto Club 400 (Fontana)
Last race2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
First win2016 Pennsylvania 400 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 28 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
74 races run over 4 years
2015 position1st
Best finish1st (2015)
First race2011 Bubba Burger 250 (Richmond)
Last race2015 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
First win2014 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Last win2015 Buckle Up 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles
3 36 0
Statistics current as of December 25, 2021.

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's 2013 ARCA car at Road America

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]

Buescher's 2014 Nationwide car at Road America

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's 2016 Cup car at Dover International Speedway

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's 2019 Cup car at Richmond Raceway
Buescher's 2020 Cup car at Daytona International Speedway

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]

Personal life[]

Buescher married in 2018, during the Easter off weekend in the NASCAR schedule.[22]

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[]

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 NCSC Pts Ref
2015 Front Row Motorsports 34 Ford DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL
20
MAR
24
TEX
30
BRI
25
RCH TAL
24
KAN CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN
37
MCH BRI DAR RCH CHI NHA DOV CLT KAN TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 62nd 01 [23]
2016 DAY
39
ATL
28
LVS
26
PHO
30
CAL
33
MAR
33
TEX
28
BRI
21
RCH
34
TAL
37
KAN
24
DOV
18
CLT
37
POC
25
MCH
20
SON
30
DAY
40
KEN
37
NHA
29
IND
14
POC
1
GLN
30
BRI
5
MCH
35
DAR
17
RCH
24
CHI
28
NHA
30
DOV
23
CLT
16
KAN
21
TAL
22
MAR
27
TEX
21
PHO
32
HOM
24
16th 2169 [24]
2017 JTG Daugherty Racing 37 Chevy DAY
35
ATL
24
LVS
23
PHO
27
CAL
25
MAR
11
TEX
21
BRI
39
RCH
17
TAL
15
KAN
18
CLT
20
DOV
23
POC
19
MCH
36
SON
19
DAY
10
KEN
16
NHA
25
IND
9
POC
28
GLN
11
MCH
6
BRI
27
DAR
17
RCH
32
CHI
27
NHA
21
DOV
30
CLT
18
TAL
17
KAN
6
MAR
21
TEX
22
PHO
37
HOM
20
25th 564 [25]
2018 DAY
5
ATL
25
LVS
15
PHO
29
CAL
30
MAR
23
TEX
15
BRI
36
RCH
26
TAL
11
DOV
20
KAN
34
CLT
29
POC
17
MCH
24
SON
12
CHI
22
DAY
5
KEN
23
NHA
20
POC
37
GLN
20
MCH
20
BRI
19
DAR
13
IND
25
LVS
15
RCH
30
CLT
17
DOV
25
TAL
21
KAN
16
MAR
13
TEX
23
PHO
18
HOM
23
24th 585 [26]
2019 DAY
37
ATL
9
LVS
18
PHO
16
CAL
16
MAR
21
TEX
20
BRI
22
RCH
22
TAL
30
DOV
23
KAN
10
CLT
6
POC
14
MCH
16
SON
16
CHI
18
DAY
17
KEN
10
NHA
15
POC
16
GLN
13
MCH
14
BRI
17
DAR
12
IND
15
LVS
18
RCH
31
CLT
18
DOV
36
TAL
20
KAN
13
MAR
12
TEX
19
PHO
16
HOM
16
20th 729 [27]
2020 Roush Fenway Racing 17 Ford DAY
3
LVS
14
CAL
16
PHO
17
DAR
32
DAR
23
CLT
10
CLT
22
BRI
23
ATL
22
MAR
13
HOM
23
TAL
6
POC
10
POC
36
IND
31
KEN
20
TEX
19
KAN
33
NHA
25
MCH
20
MCH
20
DAY
5
DOV
16
DOV
14
DAY
9
DAR
26
RCH
24
BRI
8
LVS
9
TAL
22
CLT
20
KAN
21
TEX
34
MAR
38
PHO
20
21st 645 [28]
2021 DAY
31
DAY
11
HOM
19
LVS
14
PHO
18
ATL
7
BRI
14
MAR
13
RCH
25
TAL
21
KAN
8
DAR
9
DOV
17
COA
13
CLT
8
SON
16
NSH
36
POC
20
POC
19
ROA
18
ATL
16
NHA
29
GLN
17
IND
12
MCH
15
DAY
40
DAR
9
RCH
24
BRI
23
LVS
25
TAL
6
CLT
3
TEX
21
KAN
12
MAR
9
PHO
25
19th 771 [29]
2022 RFK Racing DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR BRI TAL DOV DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*
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

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 [30]
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 [31]
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 [32]
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 [33]
– 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 17 Ford DAY SLM
4
CAR TAL KEN TOL
17
POC MCH
3
IOW
4
KEN BLN POC ISF CHI TOL
8
DSF NJE
21
KAN CAR
6
25th 1560 [34]
2010 DAY SLM
12
TAL TOL
1*
POC MCH IOW
11

7
BLN
3
ISF CHI DSF
1
SLM
11
KAN CAR
7
20th 1625 [35]
2011 DAY
2
TAL
5
SLM
22
TOL
5

15

2
POC
2

5
WIN
2
BLN
7
IOW
3

22

3
ISF
8

2*
DSF
1
SLM
1*
KAN
2

1
2nd 4880 [36]
2012 DAY
20
MOB
6
SLM
7
TAL
17
TOL
1*
ELK
3
POC
5
MCH
1

4

3
IOW
13
CHI
4
IRP
7

5
BLN
1
ISF
5

1*
SLM
2
DSF
C
KAN
8
1st 4885 [37]
2013 DAY
30
MOB SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH 46th 575 [38]
99
1
WIN CHI
22
BLN ISF DSF IOW SLM
18
KEN KAN

References[]

  1. ^ "Chris Buescher". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Stewart, Stenhouse Get New Crew Chiefs". ABC. November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "NNS: Smith, Sadler, Scott, Chris Buescher in Dash4Cash this weekend". MotorSportsTalk. July 18, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  8. ^ "Chris Buescher – Iowa Advance". Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Paint Scheme Preview: Watkins Glen". August 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
  10. ^ http://www.roushfenway.com/?q=story/buescher-looks-build-last-season%E2%80%99s-momentum
  11. ^ "NASCAR Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers".
  12. ^ "NASCAR Official Home | Race results, schedule, standings, news, drivers".
  13. ^ Spencer, Lee (March 20, 2015). "Buescher to drive the No. 34 Ford Sprint Cup car at Fontana". Motorsport.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  14. ^ Turner, Jared (December 12, 2015). "XFINITY champ Chris Buescher to race full time in Sprint Cup". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  15. ^ "SEVEN-CAR WRECK SENDS BUESCHER FLIPPING, JOHNSON SPINNING". NASCAR. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  16. ^ Pockrass, Bob (August 1, 2016). "Cup rookie Chris Buescher gets surprise first win". ESPN. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  17. ^ Long, Dustin (November 29, 2016). "JTG Daugherty expands, signs Chris Buescher to drive in 2017". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  18. ^ Jensen, Tom (December 12, 2016). "Chris Buescher to drive No. 37 for JTG Daugherty Racing". Foxsports.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "Coke Zero Sugar 400". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 28, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  24. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  25. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  26. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  27. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  28. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  29. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  30. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  31. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  32. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  33. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  34. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  35. ^ "Chris Buescher �� 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  36. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  37. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2012 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  38. ^ "Chris Buescher – 2013 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 17, 2019.

External links[]

Sporting positions
Preceded by ARCA Racing Series Champion
2012
Succeeded by
Frank Kimmel
Preceded by
Chase Elliott
NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion
2015
Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""