Chris Buescher
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Christopher William Buescher (born October 29, 1992) is an American professional
stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
driver. He competes full-time in the
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
, driving the No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for
RFK Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Trade name, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car racing, stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s an ...
. He is the
2012 ARCA Racing Series The 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was the 60th season of the ARCA Racing Series. The season began on February 18 with the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 and ended on October 19 with the Kansas ARCA 150. Chris Buescher won the champio ...
and
2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series file:Regan Smith Road America 2015.jpg, Regan Smith (racing driver), Regan Smith finished fourth in the championship, 22 points behind. file:Daniel Suarez Road America 2015.jpg, Daniel Suarez finished fifth in the championship, 112 points beh ...
champion and the cousin of
2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series file:Ty Dillon at UNOH Dirtcar Nationals.JPG, Ty Dillon, the 2012 NASCAR truck series Rookie of the Year. The 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was the eighteenth season of the Camping World Truck Series, third highest stock car racing ...
champion
James Buescher James Howard Buescher (born March 26, 1990) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He is the 2012 NASCAR Truck Series champion. After parting ways with NTS Motorsports in 2015, Buescher became a real estate agent. He ...
.


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 David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on ...
,
Jonathan Davenport Jonathan Lee Davenport (born October 31, 1983), nicknamed Superman, is an American professional Dirt track racing, dirt track and stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, driving the No. 4 ...
, etc.) In 2008, Buescher moved to North Carolina to be mentored by NASCAR
Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
driver
David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on ...
and signed as a
development driver Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development hell, when a projec ...
for
Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
, 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.


Xfinity Series

Buescher made his debut in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
competition for
Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
in 2011, driving two races in the
Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
; 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
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, 7th at
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, second at Talladega, ninth at Charlotte, 11th at
Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, tenth at Michigan, and 12th at the July Daytona race. Buescher finished fifth at
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
to earn a spot in the second Nationwide Dash 4 Cash race at
Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...
; he would finish 8th at Chicago and 11th at
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. Fastenal returned to sponsor the 60 at Iowa, where Buescher finished 14th. Cup sponsors
Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...
and
Cheez-It Cheez-It is a brand of cheese crackers manufactured by Kellanova through its Sunshine Biscuits division. Approximately , the rectangular crackers are made with wheat flour, vegetable oil, cheese, skim milk, salt, and spices. History The histo ...
sponsored the car at Watkins Glen. Buescher won the
Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 The B&L Transport 170 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that was held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, United States. The inaugural event took place on August 17, 2013, and was scheduled to be contested for 90 laps over a distance ...
at
Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington, Ohio, Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar Series, Indy ...
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 Ryan Austin Payton Reed (born August 12, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and driver coach. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Ra ...
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 Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series have been held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia during numerous seasons and times of year since 1992. Spring race The Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 is a NASCAR Xfinit ...
at
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giving him a tie for the points lead with a fellow competitor
Ty Dillon Tyler Reed Dillon (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. He has also competed in what is now the ARCA Mena ...
. Buescher scored the second series win of his career at Iowa Speedway after passing
Chase Elliott William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Mo ...
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 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." In the final race of the 2015 season, Buescher won his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship at
Homestead Miami Speedway Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...
on November 21, 2015. He finished 11th in the race after receiving the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap.
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. ...
won the race. Buescher was able to hold off defending champion (of the then Nationwide Series)
Chase Elliott William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Mo ...
,
Ty Dillon Tyler Reed Dillon (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. He has also competed in what is now the ARCA Mena ...
, 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 Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a part ...
at Fontana in 2015, filling in for
David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on ...
, 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 Matthew Guido DiBenedetto (born July 27, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet SS for Viking Motorsports. ...
, 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 A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helix, helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes describe ...
, 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 14th in his rookie attempt at the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the ...
. One week later at Pocono, Buescher took the lead late in the
Pennsylvania 400 The Great American Getaway 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Pocono Raceway since 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1974, the race is currently held as a 160 lap, 400 mile (643.738 km) race. From 1982 to 2021, a second race at the track (las ...
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 Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a part ...
. 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 James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...
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 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 David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on ...
. Buescher passed his teammate
Landon Cassill Landon Douglas Cassill (born July 7, 1989) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Early career Cassill was born i ...
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.


JTG Daugherty Racing (2017–2019)

On November 29, 2016, Roush Fenway announced the sale of their charter for the No. 16 car to
JTG Daugherty Racing Hyak Motorsports is an American stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team fields the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 full-time for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and has a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. History The ...
, 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 11th-place finish, one spot shy of a third-career top 10. He eventually scored his first Top 10, with JTG at
Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...
, finishing 10th. The Coke Zero 400 was also the first time both JTG Daugherty cars finished inside the Top 10, with teammate
A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. 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 Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...
with a sixth-place result at the
2019 Coca-Cola 600 The 2019 Coca-Cola 600, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 26, 2019, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.42 km) asphalt speed ...
. On September 25, 2019,
Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
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 3rd-place finish at the
2020 Daytona 500 The 2020 Daytona 500, the 62nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 16–17, 2020. It was contested over 209 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish, on the asphalt superspeedway. It was the first ...
. He struggled initially when returning from the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, but scored a top-10 at
Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...
. 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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 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. Buescher started the 2022 season with a 16th-place finish at the
2022 Daytona 500 The 2022 Daytona 500 was the first Stock car racing, stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and the 64th running of the Daytona 500, event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International ...
. He also scored top-10 finishes at Phoenix,
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and
Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, where he recorded his first career Cup Series pole. At the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...
, Buescher was involved in a crash early in the final stage after he hit
Daniel Suárez Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican-American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing and part-time in the NASCAR ...
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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
; he was substituted with Zane Smith. A week later, Buescher returned to the No. 17 and finished second to
Daniel Suárez Daniel Alejandro Suárez Garza (born January 7, 1992) is a Mexican-American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing and part-time in the NASCAR ...
at Sonoma. On June 28, 2022, crew chief Scott Graves was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss at
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
. 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 The 2023 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 65th running of the Daytona 500, event. It was held on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2023 NASCAR C ...
. He held off
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...
to win at
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
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 Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, the first time RFK Racing had won two consecutive races since
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards Jr. (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and a current analyst for ''NASCAR on Prime Video''. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No ...
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 3 wins, 9 top fives, 17 top tens, and an average finish of 12.2, all career highs. Buescher started the 2024 season with an 18th-place finish at the 2024 Daytona 500. At
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, Buescher finished second to
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. ...
by 0.001 seconds - the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history. The following week, during the
2024 Goodyear 400 The 2024 Goodyear 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 12, 2024, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 293 laps on the egg-shaped oval, it was the 13th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and the 68t ...
, Buescher was walled by
Tyler Reddick Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry (XV80), Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing. He is a two-time champion i ...
 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 Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989), also known by his initials SVG, is a New Zealand professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, C ...
brushed the wall near the Bus Stop on the final lap. Buescher started the 2025 season with a 10th place finish at the
2025 Daytona 500 The 2025 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 67th running of the Daytona 500, event, held on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series ...
. 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 60 owner and driver points, 5 playoff points and fined 75,000, and Graves was suspended for two races.


Personal life

Buescher married in 2018, during the Easter off weekend in the NASCAR schedule. In December 2022, he and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter Charley. Buescher and his wife Emma live on a micro-farm near
New London, North Carolina New London is a town in Stanly County, North Carolina, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 600 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, and was estimated to be 724 as of 2019. The town lies between Albemarle, N ...
with their many pets and outdoor toys, they also volunteer with the local humane society in Albemarle.


Motorsports career results


Stock car career summary

As Buescher was running for points in the Xfinity series, he was ineligible for championship points in the Cup series.


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

=


Xfinity Series

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.)


References


External links


Official profile at RFK Racing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buescher, Chris 1992 births Living people People from Prosper, Texas Sportspeople from Collin County, Texas Sportspeople from Denton County, Texas Racing drivers from Texas ARCA Menards Series drivers NASCAR drivers RFK Racing drivers NASCAR Xfinity Series champions