Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher Bio

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. Buescher is a two-time champion at the national NASCAR level, having won the 2012 ARCA Racing Series title and the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

Standing 180 centimeters tall and weighing about 73 kilograms, Buescher is the cousin of 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher. He and his wife Emma make their home on a small farm near New London, North Carolina.

Early Life and Background

Christopher William Buescher was born on October 29, 1992, in Prosper, Texas. He is the son of Jim and Donna Buescher, and grew up in a household with strong ties to American motorsports. From a young age, Buescher was drawn to stock car racing, a sport with deep roots across the southern United States.

Buescher began his professional racing career in 2005, driving Legends cars in Texas for Speedway Legends, a team that also worked with future NASCAR Cup Series driver David Ragan. During that era, he won more than one hundred Legends races, building a foundation of seat time and race craft that would prepare him for the next step.

In 2008, at age fifteen, Buescher moved to North Carolina to be mentored by NASCAR Cup Series driver David Ragan. He signed as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing, the same organization that had helped launch Ragan’s career. That move marked a major turning point, placing him inside one of the most established development pipelines in American stock car racing.

Path to NASCAR

Buescher’s first national-level NASCAR races came in 2011, when he drove two events in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing. He returned to the series in 2013, running seven races for the team alongside a limited ARCA Racing Series schedule with Roulo Bros. Racing. Those early starts helped him earn the 2011 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year award.

In 2014, Buescher moved to the Nationwide Series on a full-time basis, driving the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. His rookie season featured strong runs at Las Vegas, Richmond, Talladega, Charlotte, Dover, and Michigan, and on August 16, 2014, he captured his first career national series victory at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio.

The following year, with the series rebranded as the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Buescher emerged as a championship contender. He scored wins at Iowa Speedway and Dover International Speedway, fueling a season-long battle with Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon. That run set the stage for his full-time transition to the NASCAR Cup Series.

Chris Buescher Career

Early Career (2005-2014)

Buescher cut his teeth in Legends cars in Texas, winning more than one hundred races between 2005 and 2008. After relocating to North Carolina to work with David Ragan and join the Roush Fenway Racing development program, he transitioned into ARCA competition in 2009. He was named ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year in 2011, a sign of steady progress through the Roush Fenway ladder.

In 2012, Buescher captured the ARCA Racing Series championship, completing every single lap of the season, a record unmatched in series history. He then moved into the NASCAR Nationwide Series on a full-time basis in 2014, and his victory at Mid-Ohio that summer gave him his first national NASCAR win.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2014-2015)

Buescher’s 2014 Nationwide Series rookie campaign included top-ten runs at Las Vegas, Richmond, Talladega, Charlotte, Dover, and Michigan. His win at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio on August 16, 2014, announced him as a rising talent within the Roush Fenway Racing stable.

In 2015, with the series now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Buescher opened the year with a runner-up finish at Daytona. He added wins at Iowa Speedway and Dover International Speedway, using late-race restarts to grab both victories. Heading into the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway on November 21, 2015, Buescher held off Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, and Regan Smith in points to clinch his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.

NASCAR Cup Series Career (2015-Present)

Buescher made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2015 at Fontana, driving the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports. He returned to the team full-time in 2016 and scored his breakthrough Cup win in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono, becoming the first Cup Series rookie to win at Pocono since Denny Hamlin in 2006. That result pushed Front Row Motorsports into the Chase for the first time.

After a stint with JTG Daugherty Racing in the No. 37 from 2017 through 2019, Buescher was announced on September 25, 2019, as the driver of the No. 17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK Racing) starting in 2020. He opened the 2020 season with a third-place run in the Daytona 500 and posted a career-high eight top-ten finishes that year. In 2022, he snapped a 222-race winless streak with a victory in the Bristol night race, leading a race-high 169 laps.

Buescher’s 2023 campaign was his strongest to date. He held off Denny Hamlin to win at Richmond, won back-to-back at Michigan, and added a third victory at the Daytona night race. He advanced to the Round of 12 and then the Round of 8 in the playoffs, finishing a career-best seventh in points with three wins, nine top-fives, and seventeen top-tens.

RFK Racing Era (2020-Present)

Buescher joined RFK Racing in the No. 17 Ford in 2020, replacing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He has since become one of the team’s most consistent drivers, working with crew chief Scott Graves. In 2023, his Richmond, Michigan, and Daytona wins gave RFK Racing back-to-back victories for the first time since Carl Edwards closed the 2010 season with two straight wins.

In 2024, Buescher finished second at Kansas by just 0.001 seconds to Kyle Larson in the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history, and later won at Watkins Glen after Shane van Gisbergen brushed the wall on the final lap. The 2025 season opened with a tenth-place result in the Daytona 500, and a subsequent L1 penalty on the No. 17 team cost Buescher championship points and led to a two-race suspension for crew chief Scott Graves, later reduced on appeal.

Driving Style and Strengths

Buescher is known for his patience on restarts, his smooth inputs on intermediate tracks, and his sharp road-course race craft, as shown by his late-race pass at Watkins Glen. His partnership with crew chief Scott Graves has produced consistent pit stops and smart fuel-strategy calls, including the rain-shortened Pocono win in 2016. Buescher also excels at superspeedways, where his drafting experience and calm pack-racing instincts have produced multiple top-ten runs.

Notable Races and Milestones

Buescher’s signature moments include his 2016 Pocono rain win, the 2022 Bristol night race victory that ended a 222-race drought, the 2023 back-to-back wins at Richmond and Michigan, the closest Cup finish in series history at Kansas in 2024, and the 2024 Watkins Glen win. His 2015 Xfinity Series title at Homestead also stands as a defining milestone in his career.

Chris Buescher Career Wins

Across NASCAR’s top three national series, Buescher has built a varied win list that includes a Cup Series victory, an Xfinity Series championship, and an ARCA Racing Series title. His wins have come on a mix of tracks, including short ovals, intermediates, road courses, and superspeedways.

NASCAR Cup Series Highlights

Buescher’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory came at Pocono in 2016, scored on a different pit strategy during a rain-shortened Pennsylvania 500. He added his second Cup win in the 2022 Bristol night race, leading 169 laps and ending a 222-race winless streak. In 2023, he won at Richmond, Michigan, and the Daytona night race, finishing seventh in points and reaching the Round of 8 in the playoffs.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Highlights

Buescher’s first NASCAR national series win came in 2014 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio. In 2015, he added Xfinity Series victories at Iowa Speedway and Dover International Speedway, then clinched the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Homestead Miami Speedway on November 21, 2015, ahead of Chase Elliott, Ty Dillon, and Regan Smith.

Other Wins and Performances

In the ARCA Racing Series, Buescher won the 2012 championship while completing every lap of the season, a record unmatched in series history. He was also named the 2011 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year. On August 4, 2025, it was announced that Buescher would return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the Watkins Glen race, driving the No. 66 Ford for ThorSport Racing.

Chris Buescher Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

Buescher is the son of Jim and Donna Buescher. He is the cousin of James Buescher, who won the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. That family connection helped deepen Buescher’s ties to the sport from a young age, and the two cousins remain one of the few relatives to hold NASCAR national-series titles.

Personal Life

Buescher married his wife Emma in 2018, during the Easter off weekend in the NASCAR schedule. In December 2022, he and Emma welcomed their first child, a daughter named Charley. The family lives on a micro-farm near New London, North Carolina, where they keep many pets and outdoor toys, and they also volunteer with the local humane society in Albemarle.

2025 Season Performance

Buescher opened the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with a tenth-place finish in the Daytona 500. Following the Kansas race, the No. 17 team received an L1 penalty after R&D discovered the reinforcement behind the front bumper foam exceeded two inches. RFK Racing was originally docked sixty owner and driver points, five playoff points, fined US$75,000, and suspended crew chief Scott Graves for two races.

After the National Motorsports Appeals Panel reviewed the case, three members ruled that the No. 17 team broke one or more, but not all, of the rules cited. The penalty was reduced to a thirty-point deduction for driver and owner, five playoff points lost, a two-race suspension for Graves, and the same US$75,000 fine for RFK Racing.

Despite the setback, Buescher and the No. 17 team remain focused on building momentum through the summer and fall. With crew chief Scott Graves back from suspension and Buescher’s 2023 playoff form as a benchmark, RFK Racing is aiming to return to the Round of 8 and contend for the Championship 4.