Chris Buescher: 2025 NASCAR Driver Profile

Buescher will have several sponsors returning, including Fastenal, Fifth Third Bank, Castrol, and BuildSubmarines.com. The addition of Kroger, also backing Preece, provides additional funding that could launch this former Roush group back into the top tier financially.

At age 32, Buescher is coming into his prime. He has shown he can make the show and advance, logging top-5 and top-10 runs.

Of course, a win is the only way to guarantee a spot. That’s where Buescher’s clean, considerate driving style can sometimes prove a detriment in this format. A May Darlington win, one that ended up with teammate Keselowski, was lost after contact with Tyler Reddick battling out front. It was an incident Buescher complained about but refused to turn into on-track payback, just like he raced Larson clean for the win at Kansas.

Chris Buescher career stats

It was two weeks that defined Buescher’s season, forcing a reckoning on how he will handle those situations going forward.

“That’s two weeks in a row we had a shot to win races,” Buescher said. “One, I’m going to relive in my head forever at what I would’ve done different [at Kansas]. The other, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”

Buescher’s on-track strategy, especially during the closing stages of these races, could be the key to 2025 and beyond. The No. 17 has better resources than ever; will its perpetually underrated driver adapt in crunch time?

The Chris Buescher file

Car: No. 17 Ford

Team: Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing

Crew chief: Scott Graves

Years with current team: 6

Best points finish: 7 (2023)

Hometown: Prosper, Texas

Born: Oct. 29, 1992

Scouting report

Anonymous takes from drivers, crew chiefs, and assorted industry insiders:

“It’s like he wants to be a tough guy; it’s weird,” says a peer about Chris Buescher. It was funny to have that conversation, because a rival team owner later said unprompted that, “Chris Buescher is a total badass.” When told about the driver’s quote, the team owner replied, “Oh, he’ll learn. This isn’t an act. He’s the real deal.”

“Chris Buescher is like a Number 1 draft pick and this garage is going to go crazy trying to sign him if he ever becomes a free agent,” the owner continues. “We all missed it the first time and that’s a shame on us. He’s a blue-collar driver, and he goes under the radar, but the sponsors clearly love him. He’s highly underrated on and off the track.”

A veteran broadcaster says Buescher would be in one of his cars if he started a program today, calling him, “the glue that makes all the other pieces bind together.”

“Class act. He races you the way you want to be raced,” says another driver. “You get what you give. It’s fitting that he drives for (RFK Racing) because racing him is a lot like I imagine it was to race Mark Martin or Matt Kenseth. He races like an old Midwest Late Model NASCAR guy. He doesn’t wreck cars and doesn’t cause you any trouble out there unless you get in his way first. I really like racing him. I just don’t know him away from the track because he keeps to himself for the most part. He seems like a cool guy.”