Rookie Profile: Chris Buescher from XFINITY Series Champion to Cup Series Rookie

The path to NASCAR started early for Chris Buescher back in his hometown of Prosper, Texas. From the early days of driving legend cars when Buescher met follow legends champion and Roush Fenway Racing development driver David Ragan. After making the move to North Carolina to continue his racing career would move into the ARCA Racing Series in 2009. By 2012 Buescher would win the ARCA championship as a Roush Fenway Racing development driver.

“Having the relationship with the Ragan’s from racing legends cars and working out of the same shop running ARCA cars really helped me when I made the move out to North Carolina. I owe a lot of my success to them with them helping me get in the door with Roush Fenway.” Said Buescher

“They really took a chance on me trying to get a spot in driver development. They really had the connections that me and my dad really didn’t have living out in Texas. These were good connections that afforded me opportunities I wouldn’t have made without him to push me to the next level.”

While still driving in the ARCA series Buescher would make his first XFINITY series start for Roush in 2011 at Richmond and make his full-time conversion in 2014. While his rookie season didn’t start as plan after failing to qualify at the season opener at Daytona, Buescher would go on to finish out the season with one win and seven top-five finishes and seventh in the season ending points standings.

Following his breakout rookie season Buescher would go head to head with the prior season champion Chase Elliott for the championship. With two wins and 11 top-five finishes in a season ending battle to the finish at Homestead. Buescher was able to take home his first NASCAR national series championship in 2015 by just 15 points over Elliott.

“We were doing well for ourselves and stepping up into the XFINITY level and everybody’s game has stepped up at the next level it was a learning curve for me. The learning curve for me moving over from ARCA to XFINITY where having less power in the cars until moving to their tapered spacers along with the splitter was a whole new deal for me and the Goodyear tires were different as well.”

“I made mistakes early on while in 2013 making seven starts to prepare to go full-time in 2014. At Charlotte I wrecked the car early and didn’t feel like I got the experience I needed early on. “

Late in 2015 it was announced that in the NASCAR Cup Series that the following season teams would be moving over into a charted system which would lock in teams and drivers each week. With Front Row Motorsports looking to reorganize and two locked in cars Buescher was named to take over one of the seats with support from Roush Fenway to help field the team.

Buescher who has entered the 2016 with a young and qualified 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year field is chasing both Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney while sitting in fourth just two points behind Brian Scott. However with a couple setbacks this season at the restrictor plate tracks at both Daytona and Talladega Buescher it looking to regain momentum through the summer stretch to catch back up to the leaders in the rookie standings.

“Superspeedway racing hasn’t been good to me this year. It’s been rough for me and I’m looking forward to the schedule ahead to turn my luck around”

With support from Roush Fenway this season over at Front Row Motorsports the two team partnership has been able to put together a compliment of sponsorship the field the rookie season effort. One unique partnership between the two teams is bringing on board bigtruck lifestyle brand to produce a set of trucker hats for both Front Row Motorsports and Chris Buescher and his sponsors.

“bigtruck and me started working together last year when we were running for the championship in the XFINITY Series and wanted to start working on something for this season. It’s a great fit as their motto is fun first and they want to have a good time. It made sense to be with a company that has the same ideas as we do when we are out here to have fun each and every week.”

“We have about ten hats produced already for Love’s and CSX for Front Row Motorsports sponsors.”