BRISTOL, Tenn. – Whether he’s under contract or not, Chris Buescher has a home for the foreseeable future in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
JTG Daugherty Racing co car-owner Tad Geschickter announced Friday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway that the Prosper, Texas native has signed a multi-year agreement with the two-car team to remain the driver of the No. 37 Chevrolet.
“We’ve been able to work through contractual stuff, and get Chris (Buescher) signed up to continue to drive for us for multiple years at JTG Daugherty Racing,” team owner Tad Geschickter said. “We couldn’t be more happy about that.”
JTG Daugherty added Buescher to the team this season, expanding to a two-car organization to pair the 24-year-old Buescher with A.J. Allmendinger. Following a sluggish start to the year, the Texan has risen to 25th in the championship standings, one spot ahead of Allmendinger.
“So, really excited to be able to get everything worked out to be able to drive for JTG Daugherty Racing for the next handful of years,” said Buescher. “We have been able to make a lot of progress this season and everyone knows how hard it is to fire off at the beginning of the year with everything being completely new. Not only just new to me, but adding a second team is a pretty major undertaking.
“So, to be able to get everything in place as smoothly as we have been able to and be able to get the results that we have this soon in the season, I think has been a really great thing. For me, that continuity at the end of the season is excellent. It’s something that I haven’t had for a little bit.
“To be able to build off of something that you worked an entire year trying to get up and get ready to go that is nice to be able to carry over that into 2018 and seasons beyond. Really looking forward to next season, really neat to be driving the new Chevy Camaro ZL1.”
Buescher came into the Motorsports scene in the ARCA Racing Series in 2009, after being signed as a development driver with Roush Fenway Racing. He competed in the series for five years, winning the championship in 2012 and making the leap to the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2014.
In XFINITY, Buescher won his first race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in his rookie season. He also racked up five top-five and 14 top-10 finishes that year. The following season, he earned two wins, 11 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes en route to capturing the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.
He moved to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series last season and won his first race in a strategy call in the Aug. race at Pocono Raceway. He departed Front Row Motorsports who had an alliance with Roush Fenway Racing for JTD Daugherty at the end of last season.
Entering Saturday night’s Bass Pro Ships NRA Night Race, has one win, two top-five and five top-10 finishes in 65 career starts.
“Chris has been a great addition to the JTG Daugherty Racing family,” team owner Tad Geschickter said. “We’re extremely proud of what he has accomplished this year and we’ve learned a lot from him and the No. 37 team. We’ve got some of the best brands in the business supporting us and you couldn’t ask for more. We’re truly blessed and really excited for the future with Chris in the No. 37.”
The team has leased a charter from Roush Fenway Racing this season, but Geschickter said Friday that have an ownership agreement in place to purchase a charter for the 2018 season and beyond.
As for his relationship with Roush Fenway Racing, Buescher didn’t provide a simple yes or no answer, but did say, “
“This is where we’re going to be. This is home. This is a way for us to gain that continuity.
“I really appreciate everything on the Roush Fenway side, and what they’ve done for me through the years. I’ve had a lot of fun racing over there. For simplicity’s sake and going forward, while everything goes through this time, where everything restructures and gets back in line, this is our way to be able to say that we know what we’re doing every year.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
