NASCAR: Chris Buescher returning to JTG Daugherty Racing in 2018

By Asher Fair | Aug 24, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 22: Chris Buescher, driver of the #37 Clorox Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 22, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

JTG Daugherty announced that they will be bringing back Chris Buescher for his second full season with the team and third full season in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018.

Chris Buescher, 24, will be returning as the full-time driver of the #37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season. He is currently in his first full-time season with the team and second full-time season in the sport.

In the 2015 season, Buescher drove six races for Front Row Motorsports before officially becoming a rookie when he started driving full-time for the team last season. Through the first 26 races of his Cup Series career, 20 of which to open up last season, Buescher had never finished a race in the top 13.

That all changed when he won a postponed race at Pocono to seal himself a spot in the playoffs in his rookie season. While he was unable to advance out of the first round, he still ended up in 16th place in the championship standings, which is impressive for a rookie driver driving for a smaller team such as Front Row Motorsports.

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Buescher’s sophomore season got off to a rather slow start, but he has since picked it up a notch. In the last eight races, he has three top 10 finishes, including a 10th place finish at Daytona, a 9th place finish at Indianapolis and a 6th place finish at Michigan.

Buescher has been satisfied with his recent improvements.

"“I think we’ve made big leaps throughout the season. The last handful of races have been really good. We’ve worked really hard on bringing a faster race car to the track."

Only two of Buescher’s career top 10 finishes have not come in the last eight races, with those two being his maiden Cup Series victory last year at Pocono and his 5th place finish at Bristol two races after the Pocono race.

JTG Daugherty Racing’s decision to maintain Buescher should provide him with a sense of stability in the Cup Series. Some drivers who don’t drive for top-tier organizations end up hopping around to a number of different teams, so this move should allow Buescher to continue developing into a better driver with one team.

Right now, he sits in 25th place in the championship standings as one of the best drivers not driving for a top-tier team, so he still has room to improve. However, he has clearly gotten better since he started driving.

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