2016 Season Review: Chris Buescher

Buescher was one of two Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2016 -- a first in the sport’s history -- and made some significant steps forward in his young career. The 2015 XFINITY Series champion had some high-water marks to hang his helmet on as he moves into 2017 with a new team.

After a slow start to the season, Buescher landed his first top 20 of the year at Dover International Speedway in May, finishing 18th after starting 30th. The above-average result at the 'Monster Mile' was his first finish in the top 20 since his first career Sprint Cup Series start at Auto Club Speedway in 2015.

The landscape of Buescher’s season changed dramatically when the then-Front Row Motorsports driver fortuitously won at Pocono Raceway after the race was called due to wet, foggy conditions. Thirty-first in points at the time, the next several races became a 'Will he or won’t he' of making it into the top 30 in points, one of the requirements to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Heading into the regular season finale and cutoff before the Chase, Buescher was still on the line at 30th overall, before a 24th-place finish at the Virginia track helped the rookie officially clinch a berth into NASCAR’s postseason.

The Round of 16 was hard on Buescher, as he failed to finish higher than 23rd in any race and was one of the first four drivers eliminated from the Chase. He did manage to finish 16th at Charlotte the following week, however, his best result the rest of the way.

After the conclusion of the 2016 season, JTG Daugherty Racing announced that it would be expanding to two full-time teams in 2017, leasing Buescher and the Charter from Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 16 car for the upcoming season.