RELATED: Driver and team changes for 2017
JTG Daugherty Racing officials have confirmed that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization will expand to two full-time teams in 2017 with the addition of driver Chris Buescher.
JTG Daugherty, co-owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty, has fielded a single full-time car in the series since 2009. A.J. Allmendinger, the team’s primary driver since 2014, will remain with the organization as driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet.
“We can confirm at this time that JTG Daugherty Racing is currently in the process of starting a second team in the NASCAR premier series,” Tad Geschickter said. “We would also like to confirm and welcome Chris Buescher to the team as our driver for the second car.”
Buescher, the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion while at Roush Fenway Racing, spent the 2016 season competing for Front Row Motorsports. According to a release from RFR, Buescher and the organization’s charter for its No. 16 team have been “leased” to JTG Daugherty for the upcoming season.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity and look forward to competing for a spot in the Chase,” Buescher, 24, said.
Buescher qualified for the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup after scoring his first career premier series win, at Pocono Raceway. While he failed to advance out of the first round of the 10-race elimination-style format, he finished 16th in points, a career best for a Front Row Motorsports team.
Allmendinger finished a career-best 13th in points in 2014 when he qualified for the Chase. The No. 47 team ended the ’16 season with two top fives and nine top-10 finishes and Allmendinger 19th in points.
He scored the organization’s lone victory to date in the premier series, winning at Watkins Glen in 2014.