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Chris Buescher will make his 400th Cup Series start in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, a milestone that has him asking, “How did that happen?”
The RFK Racing driver looked back on a Cup career that started with a phone call during breakfast, MotorBiscuit reported.
‘I need you at the track four hours ago’
In 2015, Buescher was on his way to the Xfinity Series championship when Robbie Reiser, then the general manager at Roush Fenway Racing, helped set up a last-minute Cup start with Front Row Motorsports. Buescher was needed at California’s Auto Club Speedway to fill in for Brett Moffitt in the No. 34 Ford.
“He said, ‘Hey, I need you at the track four hours ago.’ I was like, ‘OK I’ll pay and get out of here,’” Buescher said.
He was 22. “I’m not a big fan boy but when I passed him, I was like, damn that’s Jeff Gordon. That’s pretty cool,” Buescher said. He finished 20th.
From Pocono to 400
Buescher joined Front Row full time in 2016 and won at Pocono Raceway that August in a fog-shortened race, his first Cup win. He later drove for JTG Daugherty Racing before returning to Roush, now RFK Racing. He has six Cup wins, including three in 2023.
“It’s cool to say that you’ve earned your place and have the right to be here for 400 starts,” Buescher said. “Whether it’s another 100 or 400. We’re not gonna count them down. I’ve not counted them to this point and I’m not going to count them beyond.”
His season
Buescher is in the Chase but out of title contention, 16th in the standings. He won Stage 1 at Talladega on Sunday after he and RFK teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski broke away from the fuel-saving field.
The Xfinity 500 is Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC from Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia.
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