Chris Buescher will continue at the wheel of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse number 17 in the NASCAR Cup Series. RFK Racing announced a multi‑year agreement that gives continuity to the driver with the longest tenure within the organisation founded by Jack Roush. Buescher currently occupies seventh place in the championship with 461 points and eight top‑tens in the first 16 races of 2026.

For Buescher, spending the majority of his career within the organisation is not something he takes for granted. The pride in what has been built in recent years and the enthusiasm for the direction the team is taking, the people who make it up, and the company's commitment were the reasons he gave for signing the extension.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

The renewal comes in a season where RFK has all three of its drivers inside the top 20 in the standings. Buescher is seventh, Brad Keselowski sits in 17th, on the playoff cut bubble, and Ryan Preece is 19th. The organisation could still place two cars in the postseason with ten races remaining until the end of the regular season.

Buescher joined Roush Fenway Racing at 16 years old to work in the shop and assist with pit practice. In 2009 he entered the driver development programme and from there went on to win the ARCA title in 2012 and the Xfinity Series title in 2015, both in cars owned by Jack Roush. His move to the Cup Series was not direct, because Roush did not have a seat available. He was loaned to Front Row Motorsports in 2016, and that season he scored a victory at Pocono that opened the door to the Chase. He then spent three seasons with JTG Daugherty Racing, also under contract to Roush, before returning in 2020 to drive the No. 17.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

By then, the team was far from the one that had dominated the category in the 2000s. Roush was going through the weakest period in its history, and Buescher dedicated his first two seasons to helping rebuild the programme from within. The arrival of Brad Keselowski as driver and co‑owner in 2022 sparked a change. That same year Buescher won again at Bristol, and in 2023 he strung together three victories in a span of five races: Richmond, Michigan and Daytona. Those results put him in the playoffs and gave him a seventh‑place final finish, his best classification in the category.

In 12 Cup Series seasons, Buescher has accumulated six victories, 32 top‑fives and 94 top‑tens. His average finishing position went from 26.1 in 2016 to 13.2 so far in 2026. Last year he recorded 16 top‑tens with an average finish of 14.3, the sixth‑best in the entire field.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Jack Roush takes great pride in what Buescher has become after almost an entire professional career within the organisation. He described him as an exceptional driver and the kind of person who strengthens the team through his work ethic, intelligence and commitment. In the same vein, Keselowski said that his professionalism, preparation and dedication to making those around him better is what sets him apart from the rest and that he has been an important part of the organisation's progress.