Chris Buescher to No. 17 NASCAR ride; Ricky Stenhouse Jr out
Shane Walters
Chris Buescher returns to Roush Fenway Racing for 2020
The No. 17 ride in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will see a new driver for 2020. Chris Buescher is set to return to Roush Fenway Racing as Ricky Stenhouse Jr exits the team.
“We can’t say enough about Ricky and his contributions to Roush Fenway Racing,” said team co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush.
“We’re proud to have been a part of Ricky’s development from ARCA to Xfinity and ultimately the Cup Series. He has served as a great representative to our partners, while helping to accumulate numerous accolades, wins and multiple championships on the racetrack. We wish him well as he enters the next chapter of his career,” the NASCAR team owner concluded.
Chris Buescher returns to Rough Fenway Racing
In 2015, Chris Buescher piloted a Roush Fenway Racing machine to the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
He left that ride following the 2015 season to pursue a career on the next step of the ladder, the NASCAR Cup Series. Buescher drove for Front Row Motorsports in 2015-2016.
Since 2017, he had been running the JTG Daugherty Racing No 37.
Buscher has one career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, which he claimed in 2016 at Pocono Raceway with Front Row Motorsports.
Stenhouse has piloted the No. 17 car for the past seven seasons after taking over for Matt Kenseth in 2013. Stenhouse has two career wins, both in 2017 at Superspeedway events.
Update
JTG Daugherty Racing released the following statement following the announcement from Roush Fenway Racing.
“We were in the final strokes of the contract when learning that Chris has gone in a different direction,” said Tad Geschickter, JTG Daugherty Racing team owner.
“We appreciate all of the efforts from Chris through the past three seasons at JTG Daugherty Racing. When the dust settles, we will begin the process of searching for our next driver to fill the No. 37 seat for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.”