Editor's note: This is the 14th in a series in which we review the top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in reverse order of the 2025 final standings.
Driver: Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
Crew chief: Scott Graves
Final 2025 ranking: 17th
Key stats: 0 wins, 5 top fives, 16 top 10s, 47 laps led
How 2025 ended: For the second consecutive year, Chris Buescher missed the Cup Series Playoffs and finished 17th in the final standings, the highest non-playoff driver. The RFK Racing driver's number of top fives and top 10s was nearly identical to his total a year ago, but the most noticeable improvement was the speed of the No. 17 Ford in qualifying despite going winless in 2025. Buescher's average starting position jumped six positions from 18.5 to 12.5. Although the 33-year-old native of Prosper, Texas, did not take a Busch Light Pole Award this year, he started on the front row twice at Kansas and Pocono.
Best race: Buescher came a position short of winning at Michigan after finishing runner-up to Denny Hamlin in a fuel-mileage thriller. After starting sixth in the Irish Hills, the No. 17 Ford driver led 13 of his 47 laps this season in a good showing in the Blue Oval's backyard.
RELATED: 2026 Cup Series schedule | Chris Buescher driver page
Other season highlights: One year after besting Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen in NASCAR Overtime, Buescher returned to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York in 2025 and continued to show his road-course prowess after finishing third, behind SVG and Christopher Bell. He also had a solid showing at the Charlotte Roval, with a fourth-place result. In the final two laps of the Talladega fall race, Buescher appeared to be in position for his first win of the year until he spun off the front bumper of William Byron while leading and crashed hard into the inside wall on the backstretch.
Stat to know: In the final 10 races of the 2025 season, Buescher finished worse than 18th place just twice.
Quotable: "Fast race cars bring points with them. I think if we stick with this over the next handful of weeks, um, that part will come with it. Again, I think we figured for the last couple of months, it's gonna be a must-win situation. I feel like these playoffs constantly do that, and you get to the end, and one or two slip in on points. But you gotta win races." - Buescher on playoff pressure in a post-race interview with Amazon Prime Video at Pocono.
Looking ahead: Despite RFK missing out on the postseason and Victory Lane across the board as an organization in 2025, look for the returning Buescher to bounce back in 2026. RFK expanded to three cars this year, with Ryan Preece joining Buescher and Brad Keselowski in the driver lineup. After a year of experience as a three-car team and showing improvement in the second half of 2025, the No. 17 driver and his teammates could make some noise in 2026. If all goes well, there is a possibility that we may get the 2023 and 2024 versions of the Texan driver, who led more than 200 laps in those seasons.
--This news comes from NASCAR NEWS and is NOT for commercial purposes
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