The RFK Racing Ford driver reached the milestone at the penultimate race of the 2026 season.
Chris Buescher made his 400th NASCAR Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, taking the green flag in the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford. He started 18th in the penultimate race of the 2026 season.
Chris Buescher reached 400 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series when he took the green flag at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, NASCAR said. The race was the second-last of the 2026 season and part of The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Buescher drives the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford. He lined up 18th on the grid and was 16th in the standings going into the race.
A career that began on the grandstands
Speaking on a Zoom teleconference on Wednesday, Buescher said the milestone had arrived quickly. "Fortunately, it's been a lot of fun along the way," he said. He recalled watching races from the grandstands at Texas Motor Speedway a little over 20 years ago and thinking it would be cool to do one someday. "Not a bad number," he said of the 399 starts behind him.
Buescher said no single moment made him feel he had made it, but that he is grateful for the chance RFK has given him in his national-series career. He credited Jack Roush and the people at RFK for a big opportunity years ago, and said he wants to keep repaying it.
The route to 400
- 2015: won the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship with RFK, with two wins and 20 top-10 finishes.
- 2016: first full-time Cup season, with Front Row Motorsports, and his first victory, at Pocono Raceway in a race shortened by fog.
- 2017 to 2019: full-time with JTG Daugherty Racing, now Hyak Motorsports.
- 2020 onwards: with RFK Racing, winning five times with the organisation.
- 2023: a breakout season with three victories and career highs of nine top fives and 17 top 10s.
That 2023 campaign carried Buescher into the Round of 8 under the old playoff format, where his title hopes ended at Martinsville.
