With the 2024 NASCAR Cup season on the horizon, almost all seats have been confirmed. However, there are still a few kinks to iron out, as teams have been scrambling to get their sponsorship deals in line. While RFK Racing’s breakout star, Chris Buescher, has nothing to worry about the next year with Fastenal backing him as a primary sponsor, things could also take a different turn for him as 2025 sets in. It is interesting to note that Fastenal’s contract is set to expire at the end of the 2024 season and so is Buescher’s. If the organization decides not to extend their contract, the driver could be in a spot of trouble for the 2025 campaign.
While 2024 is a crucial year for the #17 driver, with his recent performances, Buescher might not have much to worry about.
READ MORE: RFK’s Breakout Season Highlighted by Chris Buescher’s Consistent and Almost Flawless 2023 Season
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Where can Chris Buescher go from here on out?
It is safe to say that Buescher had a splendid 2023 Cup Series campaign, clinching three wins, six Top 5 finishes, and eight Top 10 finishes. However, the onus will be on him to continue putting in such performances for the next Cup season as well. After all, it would look good for the sponsors and would convince Fastenal to put pen to paper at a much faster rate. Teammate Brad Keselowski’s place in the team is pretty much guaranteed since he is the part-owner of the organization. Perhaps Buescher will have a year ahead of him to prove himself if he wants that contract extension.
But looking at his past performances, maintaining consistency doesn’t seem like too much of an uphill task for the driver. The 31-year-old has been making a mark on the track since 2022, when he first joined the RFK Racing outfit. In his maiden season with them, he took an unexpected race victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway. That was actually a building year for RFK Racing, since they battled a number of problems and penalties. 2023 was a much better campaign, with Buescher putting in more consistent performances. The driver racked up back-to-back wins at Richmond and Michigan and even backed it up with a Coke Zero Sugar 400 win at the Daytona International Speedway.
While it can be said that Buescher is a talented driver, all eyes will be on if he will be able to prevail under pressure. In the drivers’ own words, he seemed pretty confident about his prospects.
Can he keep up the momentum in the 2024 season?
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Truthfully speaking, Buescher has the capability to carry forward his upward surge in 2024. However, he will have to contend with the other Ford drivers, as well as his own teammate Brad Keselowski. The 2012 Cup Series champion did not enjoy the best of seasons, but was reasonably quick enough to keep up with Buescher. So far, RFK Racing has been fairly coy on a contract extension, so they could be waiting for Buescher to hit the ground running in 2024.
WATCH THIS STORY: Chris Buescher: Aiming for a Playoff Comeback
In other words, if both Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski can battle for wins, they will go far. Recently, when Ford launched its new Mustang, Buescher confessed that he was actually looking forward to driving the car. The car, featuring the logo of Fastenal in bold letters on the hood, flaunts a blue-black theme. The slick-looking vehicle will definitely draw some eyeballs to it.
Talking about his momentum before the 2024 season gets underway, Buescher exuded confidence about the future and also talked about his strategy going forward.
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We put a ton of effort to get to this point. But we’ve proved to ourselves that this is there is a possibility for us and what we’re capable of and now it’s time to go on next year, win more races early, be in the hunt, win more and make it even farther through playoffs,” the driver said.
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Listening to the driver, do you think he’ll be able to turn his words into actions? Let us know in the comments below!