Team: No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @RFK17Team, @RFKRacing and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 400 miles, 160 laps, Stages: 35-60-65
NASCAR Cup Race at Daytona – Sunday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Weekend Format
· With the return to a Superspeedway, single-car qualifying is on tap Friday evening as the field will each run one lap for the pole for Saturday’s regular season finale.
Buescher at Daytona
· Buescher makes his 14th Cup start at Daytona this weekend where he has five top-10s and an average finish of 22.1. Last season he crossed the line second in the summer race but was later disqualified.
· He finished ninth in the 2020 edition of the summer race, and also ran fifth in 2018. He most recently finished 16th in the 2022 Daytona 500 after winning his Duel race Thursday night.
· Buescher has started inside the top-10 at Daytona once (2022 Daytona 500) with a career-best 13th in last summer’s race.
· Buescher also ran three Xfinity Series events and had a best finish of second in the No. 60 entry in 2015.
Scott Graves at Daytona
· Graves will call his 13th Cup race from Daytona this weekend where he has three career top-10s and a 19.4 average finish.
· He and Ryan Newman finished third in this race a season ago, and also ran fifth in the 2019 summer race. All of his career top-10s at the track have come in the last six races.
· Graves was also on the box for six Xfinity races in Daytona with two top-10s.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Daytona:
“This race is going to be chaos no matter how you look at it. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen this scenario play out with so many guys still eligible and all needing a win, so this week will be more about survival than ever. We’re very confident in our Superspeedway program and know we’ll unload a great Fifth Third Bank Ford this weekend, we just hope all the pieces fall our way to get the win and push us into the playoffs.”
Last Time Out
Buescher carded his fourth-straight top-10 on a road course and eighth overall of the season, finishing ninth last Sunday at Watkins Glen.
On the Car
Fifth Third makes its fourth appearance as the primary on the No. 17 this weekend. Fresh off celebrating its 10th season as a partner with RFK in 2021, Fifth Third returns this season for five races in total, while serving as an associate in all events for the No. 17 team.
The bank will also feature Summit Racing this weekend on the decklid of the No. 17 machine as part of the Fueled by Fifth Third pass-through program.
Summit Racing was founded in 1968 and is now the world’s largest internet and direct-mail supplier of high performance aftermarket parts and accessories.
Everything You Need for Anything You Drive! Summit Racing offers a huge selection of parts for race cars, classic muscle cars, vintage street rods, late-model performance vehicles, trucks, Jeeps, SUVs, motorcycles, ATV/UTV, and more!
Summit Racing is headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio, with retail stores and distribution centers in Tallmadge: Sparks, Nevada; McDonough, Georgia; and Arlington, Texas.
About Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of June 30, 2020, Fifth Third had $203 billion in assets and operated 1,122 full-service banking centers and 2,456 ATMs with Fifth Third branding in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of June 30, 2020, had $405 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $49 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Deposit and Credit products are offered by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.
