Team: No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @RFK17Team, @RFKRacing and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 263 miles, 500 laps, Stages: 130-130-240
NASCAR Cup Race at Martinsville – Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Weekend Format
· Group practice and qualifying sessions return for this weekend’s schedule at Martinsville.
Buescher at Martinsville
· Buescher is set for his 15th Cup start at Martinsville this weekend, where he has one top-10 (P9), which came in last fall’s race. In that event he drove from the 15th starting spot to his career-best Martinsville finish.
· Prior to last fall, he had five other top-15 results, including a P13 finish in each of the last two spring races.
· Buescher is coming off a career qualifying effort of fourth at Martinsville this spring, improving his average starting position to 22.5. He started 15th in each of last season’s events.
Scott Graves at Martinsville
· Graves will call his 13th Cup race from Martinsville on Sunday where he has two career top-10s, including a best finish of ninth, which came last fall with Buescher.
· Graves has a string of five-straight top-20s, including a P10 finish with Ryan Newman back in 2019, and a 12th-place run the following spring. He and Buescher ran 15th this spring.
· He led Buescher to the P4 starting spot this spring and overall has an 18.0 average starting position.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Martinsville:
“Martinsville is another track where the tables have turned a bit for us lately, in a good way, so we’re ready to get back up there. Both of our RFK cars had speed there this spring, and we both had great qualifying runs inside the top-10. Finishing strong is what we’re going for this season, and this is another great chance to do so in a really cool scheme recognizing Matt Kenseth and our longtime partner Fifth Third Bank.”
Last Time Out
Buescher and the Fastenal team rebounded for a 13th-place finish at Homestead-Miami this past weekend.
On the Car
Fifth Third makes a unique appearance on the No. 17 this weekend, honoring Matt Kenseth and his upcoming induction into the NASCR Hall of Fame with a special paint scheme. Kenseth, who scored Jack Roush’s first Cup Championship in 2003, originally piloted the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford in 2012 and this weekend’s scheme for Buescher will be a nod to that original livery.
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.
