Team: No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @RFK17Team, @RFKRacing and @Chris_Buescher
Race Format: 312 miles, 312 laps, Stages: 60-125-127
NASCAR Cup Race at Phoenix – Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Weekend Format
Traditional practice – a full, 50-minute session – is on the schedule for Friday, with single-car qualifying set for Saturday in Phoenix.
Buescher at Phoenix
- Buescher makes his 14th Cup start at Phoenix this weekend. He is coming off his best career finish of 10th this spring.
- Last fall he ran 25th in the No. 17, and the year prior ended the season with a 20th-place run.
- His best qualifying effort stands as 17th, which he accomplished twice, in the 2019 fall race and again in the 2021 spring race. Overall he has a 25.9 average starting position.
- Buescher also made four Xfinity Series starts in Arizona for Jack Roush with a best finish of P12 (2014).
Scott Graves at Phoenix
- Graves will be on the box for his 12th Cup race from Phoenix this weekend. He led Buescher to the top-10 run this spring, one of his two top-10s at the track.
- He led Daniel Suarez to an eighth-place finish back in the spring race of 2018, and finished 12th with Ryan Newman the next spring.
- Graves also called seven NXS races in Phoenix with a best finish of third, also with Suarez, in 2016. He followed that with a P5 result in the fall.
QUOTE WORTHY
Buescher on racing at Phoenix:
“For me, Phoenix has been a track that has been a struggle, but we came out in the spring and had a really good showing and came away with a top-10. Having a full practice this weekend is something to look forward to, and I think will help us improve even more on our return trip to the desert. Our seasons are no doubt a grind, and we’re looking forward to capping this one off in a big way this weekend.”
Last Time Out
Buescher finished 25th at Martinsville.
On the Car
Fastenal, in its 12th season with RFK in 2022, makes its 20th appearance with the No. 17 this weekend. In its early days with RFK, Fastenal originally was a partner with the No. 99 team before moving over to the No. 17 team since. They were also the primary partner on the No. 60 Xfinity Series entry that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.
Fastenal will feature top suppliers Norton, G.L. Huyett, MCR Safety, Master Lock and Krylon Products on Buescher’s No. 17 this weekend. For more information on these suppliers, visit Fastenal.com, and stay up-do-date on social @FastenalCompany.
About Fastenal
Fastenal [Nasdaq: FAST] is North America’s largest fastener distributor and a ‘one-stop’ source for hundreds of thousands of OEM, MRO and Construction products. With more than 2,600 stores worldwide, the company supports B2B customers with tailored local inventory and dedicated personnel, who visit regularly, quickly respond to emergency needs, and provide efficient inventory management solutions. Fastenal’s service-oriented business network includes the world’s largest industrial vending program, 14 regional distribution centers, 8 custom manufacturing facilities, thousands of delivery vehicles, and industry-leading sourcing, quality and engineering resources.
