Roush Fenway Racing cuts third team as Chris Buescher joins JTG

Matt Puccia will continue as Bayne's crew chief while Brian Pattie will transition from the No. 16 to the No. 17, replacing Nick Sandler. Sandler has been reassigned as the Director of Engineering.

The team is dissolving the No. 16 team, soon after it was announced that long-time driver Greg Biffle would leave the organization. In another bit of news, Chris Buescher will join JTG Daugherty Racing in a second entry. They will use the Charter that was previously held by the No. 16, leasing it from Roush.

There are also several more changes being made in the executive team for RFR. Kevin Kidd has been named Competition Director, while Tommy Wheeler serves as Operations Director. Robbie Reiser, who was removed as the general manager last week, will stay with the company in a yet to be determined role.

“We have been able to shore up our plans for 2017 and we feel that this will continue to move us in a direction that will yield improved performance and results,” said RFR co-owner Jack Roush. “We saw improvement in our cars and made substantial gains in our performance at times last season, and we will continue to build on that by maintaining a robust engineering group in order to take the next step by consistently running up front.”

JTG confirms

“We can confirm at this time that JTG Daugherty Racing is currently in the process of starting a second team in the NASCAR premier series,” JTG Daugherty Racing team owner Tad Geschickter said. “We would also like to confirm and welcome Chris Buescher to the team as our driver for the second car. More details will follow.” 

“I can confirm that I have signed to race for JTG Daugherty Racing as they expand to a two-car team in the NASCAR premier series in 2017,” Chris Buescher said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and look forward to competing for a spot in the Chase. We’ll have more details at a later date.”