Chuck Buchanan Jr.

Charles "Chuck" Buchanan Jr. (born August 12, 1961) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 87 Chevrolet for his own team in both series. He also has entered races in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in the past.

K&N / ARCA Menards Series East
For the past decade, Buchanan Jr. has driven part-time in the K&N Pro Series East, fielding his own team in a few races each year, usually the tracks in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, which are closest to his hometown of Hildebran, North Carolina. His series debut came in 2011 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway (in South Carolina). The only other attempt he made that year was a DNQ at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

2012 saw Buchanan Jr. attempting four races and qualifying for three of them. He did not make the race at New Hampshire for the second straight year. In the three where he was in the field, he finished 34th at Richmond Raceway, 30th at Rockingham Speedway, and got a 20th at CNB Bank Raceway Park in Pennsylvania in the East Series' first race there since the 1980's.

Buchanan Jr. returned in 2013, again making four attempts, but he only ended up qualifying for one race that season at the road course of Virginia International Raceway. His three DNQ's came at Bristol, Richmond, and Langley Speedway. However, in 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, Buchanan qualified for all of his attempts, which were the exact four races he attempted in 2013 as well as Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio. In those five races, Buchanan Jr's best finish came at Langley where he finished the race in 19th.

He had even more solid year in 2015, running at the finish of the race in all but one of his starts. He made a total of four starts that year, which again were at the same tracks he ran in 2013 (Bristol, Langley, VIR, and Richmond). He earned what was his best finish of his career at that point, a 13th, at the VIR road course. He had tried to make a fifth start at the season-opener at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida, but he withdrew.

Buchanan Jr. did not end up racing in the series in 2016, but he did withdraw from the race at Dominion Raceway.

Making four starts in 2017, Buchanan Jr. only was running at the finish of one of them, which was Memphis. He DNF'ed at Langley and both races of the new South Boston doubleheader. He was also set to attempt Bristol (again) and Berlin Raceway (in Michigan), but he withdrew from both of those events.

In 2018, Buchanan Jr. switched to using the No. 87 (the number he had used with his Truck Series team) due to Hailie Deegan and Bill McAnally Racing using the No. 19. He made his first start at New Smyrna, his first race at that track excluding his 2015 withdrawal. He later entered Bristol, the doubleheader at South Boston, and Gateway (in Illinois but near St. Louis). Buchanan Jr. earned his first top-10 in the East Series with a ninth place finish at the first of the two South Boston races.

Buchanan Jr. had a bit of an unlucky season in 2019, as he only finished one of his five races that year (at the April race at Bristol) and did not finish at New Smyrna, the first of the two South Boston races, and the August race at Bristol. He did not start at the second South Boston race.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
In 2014, he attempted to qualify for the Truck Series race at Martinsville in October, but failed to make the field after being the slowest truck in qualifying and having no owner points being a new team.

He returned to the Truck Series in 2015 and attempted both races at Martinsville, but he again did not qualify for them. Buchanan Jr. was on the entry list for the Bristol night race, but withdrew.

He had been entered for Martinsville again in 2016, but withdrew, likely due to the large entry list and the fact that they were unlikely to make the race.

Buchanan Jr, having unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for three races in the Truck Series plus withdrawing from two others, partnered with Jennifer Jo Cobb to drive her team's No. 10 at the Martinsville race in 2017. A full season team, the No. 10 truck had owner points, so Buchanan Jr. would have a better chance of qualifying, which is presumably why he ended up doing this instead of fielding his own No. 87 team again. Buchanan used his own Ford truck that weekend instead of one of Cobb's Chevrolets. This did not seem to work, as he never made a qualifying run and missed the race. He has not attempted to make another Truck race since then.

ARCA Menards Series
In 2020, Buchanan participated in the ARCA Menards Series testing at Daytona in January of that year and then proceeded to file an entry for the race there in February. This will be his debut in the series.

NASCAR
(key) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )

K&N Pro Series East
$$ Season still in progress $1$ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series
(key) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )