Scott Graves

Last updated
Scott Graves
Scott Graves NASCAR Crew Chief (cropped).jpg
Graves in 2019
Personal information
BornScott R. Graves
(1974-11-07) November 7, 1974 (age 51) [1]
Clifton Springs, New York, U.S.
Alma mater Texas Tech University
OccupationCrew chief
Years active2006-present
Sport
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
SportMotor racing
League NASCAR Cup Series
Team17. RFK Racing

Scott Graves (born November 7, 1974) is an American crew chief who works for RFK Racing as the crew chief of their No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series driven by Chris Buescher.

Contents

Graves won the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with Buescher, and in 2016 with Daniel Suárez. [2]

Crew chief career

Roush Fenway Racing

Graves joined Roush Racing for the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as the engineer for the No. 99 truck driven by Erik Darnell, helping Darnell win Rookie of the Year honors. [3]

Graves, before he began working as a Crew Chief, worked as an engineer for RFK Racing, where in 2011, helped Carl Edwards win the Owners Championship. The next season, He got promoted to crew chief, where he helped Edwards win at Watkins Glen International, his very first race as crew chief. [4]

Graves was promoted to the Sprint Cup Series in 2013, helping Ricky Stenhouse Jr. win NASCAR ROTY honors. [5] Graves was paired with Chris Buescher in 2015. [6] Graves later helped Buescher win the championship as his crew chief. [7]

Joe Gibbs Racing

In 2016, Graves moved to Joe Gibbs Racing to join Daniel Suárez in the No. 19. [8] Graves helped Suárez win the Championship that year. [9]

Graves stayed as a crew chief for JGR's Xfinity program in 2017, after Suárez moved up to the Monster Energy Cup Series, helping Kyle Busch win Atlanta. [10] Graves later reunited with Suárez again, after his crew chief, Dave Rogers, took an indefinite leave of absence. [11] Suárez stayed consistent enough to finish second in the 2017 ROTY class, just behind Erik Jones. Graves stayed with Suárez in 2018, however Graves was replaced by Rogers following Dover in the fall. [12]

Return to RFR/RFK

Shortly after his departure from Suárez and JGR, Graves returned to RFR to become Ryan Newman's crew chief in 2019. [13] Newman stayed consistent enough to make the playoffs, [14] but was eliminated after Charlotte.

Graves stuck with Newman in 2020. A scary crash on the last lap of the 2020 Daytona 500 sidelined Newman, making Ross Chastain pilot the No. 6. [15] Newman returned to racing after a three month break due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. [16] Graves retained his spot as Newman's crew chief in 2021 until the Charlotte Roval, where Luke Lambert and Graves would swap, Graves was the crew chief for the No. 17, reuniting with Chris Buescher for the first time since 2015. [17]

Graves would stay as the crew chief for Buescher in 2022, he would also become Zane Smith's crew chief for St. Louis after Buescher was sidelined due to COVID-19. [18] Graves was suspended for four races after a loose wheel came off Buescher's car at Nashville. [19] Graves would return at Michigan after an unsuccessful appeal. [20] Despite missing the playoffs, Graves would return to victory lane at Bristol. [21]

Graves and Buescher would be successful together in 2023, winning back to back races at Richmond, [22] and Michigan. [23] They would also end up winning Daytona. [24] Unfortunately, they were eliminated after Martinsville. In 2024, they would remain consistent, despite barely missing the playoffs, they would win at Watkins Glen. [25] In 2025, Graves was suspended for Charlotte after the No. 17 team was handed a L1 penalty following Kansas. [26]

References

  1. ↑ "Scott Graves". RFK Racing . January 8, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Scott Graves Crew Chief Statistics". January 8, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  3. ↑ "2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year standings" . Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  4. ↑ "NASCAR At Watkins Glen Results: Carl Edwards Wins In First 2012 Nationwide Start". August 11, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ "RFK crew chief Graves is riding a wave years in the making". RACER. July 31, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Roush Fenway Racing Announces 2015 Crew Chief Lineup". Roush Fenway Racing . January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Buescher Brings Home Roush Fenway's 5th XFINITY Championship". RFK Racing . November 21, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Suarez to have new crew chief for 2016 season". December 26, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Daniel Suarez wins race, 2016 championship at Miami". November 19, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Kyle Busch wins second-straight Atlanta XFINITY race". March 4, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  11. ↑ Menzer, Joe (March 29, 2017). "Daniel Suárez JGR crew chief Dave Rogers takes personal leave". Foxsports.com . Fox Sports Digital Media . Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Graves out as No. 19 crew chief; Rogers to replace him". NASCAR. October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Crew chief Scott Graves will pair with Ryan Newman at Roush-Fenway Racing in 2019". October 23, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Ryan Newman makes the Cup playoffs but "we have work to do"". September 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ Ryan, Nate (February 19, 2020). "Ross Chastain will replace Ryan Newman in the No. 6 at Las Vegas". NBC Sports . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ryan Newman discusses his recovery and return to racing ahead of NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington". May 14, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Roush Fenway to swap crew chiefs". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 3, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Chris Buescher out at Gateway due to COVID-19; Zane Smith to drive No. 17". NASCAR. June 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "NASCAR issues four-race suspensions for RFK Racing crew members after Nashville". NASCAR. June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  20. ↑ Christie, Toby (July 1, 2022). "RFK Racing Officially Files Appeal For Unsecured Wheel Infraction at Nashville". TobyChristie.com.
  21. ↑ Spencer, Reid (September 17, 2022). "Chris Buescher scores Bristol victory, champions eliminated from playoffs". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  22. ↑ Cain, Holly (July 31, 2023). "Chris Buescher Lands Playoff Berth With Richmond Victory". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  23. ↑ Spencer, Reid (August 7, 2023). "Chris Buescher Holds Off Dominant Truex, Lands Surprise Back-to-Back Wins". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  24. ↑ Spencer, Reid (August 26, 2023). "Buescher Gets 1–2 Finish for RFK Racing in Regular Season Finale, Wallace Beats Out Favorites Elliott and Bowman for Final Playoff Spot". NASCAR. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Chris Buescher moves Shane van Gisbergen on final lap, wins in OT at Watkins Glen". NASCAR. September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  26. ↑ Srigley, Joseph (May 15, 2025). "Chris Buescher, RFK Racing Handed L1-Penalty Post-Kansas". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
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