Draft:Chuck Buchanan Jr.

Charles Buchanan Jr. (born August 12, 1961) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 87 Chevrolet for his own team. He has also competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the past.

East Series
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. 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, 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 International Raceway. He failed to finish at Langley and both races of the new South Boston doubleheader. He was also set to attempt Bristol and Berlin Raceway, but would withdrew from both 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, where he would finish 28th and last after nineteen laps due to electrical issues, the doubleheader at South Boston Speedway, and Gateway Motorsports Park. 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.

Truck Series
In 2014, he attempted to qualify for the NASCAR Camping World 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 International Speedway in January of that year and then proceeded to file an entry for the race there in February. This was his debut in the series, and he earned a solid thirteenth place finish, only one lap down. Buchanan also earned the K&N Filters Hard Charger award (passing the most cars) for the race. Buchanan's next race of the season would not come until August of that year, when he entered his No. 87 in the ARCA East Series race at Dover, where would go on to finish tenth after starting sixteenth. He was originally scheduled to run at Bristol Motor Speedway that year, but had to withdraw to due pending weather and outside obligations.

In 2021, Buchanan Jr. would be entered in the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he would finish eight laps down in eighteenth after starting 22nd. He would also run the combination race with the ARCA Menards Series East, where he would start 27th and finish eleven laps down in 21st.

After not running in the series the following year, Buchanan Jr. would compete in the season opening race at Daytona, where he would start 29th and finish 28th. He would also make a start a Pocono Raceway later in the year, where he would qualify sixteenth but would finish eighteenth due to mechanical issues.

Personal life
Buchanan Jr. currently owns three Spring Drug Pharmacy stores, a company which serves as his sponsor when he races.

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

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

ARCA Menards Series East
$$ Season still in progress