Jade Buford

Jade Buford
Buford at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021
BornJade Marcus Buford
(1988-02-15) February 15, 1988 (age 36)
Houston, Texas
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
47 races run over 4 years
Car no., teamNo. 74 (Mike Harmon Racing)
No. 07 (SS-Green Light Racing)
2023 position61st
Best finish23rd (2021)
First race2020 Pennzoil 150 (Indianapolis)
Last race2023 Ag-Pro 300 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2022 position104th
Best finish104th (2022)
First race2022 DoorDash 250 (Sonoma)
Last race2022 DoorDash 250 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Michelin Pilot Challenge career
Debut season2009
Current teamPF Racing
Car number40
EngineFord 5.2
Co-driverJames Pesek, Shane Lewis
Former teamsMultimatic Motorsports
Best finish4th in 2013, 2014
Finished last season11th (2019)
Previous series
2019
2019
2016–2018		British GT Championship
GT4 America Series
Pirelli World Challenge
Last updated on: June 11, 2023.

Jade Marcus Buford (born February 15, 1988) is an American professional racing driver with experience in open-wheel, sports car, and stock car racing. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing.

Buford has also raced in the Pirelli World Challenge, British GT Championship, GT4 America Series, ARCA Menards Series, and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Racing career

[edit]

Buford began his racing career when he was 18 years old, competing in Porsches;[1] he was also an intern at the Porsche Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park.[2] He debuted in Grand-Am's KONI Sports Car Challenge in 2009.[1] He raced for RSR Motorsports in the ST class and shared the No. 196 Mini Cooper S with Owen Trinkler.[3] In 2010, he joined Racers Edge Motorsports in the GS class of the renamed Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.[4]

He moved to Multimatic Motorsports in 2012, where he shared the No. 71 Aston Martin Vantage with Tonis Kasemets en route to an 11th-place GS finish. The following year, he partnered with Scott Maxwell in Multimatic's No. 55, during which Buford recorded a series-record seven pole positions. The two remained together for 2014.[2] Buford's co-driver in 2015 was 16-year-old Austin Cindric, who described Buford as "someone to lean on" during the early stages of his racing career.[5] The duo recorded a victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.[6]

Buford began competing in the Pirelli World Challenge's GTS class in 2016 with Racers Edge. He swept the Barber Motorsports Park weekend from the pole,[7][8] followed by a third win at Lime Rock Park after wrecks took out the leaders and a cleanup truck interfered with another.[9]

He ran two Sports Car Challenge races in 2017 with Multimatic. Buford also returned to the Pirelli World Challenge, running in the GTS Pro class with Racers Edge, and won both races at Mosport.[10]

Buford joined PF Racing for the 2018 PWC season. In the GTS SprintX race at Circuit of the Americas, he scored the Mustang GT4's maiden victory when he and Maxwell passed pole sitter Harry Gottsacker during pit stops; Buford explained "some of the cars have outright pace on us, but we just executed the perfect race."[11] Buford recorded a second win that year at Watkins Glen International after beating Ian James to the finish by .208 seconds.[12]

In 2019, Buford ran the full Michelin Pilot Challenge schedule with PF Racing, finishing 11th in the standings.[13] He also began racing in the British GT Championship's Silver Cup for Multimatic alongside fellow American Chad McCumbee.[14]

For the 2020 MPC season, Buford shared PF's No. 40 with James Pesek and Shane Lewis.[15] In June, he dabbled in stock car racing when he joined SS-Green Light Racing to drive their No. 07 NASCAR Xfinity Series car in the Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.[13] After starting 17th, Buford finished 14th in the event.[16] Buford would make his second NASCAR start at Road America in the No. 6 for JD Motorsports,[17] replacing the car's usual driver, B. J. McLeod.

Buford in the No. 48 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021

In 2021, Buford joined the newly-formed Big Machine Racing in the No. 48 Chevrolet for the full Xfinity season.[18] His first race with the team came in the second round on the Daytona road course as he was not approved for the season opener on the oval.[19] He went on to finish 23rd in the final points standings after recording sixteen top-twenty finishes with a best result of ninth at Michigan International Speedway. It was also during this year that Buford made select starts in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East for Fast Track Racing, making his East series debut at Dover International Speedway, where he finished in ninth, and his main series debut at Pocono Raceway where he finished in eighth place.

Although he was slated to run another full-season with BMR in 2022,[20] Buford only ran the first eight races of the year, where he only finished in the top-twenty once, an eighth place finish at the Circuit of the Americas, before being replaced by Kaz Grala for the following two events at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway.[21] He wouldn't make another start for the team that year until Portland International Raceway, where he finished in fourteenth. Buford also made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Sonoma Raceway, driving the No. 33 Toyota for Reaume Brothers Racing, where he finished in 33rd due to transmission issues.[22]

In 2023, it was announced that Buford would run a second car for Big Machine Racing at Daytona International Speedway, the No. 5 Chevrolet.[23] After qualifying for the race in twelfth, he went on to finish in 25th place. It was later announced that Buford would run the No. 5 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he qualified in fifth but finished in 36th after being involved in a multi-car crash early in the race.[24]

Personal life

[edit]

Buford is a graduate of Auburn University.[10] An avid rock climber,[25] he participated in the show American Ninja Warrior in 2017 (Daytona Beach) and 2018 (Philadelphia), but was eliminated on the third obstacle in both attempts.[26]

Motorsports career results

[edit]

NASCAR

[edit]

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

Xfinity Series

[edit]
NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2020 SS-Green Light Racing 07 Chevy DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR CLT BRI ATL HOM HOM TAL POC IND
14 		KEN KEN TEX KAN DAY
16 		DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT
8 		KAN TEX MAR PHO 39th 105 [27]
JD Motorsports 6 Chevy ROA
19
2021 Big Machine Racing 48 Chevy DAY DAY
36 		HOM
20 		LVS
30 		PHO
20 		ATL
26 		MAR
19 		TAL
18 		DAR
35 		DOV
33 		COA
15 		CLT
17 		MOH
13 		TEX
16 		NSH
33 		POC
19 		ROA
34 		ATL
17 		NHA
18 		GLN
21 		IND
20 		MCH
9 		DAY
28 		DAR
21 		RCH
36 		BRI
27 		LVS
26 		TAL
12 		CLT
16 		TEX
39 		KAN
38 		MAR
17 		PHO
33 		23rd 435 [28]
2022 DAY
23 		CAL
37 		LVS
28 		PHO
28 		ATL
38 		COA
8 		RCH
33 		MAR
22 		TAL DOV DAR TEX CLT PIR
14 		NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO 40th 127 [29]
2023 5 DAY
25 		CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL
36 		DOV DAR CLT PIR SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC ROA MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 61st 13 [30]
2024 Mike Harmon Racing 74 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV DAR CLT
DNQ 		PIR SON IOW NHA
DNQ 		NSH
DNQ 		CSC POC
Wth 		IND MCH DAY DAR ATL -* -* [31]
SS-Green Light Racing 07 Chevy GLN
DNQ 		BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO

Camping World Truck Series

[edit]
NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts Ref
2022 Reaume Brothers Racing 33 Toyota DAY LVS ATL COA MAR BRI DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW SON
33 		KNO NSH MOH POC IRP RCH KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 104th 01 [32]

* Season still in progress

ARCA Menards Series

[edit]

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

ARCA Menards Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AMSC Pts Ref
2021 Fast Track Racing 11 Toyota DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC
8 		ELK BLN IOW WIN GLN MCH ISF MLW DSF 60th 62 [33]
10 BRI
18 		SLM KAN

ARCA Menards Series East

[edit]
ARCA Menards Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AMSEC Pts Ref
2021 Fast Track Racing 11 Ford NSM FIF NSV DOV
9 		SNM IOW MLW 27th 61 [34]
10 Toyota BRI
18

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Big Machine Vodka and Hand Sanitizer to sponsor Jade Buford's NASCAR Xfinity Series debut". SS-Green Light Racing (Press release). Catchfence. June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Jade Buford". Multimatic Motorsports. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "SCC: Utah: Owen Trinkler preview". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. October 1, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Racers Edge Motorsports Tests Three". AutoMobilSport.com. September 12, 2009. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Cindric Enjoying Full Season in Multimatic Ford Mustang". International Motor Sports Association. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  6. ^ "Austin Cindric, son of Team Penske president, sets CTSC mark". Sports Illustrated. July 11, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "PWC: Buford takes GTS Round 5 win at Barber". Racer. April 22, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "PMG Drivers Finish 2nd & 6th at PWC @ Barber Motorsports Park". Pirelli World Challenge. Performance Motorsports Group. April 23, 2016. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Bradley, Charles (May 28, 2016). "Buford inherits win in crazy GTS race at Lime Rock". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Jade Buford completes GTS weekend sweep with Pirelli World Challenge win". Autoweek. May 21, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Allaway, Phil (March 25, 2018). "Jade Buford, Scott Maxwell Claim Maiden PWC Win for Mustang GT4". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  12. ^ Dagys, John (September 1, 2018). "Buford Wins; Sofronas Wraps Up Overall GTS Championship". Sportscar365. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Nguyen, Justin (June 30, 2020). "Sports car racer Jade Buford to make NASCAR debut at Indy road course". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Multimatic confirms Buford and McCumbee for second Mustang". British GT Championship. April 15, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "PF Racing kicks off the 2020 season with an 11th place at Daytona". International Motor Sports Association. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  16. ^ Cain, Holly (July 4, 2020). "Chase Briscoe Earns Hard-Fought NASCAR Xfinity Win at Indianapolis". Autoweek. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "Jade Buford driving for JD Motorsports at Road America". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 3, 2020.
  18. ^ Utter, Jim (January 19, 2021). "New Xfinity team to debut at Daytona with driver Jade Buford". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  19. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (February 1, 2021). "Danny Bohn Making Xfinity Debut at Daytona". Frontstretch. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Music executive Scott Borchetta's lifelong passion for racing fuels desire to start new team". NASCAR. October 7, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Kaz Grala Replacing Jade Buford for 2 Races at Big Machine". Frontstretch. April 12, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Brad Perez Returns, Jade Buford Debuts with Reaume Brothers Racing at Sonoma Raceway". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "Jade Buford running second car for Big Machine Racing at Daytona". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  24. ^ "Jade Buford returning to Big Machine Racing at Talladega". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Jade Buford Sets the Pace in Both GTS Practice Rounds Friday at CTMP in No. 55 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4". Motor Racing Press. May 18, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  26. ^ "Jade Buford". Ninja Guide. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jade Buford – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  28. ^ "Jade Buford – 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  29. ^ "Jade Buford – 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "Jade Buford – 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  31. ^ "Jade Buford – 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  32. ^ "Jade Buford – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  33. ^ "Jade Buford – 2021 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  34. ^ "Jade Buford – 2021 ARCA Menards Series East Results". Racing Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
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