Nathan Buttke (born May 8, 1975) is a former stock car racing driver. The

Randleman, North Carolina Randleman is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,113 at the 2010 census. It is the home of NASCAR's Petty family, the Victory Junction Gang Camp and was the location of the Richard Petty Museum from 2003� ...

native competed in 55

NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

races and 22

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...

races between 1992 and 2001.

Racing career

Winston West Series

Buttke made one foray into the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

, running one race in 1996 for

Spears Motorsports Spears Motorsports was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Wayne and Connie Spears of Agua Dulce, California. The team is most notable for its longevity in the Truck Series, running all but two races before their closure, their commitm ...

. Running at

Mesa Marin Raceway Mesa Marin Raceway was a paved oval race track, located near the junction of CA 178 and CA 184 (Kern Canyon Road), east of Bakersfield, California. It opened in 1977 and was owned by Marion Collins throughout its existence. The Collins fami ...

, he qualified fourth and finished in that position.

Craftsman Truck Series

signed Buttke partway through the 1996 season to drive the No. 75 entry. He recorded three top ten finishes, but also crashed out of two races and failed to finish five others with mechanical issues. Buttke did not return to the team in 1997, or even the series, focusing his efforts on the

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. He attempted one race in 1998 for CSG Motorsports, finishing seventeenth at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. He returned to the series in 2001, running the first eight races of the season for

Ware Racing Enterprises Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing wi ...

. Buttke and the team mutually parted ways before

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24 ...

in June, with Buttke searching for more opportunities.

Busch Series

Breaking into the series in 1992, Buttke drove three races for his family team, finishing 23rd at

Orange County Speedway Orange County Speedway is a 3/8 mile (0.6 km) asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as 1/4 mile (0.4 km) and 5/8 mile (1 km) dirt oval (Trico Speedway), which operate ...

, 17th at

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

, and 19th at

Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, the team expanded its reach to more than half the schedule, and changed its number from 82 to 66. Buttke attempted nineteen races as part of a campaign for Busch Series Rookie of the Year, qualified for seventeen, and recorded his first career top ten, at Hickory. The following year, he ran five races for his family team and three more for Owen Racing, recording a top ten in the No. 9 car at

South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...

, the track at which he ran best, posting an average finish of 17th. Skipping the 1995 season, he ran seven races and failed to qualify for three more in 1996. He failed to finish six out of seven races that year, including the South Boston race, where he qualified second. He also ran the second half of the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

schedule that year for

. In 1997, after acquiring sponsorship from Carquest Auto Parts, he attempted four of the first ten races and made three. He was then signed by Don Browder and the No. 78 Mark III Racing team. Attempting twelve more races, he posted three top ten starts and a best finish of eleventh at

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...

. His first opportunity in the 1998 season was to race for Phoenix Racing, running races 22 to 24 on the schedule and placing 22nd at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

, 9th at bristol, and 17th at

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...

. He then joined Washington-Erving Motorsports for one race, falling out with brake issues at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...

. Finally, Buttke returned to the Mark III team for the final four races of the season. His final Busch race came in 1999, competing at

Myrtle Beach Speedway Myrtle Beach Speedway (originally named Rambi Raceway), was built in 1958 and was located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The speedway was a semi-banked asphalt oval track that spans .The NASCAR Cup Series competed at the ...

for

NorthStar Motorsports Northstar may refer to: * Polaris, a star Arts and entertainment * Northstar (band), an emo band from Alabama * Northstar (rap group), a rap group affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan * "Northstar", a 2019 song by XXXTentacion from the album ''Bad Vi ...

, finishing 16th.

Post-NASCAR

Buttke has remained an active racer at

Caraway Speedway Caraway Speedway is a short track located near Asheboro, North Carolina, U.S. Caraway Speedway was built in 1966 as a dirt track. The track was paved in 1972 and joined the NASCAR Weekly Series family as a .455 mile asphalt short track. Caraway ...

and in the Goodyear Challenge Series.

Personal life

Buttke attended Randleman High School while racing.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

Winston West Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buttke, Nathan 1975 births Living people People from Randleman, North Carolina NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from North Carolina