This was the first time Watkins Glen International was made to be a part of the playoff campaign. A second road course race was bound to be entertaining, and it did just that. The defending champion, Ryan Blaney, was knocked out in the very first lap of the race. Veteran Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin both got shoved in the wall by Kyle Larson and finished poorly. For many of our championship contenders, a good Watkins finish was crucial and hence it led to intense battles on the track.

However, no battle was as thrilling as the last one. In NASCAR this year whenever a road course comes up and Shane van Gisbergen’s in the lineup, it is certain who’s winning the race. After all, all (3) of his Xfinity Series wins have come on road courses, making him the king of such tracks. However, that wasn’t the case in Watkins Glen! Chris Buescher was determined to play spoiler, and boy, he did it in style! Everyone who watched the race was in awe of the RFK Racing’s driver.

Chris Buescher wins it in style

The #17 driver was knocked out of the playoff contention after Chase Briscoe won the Darlington race and bagged the last spot in the top 16. The winless Buescher finished in the 17th position, just below the cutoff line. Not qualifying for Buescher was unexpected since he came from a season-high in 2023, his best of the Cup Series career (3 wins, 9 top 5s, 17 top 10s). He finished the season in the 7th rank. However, 2024 just wasn’t his year, twice (Phoenix, Dover) he came close to winning but finished on P2. However, he was determined to continue his win streak, and Watkins Glen presented a perfect opportunity.

Here’s how it happened. On the final overtime restart, Shane van Gisbergen pushed everyone wide and in a three-wide move took the lead. Chris Buescher, however, was determined and chased him, catching him at the bus stop where they had minor contact as the #17 took the inside line. SVG did not like this move and tried to regain the lead, however, he couldn’t as Buescher blocked him with his road course prowess. Buescher finally took his first chequered flag of the season by 0.979 seconds and SVG finished 2nd.

This chase had NASCAR journalist, Jeff Hammond impressed. Analyzing the race at GoPRNlive he said, “I would consider a gentleman’s move you know I got enough and got and again let’s go back and bring up Richmond. If he had gone in there and drop kicked SVG I think I think we would be not talking about that win we’ be talking about somebody being given another win because that would have been not what NASCAR’s looking for. What we saw to me was a gentleman’s move.” Hammond’s referring to the Richmond race where Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, to take the victory on the last lap.

However, unlike Dillion, Buescher kept it clean and used his skills, which he has many. Since SVG was crowned king, Buescher’s road course prowess was overshadowed. But it is worth noting that the #17 has managed to finish in the top 10 in eight of his last nine road course races. What shows his prowess is that out of those 9 races, he only had a top-10 start in one race. Even in the Watkins Glen one, he started from P4, but slowly built it up, gained position, and took the win. In the post-next-gen era, his best-average finishes have all been on road courses, Charlotte ROVAL (5.5), Sonoma (6.3) and Watkins Glen (8.5).

Also in the conversation was, journalist Kim Coon, who said, “He (Buescher) got to be the driver outside the playoffs that stole the win away. Buescher got to play spoiler at Watkins Glen, making the Series interesting. Can he do the same at Bristol?

Can Buescher play the spoiler twice in a row?

Many drivers played spoiler in the race, as all top five drivers at Watkins Glen were non-playoff drivers. Only two drivers managed to finish in the top 10, Chase Briscoe in 6th and Austin Cindric in 10th. This had the playoff standings disturbed. The Elimination zone now has four three veterans: Denny Hamlin in the 13th position, Brad Keselowski in the 14th, MTJ in the 15th, and Harrison Burton in the 16th and final position. Another upset like Watkins Glen could have many championship contenders knocked out.

Buescher post the race said, “That was the spot (final lap) that he was better than us, and he missed it. I tried a crossover and wouldn’t cut, and just hard racing there. Just an awesome finish, to be that good for so much the end of the race, all race, to get a win, it’s good. We came here to be the spoiler, we’re going to do that.”  Maybe the #17 is planning to be a spoiler more than once. And Bristol could present a perfect opportunity for him.

Chris Buescher;

The RFK driver won the first race at the Bristol Motor Speedway with the next-gen car in 2022. In the last 6 races, he managed to finish 5 times in the top 10 and thrice in the top 5. The #17 has an average finish of 8.8 post the next-gen era. Denny Hamlin, who is so confident going the race should be wary of Buescher. Hamlin has won the race on the last two occasions and is eyeing a third. Ahead of the race, he said, “I feel like we can go there and win. We are going to an oval, back to a normal track. We can control our own destiny there.” 

Would Hamlin win and continue his playoff journey or get knocked out by a spoiler driver like Buescher? Only time will tell. What do you think will happen? Let us know in the comments below.