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Buescher Tries Not To Think About Missed Shot For NASCAR Playoff Spot After Win At The Glen
Watkins Glen, New York – Chris Buescher lost a playoff berth at Kansas when Kyle Larson clipped him on the final lap to win the closest finish in NASCAR history.
Buescher fought with Tyler Reddick after being denied a shot at the checkered flag following a late collision at Darlington, enraged that another postseason bid had been ruined.
Who knows. If Chris had made it to NASCAR’s postseason, he could have been a dark horse to defeat for the Cup title.
Buescher Tries Not To Think About Missed Shot For NASCAR Playoff Spot After Win At The Glen
Chris had to play spoiler on Sunday at Watkins Glen’s road course.
Buescher’s last lap overtake on road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen in overtime propelled the RFK Racing driver to victory.
Chris led five consecutive non-playoff drivers to victory in a road-course race that played havoc on Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and a few title candidates.
“We’re going to play spoiler as much as we can in the next seven or eight weeks, as well,” Buescher told me.
Let the playoff field of 16 worry about their Cup championship chances heading into Saturday’s cutoff race at Bristol.
Instead, Chris had to figure out how to get all the champagne out of a large bottle of wine he had brought with him from Victory Lane.
“Looks ridiculous, don’t it?” Buescher cracked.
With title contenders well behind them, Buescher and van Gisbergen battled door-to-door to a dramatic finish on The Glen’s 2.45-mile road course. Van Gisbergen, who won his NASCAR debut at the Chicago street race last season, claimed the lead from the second row on a three-wide move during an overtime restart. Buescher pursued him in the No. 17 Ford, and the two cars collided at the “Bus Stop” – a vital inner loop on the circuit — before Buescher sped past van Gisbergen.
“I knew Chris was going to send it and push me if he could get there,” van Gisbergen explained. “I twisted, became a little loose, and clipped the interior wall. There was a driver error. I’m gutted.
Buescher outperformed the New Zealand driver in NASCAR’s second playoff race of the season. Carson Hocevar placed third, followed by Ross Chastain and Zane Smith.
Yes, it was that type of race.
Buescher, who won three times last season, qualified 24th and won his sixth Cup race.
“If we’re going to be blunt about it, not having to think about points at all on the playoff-side of it, or any cutoffs, opened up more opportunities for us today to go out there and get that win,” Buescher reported.
He also scored his second postseason upset in three seasons. Buescher won the third playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2022 for RFK Racing, the long-time Jack Roush-owned squad that competed with Keselowski in the ownership group two years previously. It was the first occasion in this iteration of NASCAR’s postseason that a playoff driver failed to win a race in a round.
Buescher Tries Not To Think About Missed Shot For NASCAR Playoff Spot After Win At The Glen
After a few difficult seasons — Buescher went winless from 2017 to 2021 — he has tried not to concentrate on the close calls this season that robbed him of a postseason spot. He only wanted to savor the checkered flag and the rewards that come with it, such as a large bottle of champagne.
“Missing the playoffs hurt,” Buescher admitted. “It stung there. The season we had, with so many close calls and near misses, did not feel good. It’s a nice old-fashioned win. In that way, it’s incredibly meaningful for me and the crew to get this Mustang to victory lane.”
SOURCE | AP
