Chris Buescher wins after superb battle with Van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen

It was thought that van Gisbergen had done the hardest part to secure his second Cup Series victory by slightly pushing Buescher into the first corner on the restart with two laps to go. The New Zealander was leading when the white flag signalled the start of the final lap. But arriving at the bus-stop chicane, "SVG" made a rare mistake, opening the door to a comeback by the Ford driver, who didn't need asking twice. Chris Buescher got inside, van Gisbergen did everything he could to close the gap, the two cars touched, but it was the #17 that came out of the corner with the lead.

The RFK Racing rider knew he was at the mercy of a final attempt from his rival in the last two corners, but it was ultimately the Kiwi who slid off once again, trying to give his all to catch up with the American. Chris Buescher therefore won for the first time this season, having come incredibly close to victory in Kansas earlier in the year, missing out by just a thousandth of a second. A thousandth that ultimately had a colossal impact since without a victory, he failed to qualify for the playoffs.

“Oh, the car was really great today, very fast and with phenomenal speed on the long runs”, explained the winner of the day, still in the euphoria of such a hard-fought victory. “I thought we were down after the last restart, but I stayed close to him. It was a place [the bus stop] where he was better than us, but he missed it, so I tried to get by and fought hard. It was a great finish! We came here to be the spoilers, and that's what we're going to do.”

Title contenders shaken up

Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports), Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) and Zane Smith (Spire Motorsports) completed the top five in a race in the standings that was unlikely, as only two playoff entrants finished in the top 5. Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing) finished sixth and Austin Cindric (Team Penske) tenth, the two Ford drivers having therefore done well in view of the passage into the second phase of the playoffs. Cindric will even approach the next round in third place in the championship, while Briscoe is currently in the top 12, qualifying for the second round.

A top 12 in which one of the championship favorites, Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing), is not included. For the second week in a row, Hamlin was involved in an accident, this time on the first lap of the race. He was still able to continue, but with a 23rd place finish, he approaches the Kansas meeting next week six points behind the twelfth qualifying place. Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing, 12 pts behind), Martin Truex Jr. (Joe Gibbs Racing, 14 pts behind) and Harrison Burton (Wood Brothers Racing, 21 pts behind) are the other drivers in danger before the elimination race.

Three other favorites are in a less comfortable position than we imagined, with Ryan Blaney (Team Penske), Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) and William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) between eighth and tenth place in the provisional standings. Their qualification should be a given, but a bad day in Atlanta for Larson, and yesterday for Blaney (retirement on the first lap) mean that all three will have to remain vigilant in Kansas this weekend. At the end of this 29th round of the season, four drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs, and the top twelve will continue the adventure. For the moment, only Joey Logano has qualified for the next round, thanks to his victory in Atlanta.

Watkins Glen – Standings

ALSO READ > Is NASCAR engaging in a tug-of-war with certain teams?