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Race report
NASCAR Cup Watkins Glen

NASCAR Cup Watkins Glen: Buescher beats van Gisbergen with last lap pass

Buescher reclaims the lead he lost to van Gisbergen at the final restart with thrilling move on the last lap as playoff challengers overshadowed

Chris Buescher made a dramatic final lap pass on Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen to overshadow the playoff contenders and earn his first NASCAR Cup victory of the season.

Three-time Supercars champion van Gisbergen, making his eighth Cup start of the year, nudged Buescher wide into the first corner of overtime to snatch away the race lead.

The Kiwi held a slim advantage on the final lap, but touching the Armco on entry to the bus stop chicane unsettled his Kaulig Racing Chevrolet and allowed Buescher's RFK Racing Ford to get alongside into the carousel.

The two drivers made contact, but Buescher emerged ahead and van Gisbergen was unable to respond as Buescher made up for the disappointment of being edged out of playoff contention at Darlington by taking the checkered flag for the sixth time in his Cup career.

"Our long-run speed was just phenomenal," said a grinning Buescher after the race. "Thought we lost it there on the last [restart].

"That was the spot where he was better than us and he missed it. Tried to cross-over, he went to cut, but just hard racing there.

"Just such an awesome finish. To get a win is good. We came here to be spoilers and we're gonna do that."

Carson Hocevar finished third in a career-best finish, pole-sitter Ross Chastain was fourth, and Zane Smith finished fifth. Chase Briscoe was the best of the playoff contenders in sixth, ahead of Michael McDowell, while Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top-ten.

Buescher came out on top in his final lap duel with van Gisbergen

Buescher came out on top in his final lap duel with van Gisbergen

Photo by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images

The race started in chaos with a multi-car crash on the opening lap, triggered when Corey LaJoie got into the side of Kyle Busch and sent him spinning.

Several drivers were collected in the bus stop chicane, leaving playoff drivers Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski with damage. Blaney was unable to continue and classified last.

Chastain dominated the early going and led over half the race, but he was among those who chose to pit early while playoff drivers stayed out for valuable points. As a result Martin Truex Jr., who came into this race 19 points below the cut-line, won the opening stage.

A similar story appeared to be unfolding in the second stage, but when Daniel Suarez spun into the gravel, it completely changed the strategy for several drivers.

Leader Chastain and van Gisbergen were unable to get to pit road before the yellow flag and were forced to stay out until the stage break, choosing to run long on older tyres into Stage 3 instead of ceding their track position. As they stretched the fuel and the tyres, Buescher was able to pass both drivers, powering around the outside of Chastain into the final corner.

It seemed Buescher would cruise to the win but a caution for the shredded remains of Harrison Burton's left-rear tyre set up a sprint to the finish.

While the leaders kept it clean, Brad Keselowski - who had earlier spun Hamlin into the barriers - crashed with William Byron in the esses following a touch from Joey Logano that unsettled Buescher's RFK owner.

Hamlin (right) hit the fence after contact with Keselowski (middle)

Hamlin (right) hit the fence after contact with Keselowski (middle)

Photo by: Motorsport Images

The race went into overtime, which led to another crash entering the esses with Truex, Busch, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott just some of the drivers involved.

This set up the final restart when Buescher and Van Gisbergen battled for the victory.

With one more race in the Round of 16 playoffs, the elimination contest at Bristol, Hamlin, Keselowski, Truex Jr. and Burton are currently below the cut-line.

NASCAR Cup Watkins Glen Race Results

Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1 C. BuescherRFK Racing 17 Ford 92

2:38'41.591

  5 40
2 S. van GisbergenKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 92

+0.979

2:38'42.570

0.979 5  
3
C. HocevarSpire Motorsports
77 Chevrolet 92

+2.921

2:38'44.512

1.942 6 34
4 R. ChastainTrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 92

+3.311

2:38'44.902

0.390 5 43
5
Z. SmithSpire Motorsports
71 Chevrolet 92

+3.739

2:38'45.330

0.428 8 32
6 C. BriscoeStewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 92

+3.843

2:38'45.434

0.104 5 43
7 M. McDowellFront Row Motorsports 34 Ford 92

+3.951

2:38'45.542

0.108 6 30
8 C. LajoieSpire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 92

+4.265

2:38'45.856

0.314 6 29
9 R. PreeceStewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 92

+4.534

2:38'46.125

0.269 10 30
10 A. CindricTeam Penske 2 Ford 92

+4.601

2:38'46.192

0.067 6 33
11 N. GragsonStewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 92

+5.065

2:38'46.656

0.464 6 26
12 K. LarsonHendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 92

+5.198

2:38'46.789

0.133 8 28
13 D. SuarezTrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 92

+5.575

2:38'47.166

0.377 9 31
14 C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 92

+5.924

2:38'47.515

0.349 7 23
15 J. LoganoTeam Penske 22 Ford 92

+6.414

2:38'48.005

0.490 6 30
16 T. GillilandFront Row Motorsports 38 Ford 92

+6.443

2:38'48.034

0.029 8 21
17 B. Wallace23XI Racing 23 Toyota 92

+6.512

2:38'48.103

0.069 8 20
18 A. BowmanHendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 92

+6.630

2:38'48.221

0.118 7 31
19 C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 92

+6.947

2:38'48.538

0.317 7 23
20 M. Truex JrJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 92

+7.168

2:38'48.759

0.221 7 27
21 J. NemechekLegacy Motor Club 42 Toyota 92

+7.479

2:38'49.070

0.311 7 16
22 54 Toyota 92

+7.517

2:38'49.108

0.038 7 22
23 D. HamlinJoe Gibbs Racing 11 Toyota 92

+7.748

2:38'49.339

0.231 9 15
24 H. BurtonWood Brothers Racing 21 Ford 92

+7.912

2:38'49.503

0.164 7 18
25 J. BerryStewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 92

+8.198

2:38'49.789

0.286 6 12
26 B. KeselowskiRFK Racing 6 Ford 92

+8.520

2:38'50.111

0.322 9 11
27 T. Reddick23XI Racing 45 Toyota 92

+8.952

2:38'50.543

0.432 9 14
28 A. DillonRichard Childress Racing 3 Chevrolet 92

+9.503

2:38'51.094

0.551 7 9
29 J. HaleyRick Ware Racing 51 Ford 92

+9.728

2:38'51.319

0.225 8 8
30 K. BuschRichard Childress Racing 8 Chevrolet 92

+9.866

2:38'51.457

0.138 8 7
31 D. HemricKaulig Racing 31 Chevrolet 92

+1'36.998

2:40'18.589

1'27.132 8 7
32 J. Montoya23XI Racing 50 Toyota 91

+1 Lap

2:38'51.939

1 Lap 6 5
33 E. JonesLegacy Motor Club 43 Toyota 90

+2 Laps

2:38'52.189

1 Lap 8 6
34 W. ByronHendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 90

+2 Laps

2:39'00.064

7.875 7 9
35 K. GralaRick Ware Racing 15 Ford 87

+5 Laps

2:38'56.091

3 Laps 7 2
36 A. AllmendingerKaulig Racing 13 Chevrolet 6

+86 Laps

15'53.246

81 Laps 11  
37 R. Stenhouse JrJTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 2

+90 Laps

5'44.459

4 Laps 5 1
38 R. BlaneyTeam Penske 12 Ford 0

+92 Laps

2.650

2 Laps 3 1

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