Written by Sean McKean
After a tense battle to the line, it was Chris Buescher who hung on to take his first win of the season at Watkins Glen. It was the RFK driver's sixth career victory.
As it unfolded
Off the start, Ross Chastain kept the lead from pole, but chaos unfolded behind. Coming out of the bus stop, Corey Lajoie tagged Kyle Busch, sending him into a spin in front of the field. This incident collected multiple playoff drivers – including Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Christopher Bell. Others included Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace, and Zane Smith.
From the crash, Ryan Blaney retired from the race. Hamlin – despite driving sideways back into the pit lane – continued on after repairing the left-rear toe link.
The green flag came back out on Lap 6. Chastain remained the leader. Issues befell top contenders on this restart too, as AJ Allmendinger dropped to last from fifth with a bent rear axle. Allmendinger eventually joined Blaney in retirement.
Whilst Chastain checked out with a one-second gap, Martin Truex settled into second, but a charge from Shane van Gisbergen gave second position to the Kiwi.
The first green flag pit stops began on Lap 17 – with four laps remaining in stage one. Some takers included van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Ty Gibbs. Chastain also pitted, handing the lead to Truex.
Truex held onto the lead to take victory in stage one. Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe followed.
Stage 1 Results:
The drivers that stayed out to conclude the first stage pitted under the subsequent caution.
The green flag dropped again on Lap 25 led by Chastain, who kept the lead despite pressure from Michael McDowell. Further back, playoff contender Tyler Reddick went for a spin but continued on without damage.
Chastain couldn’t ride as easy for stage two, as Shane van Gisbergen kept his future teammate company for the majority of the running.
With four laps remaining in the stage, pit stops began once more on Lap 37. But, after everyone peeled in, Daniel Suarez went for a spin in Turn 6 and beached into the gravel. The caution subsequently came out just before his teammate and future teammate in the top two could pit. Suarez eventually drove away but lost great amounts of time.
Stage two ended with Ross Chastain in first followed by Shane van Gisbergen and Joey Logano.
Stage 2 Results:
Those who had yet to pit in stage two pitted under this caution. Byron experienced an issue on the left-rear, having to quickly fix a toe link. As for his teammate, Kyle Larson, he received a penalty for crossing the entry line, which sent him to the back of the field for the restart.
Chastain led the way on the restart, staying out under the caution as did van Gisbergen and Logano.
As a battle for the lead began, the caution came out for a crash from Denny Hamlin in the esses. He drove away, but with an already heavily damaged car, it did not aid in his pursuit to gain back lost points.
Pit road had a few takers, including Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Larson.
The green flag came back out on Lap 50, with Chastain maintaining the lead.
With Chastain and van Gisbergen’s tyres continuing to wear away, Chris Buescher emerged as a contender for the lead on Lap 57 when he snatched it from the four-time race winner. After losing track position, the two eventually went into the pits one lap later.
Green flag pit strategy began on Lap 60 when Buescher went into the pits for fuel and tyres. These stops weren’t clean, as Christopher Bell went for a spin off the nose of Austin Dillon trying to get across to entry.
As the laps wound down, the main contenders to pay attention to emerged as Buescher, van Gisbergen, and Chastain. They were the top three once pit stops cycled through.
However, a crash at the final corner nearly threatened the strategic race up front. Seemingly out of line on entry, Kaz Grala spun and hit the wall hard at the rear. Thankfully, he drove away.
Then, with 11 laps remaining, a flat tyre from Harrison Burton brought out the caution, completely changing the dynamic up front. Luckily, just before the caution, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano pitted, putting them on the front foot on the next restart.
Buescher led the way with seven laps remaining and kept his spot. However, a crash unfolded in the back between Brad Keselowski and William Byron. Keselowski received a nudge from Logano, which sent the 2012 champion into Byron. This sent Byron into the air and Keselowski into the wall hard.
With the hard hits from both drivers, they retired from the race. This would put Keselowski in a virtual must-win.
Buescher led the way again on the three-to-go restart. He held the lead again whilst Hocevar moved to second.
But, an accordion-effect started in the esses. Chase Elliott and Truex hit the wall, which resulted in Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick piling in and coming to a stop. The caution came back out and sent the race into overtime.
Buescher led the way on the restart, but Shane van Gisbergen muscled his way by out of Turn 1. Van Gisbergen led at the white flag, but a mistake by him let Buescher through.
Despite the Kiwi’s best attempts, Chris Buescher took victory at Watkins Glen. It was the Texas native’s sixth victory and his first at a road course. Van Gisbergen pushed but only managed second. Carson Hocevar managed third.
Provisional Results:
#17 Chris Buescher (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing)
#16 Shane van Gisbergen (Kaulig Racing)
#77 Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)
#1 Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing)
#71 Zane Smith (Spire Motorsports)
#14 Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Playoffs]
#34 Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports)
#7 Corey Lajoie (Spire Motorsports)
#41 Ryan Preece (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#2 Austin Cindric (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
#10 Noah Gragson (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#5 Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
#99 Daniel Suarez (Trackhouse Racing) [Playoffs]
#20 Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
#22 Joey Logano (Team Penske) [Playoffs]
#38 Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports)
#23 Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)
#48 Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
#9 Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs]
#19 Martin Truex (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
#42 John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club)
#54 Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
#11 Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) [Playoffs]
#21 Harrison Burton (Wood Brothers Racing) [Playoffs]
#4 Josh Berry (Stewart-Haas Racing)
#6 Brad Keselowski (Roush Fenway-Keselowski Racing) [Playoffs]
#45 Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing) [Playoffs]
#3 Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)
#51 Justin Haley (Rick Ware Racing)
#8 Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing)
#31 Daniel Hemric (Kaulig Racing)
#50 Juan Pablo Montoya (23XI Racing) +1 lap
#43 Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club) +2 laps
#24 William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports) [Playoffs] +2 laps
#15 Kaz Grala (Rick Ware Racing) [DNF]
#13 AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing) [DNF]
#47 Ricky Stenhouse (JTG-Daugherty Racing) [DNF]
#12 Ryan Blaney (Team Penske) [Playoffs] [DNF]
Buescher’s win did not affect the playoff bubble, as he did not qualify. However, bad days from Blaney, Truex, and Keselowski gave an interesting picture at the bubble.
Provisional Playoff Standings:
Playoff Cut Line
13. #11 Denny Hamlin: -6
14. #6 Brad Keselowski: -12
15. #19 Martin Truex: -14
16. #21 Harrison Burton: -20
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