Chris Buescher outdueled Shave van Gisbergen to claim victory in a thrilling road course affair Sunday at Watkins Glen International. The RFK Racing driver started the afternoon deep in the field but took advantage of the afternoon's chaos to work his way forward, ultimately finding himself in position to fight for the win in an overtime restart. However, Buescher lined up for that last push to the checkered flag along with one of the most formidable road course racers in the form of SVG, who stormed to victory in Chicago last season in his series debut. After being nudged from the lead, Buescher took advantage of a minor mistake by the No. 16 to stick his car into the lead as both drivers raced hard, made contact, but remained barely under control through the last corners to the finish line.
Sunday's race was not a good one for most playoff contenders and was pivotal in the battle to advance among the contenders into the next round of elimination races. Many of the 16 championship combatants suffered some trouble, and the only contenders to finish in the top 10 were Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric. Fully half of the playoff field finished the race 20th or lower. Exiting last week's race below the cut line are Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Harrison Burton. Only 20 points separate 16th from 12th, though. Anything could still happen, especially at a venue like Bristol. The close points fight sets up this week to be another pivotal race in the path to the championship. Hamlin won the race there earlier this season, one of his short-track triumphs this season. He, and the other playoff contenders, have it all to do this week to remain part of the championship picture, though.
UPGRADE
Chris Buescher - After several near misses at victory on a road course, Buescher got the job done in an inspired drive Sunday at Watkins Glen. The RFK Racing driver's weekend started on the backfoot with just a 24th-place qualifying effort, but a chaotic race and sound pit strategy gave Buescher the track position needed to battle for the win in the final laps. Buescher's driving then finished the job after Shane van Gisbergen made a small mistake, allowing Buescher to pounce. Hard racing with contact between the pair gave Buescher the position and SVG was unable to retaliate. The victory came too late to impact Buescher's playoff dreams, but it was another race win for the team as they work to close out the 2024 season with momentum to carry them into 2025 when they get another shot at joining the field if playoff contenders.
Martin Truex Jr. - For the first time in a long time, luck was on Truex's side in the first stage Sunday when he won the segment and collected some desperately needed points. Unfortunately, the race finish was not what he and the team were worthy of. The veteran had pieced together a decent race only to have contact in the final laps drop him down the order to 20th, which was his fifth consecutive finish of 20th or worse. Those woes have hampered the season for the No. 19 and now Truex finds himself needing a top outcome from Bristol to remain in the championship battle as he sits 15th in the standings, , 14 points behind teammate Ty Gibbs in the final transfer spot. Truex has never won at Bristol and only has five top-10 finishes from 35 career starts. However, his best finish at the track was second earlier this season along with 54 laps led that day.
Ross Chastain - After missing the playoffs, Chastain got a good return Sunday by winning the second stage at Watkins Glen and adding a fourth-place finish to his season tally. It was Chastain's fifth top-five of the season and second from the last three races. The Trackhouse Racing driver moved to 17th in the championship standings the performance, which is the best possible position within reach at the moment, but race wins are still this team's goal. The will feel this season is subpar after not being one of the playoff contenders, but some success could be gleaned from a victory in one of the remaining rounds. Chastain only has one top-10 finish from eight series starts at Bristol. That result came in 2022's fall race when he finished sixth. Excluding that result, his average finish from his other five starts there is only 24.6. , Those statistics don't suggest that a win would be in the cards this week, but the team is still heading the right direction
Chase Briscoe - Sunday's race at Watkins Glen was an ideal one for Briscoe. The Stewart Haas Racing driver started the afternoon 12th and scored stage points in both segments. Things got even better for him when he successfully navigated his way to a sixth-place finish. Sunday's race execution, and avoidance of trouble, largely negated the poor finish he suffered a week earlier at Atlanta. That turnaround leaves Briscoe and his No. 14 team inside the top 12 in the playoff standings with one race to go before the next points reset. The margin between safety and elimination are tight and the pressure will be on Briscoe this week at Bristol, but he heads toward the weekend on the front foot versus many other playoff contenders. Another trouble-free day this week could see Briscoe through to the next round of playoff eliminations considering his average Bristol result from four series starts is 16.8.
DOWNGRADE
Ryan Blaney - It was a short afternoon for Blaney Sunday at Watkins Glen. Halfway through the fist lap, Blaney was involved in an accident that damaged his steering. The car had to be towed back to the pits and Blaney was out of the race before it had truly begun. He entered the weekend at the top of the points after a good race to start the playoffs but lost significant ground with Sunday's early trouble. With one race remaining in the first playoff elimination round, Blaney Blaney sits eighth in the standings with a 29-point margin of safety to the drop zone. However, after such a poor result at Watkins Glen, the margin for error is significantly smaller than he and the team would like at another somewhat unpredictable track. It will be stressful since Blaney only has five top-10 finishes from 15 career Bristol starts. He hasn't finished inside the top 15 there in the last three races, either.
Denny Hamlin - Hamlin was one of the many drivers collected in Sunday's first-lap crash. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver hit Kyle Busch's spinning machine, damaging Hamlin's front end before the racing had truly even begun. Circumstances got no better when he came off worse from three-wide racing through the esses later in the race, too. Hamlin was saddled with significant damage from the start and the second incident only added to the misery previously inflicted. Hamlin had already suffered a poor first playoff race at Atlanta, and Sunday's issues at Watkins Glen were no help. He was one of the championship favorites but now enters the last race of the first playoff round below the cutline and in danger of not advancing. Bristol was one of Hamlin's short-track wins this season, and he will need another top performance this week to keep his championship hopes alive.
Christopher Bell - The Watkins Glen race didn't start well for Bell when he was one of several cars involved in the big first-lap crash. Luckily for him, damage to Bell's Toyota was minimal. However, in the final stage, additional contact sent Bell into a spin, losing him valuable time and track position, only managing a 14th-place finish for the afternoon. It was a disappointing outcome for the driver that had been doing well on road courses and had top Watkins Glen finishes on his resume. However, the number of playoff contenders that also suffered problems Sunday meant Bell actually moved forward in the standings versus losing ground with his own issues. Bell entered the weekend third in points and now faces Bristol in second with more than 40 points between him and elimination. He finished 10th at Bristol earlier this season and led a combined 359 laps from the last three races at the track.
William Byron - With less than 10 laps remaining, Byron suffered contact with Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, ruining his car as it rode the wall astride Keselowski's machine. The damage was heavy and left the No. 24 to make significant repairs on pit road just to beat the damage clock and circulate to the finish. In the end, it was only a 34th-place finish despite scoring stage points in the second segment. The damage to his playoff hopes was significant. Byron was fifth in the standings entering the weekend but slipped to 10th after Sunday's problems. Despite maintaining a relatively comfortable 25-point margin to the drop zone, there isn't much room for error on Bristol's high-banked turns. Byron has four top-10 finishes from 10 Bristol starts. He finished 35th in the spring race earlier this season after hitting the wall early in the race. He may not be able to endure another outing like that this week.
Brad Keselowski - Watkins Glen had historically been one of the better road courses for Keselowski, but several incidents and late contact left the driver of the No. 6 machine amongst the playoff contenders who stumbled. Sunday's 26th-place finish was Keselowski's worst finish since June and first outside of the top 20 since Indianapolis at July. It comes at a horrible time, too. Keselowski only finished 19th to start the playoffs and now sits below the cut line with just one race remaining in the round. Keselowski not only needs a good night at Bristol to advance, but he may need some other playoff contenders to have trouble, too. Not all hope is lost, though. Keselowski is just 12 points behind Ty Gibbs in 12th and Bristol is a track the owner/driver has won at three previous times. He finished third there this past spring, too.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Carson Hocevar - Hocevar scored his first series top-five with an impressive third-place finish at Watkins Glen. The top finish was even more surprising considering the Spire Motorsports driver started the day just 29th. On a day where much of the playoff field had problems, Hocevar led the way for Spire Motorsports as the organization had all three of its drivers finish inside the top 10. The driver credited the team with rebuilding the car overnight after the dismal qualifying effort, but much should be said about Hocevar's ability to keep pace with race-winner Chris Buescher despite not pitting for fresh tires. The gamble to stay out gained the No. 77 valuable track position, which Hocevar held onto with his excellent drive on old tires. That stint left him in position to claim his maiden top-five once the next pit cycle completed. This finish was also Hocevar's third of 11th or better in the last five races, which only continues to build his confidence.
