Chris Buescher made a dramatic last-lap pass of road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen International Sunday afternoon, winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling at the Glen in overtime in Watkins Glen, N.Y.
In the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and one of two postseason road configurations, Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Ford led as the race went to extra laps, but van Gisbergen nudged by in Turn 1.
However, Buescher rallied, slid underneath the New Zealand SuperCars champ and won for the first time in 2024 by 0.979 seconds.
Carson Hocevar, Ross Chastain and Zane Smith completed the top five.
Competing in NASCAR for the first time since 2014, two-time Cup race winner Juan Pablo Montoya finished 32nd.
In all, 11 of the 16 playoff drivers had some difficulties in the 90-lap race.
Shortly after polesitter Chastain led them to green, an eight-car melee ensued halfway through the first lap when Corey LaJoie turned Kyle Busch’s No. 8 and put him sideways in traffic. Denny Hamlin tagged Busch’s Chevrolet, and Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford hit the cars driven by Brad Keselowski and John Hunter Nemechek.
Hamlin and Blaney (broken steering column) received the most damage, with the reigning Cup champion’s car being towed back to the garage and retired. Blaney finished last.
Most of the field pitted as the 20-lap Stage 1 neared its end, and Martin Truex Jr. took the top spot and gained all 10 bonus points. Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe followed, respectively.
Chastain led again when it went back to green, but van Gisbergen’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet hounded the No. 1 in the segment. At the end, playoff contender Daniel Suarez, Chastain’s teammate, looped his No. 99 in Turn 6 and got stuck in the gravel with three laps left.
The day worsened for Hamlin on Lap 47 when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went three-wide with Keselowski and Kyle Larson. Hamlin’s Toyota smacked the guardrail hard and created the fourth caution.
Debris sprayed from Harrison Burton’s blown tire with 10 laps to go, and the final caution flew when Keselowski and William Byron crashed hard with seven to go.
