When assessing the second race of the NASCAR Playoffs, it’s clear that the “Sunday Scaries” are more real than ever for these playoff drivers.
For starters, the fight for the victory came down to two non-playoff contenders. Chris Buescher and Shane Van Gisbergen arguably had the two best cars in the field, allowing them to battle toe-to-toe in one of the most exciting finishes of the year.
After an intense brawl on the restart, it was looking like the three-time Supercars champion was going to get his second victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. That was until a mistake on the part of the Kiwi through the esses allowed Buescher to sneak the No. 17 BuildSubmatines.com Ford Mustang through to take the victory.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!
CHRIS BUESCHER PASSES SHANE VAN GISBERGEN TO WIN AT WATKINS GLEN! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ZYjaSJuZ8f
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 15, 2024
While the Prosper, Texas native played spoiler to the playoff drivers, several other non-playoff contenders made their presence known as well.
On Saturday, Ross Chastain was emotional after capturing the pole position over Martin Truex, Jr. The 31-year-old was able to end the weekend on a high, finishing fourth-place. Speaking of great days for the ‘bowtie’ drivers, let’s look at an entire Chevrolet-supported organization.
For the first time in Spire Motorsports history, all three vehicles finished inside the top-10, with rookie contenders Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith each posting top-five finishes.
However, with the excellent results for non-playoff drivers come poor results for the championship contenders.
Join Taylor Kitchen in the latest episode of Above The Yellow Line to break down this race for the ‘Round of 16’ drivers at Watkins Glen International.
