If you went into Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen International thinking that the 16 NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers would take control of the afternoon, your thoughts were probably in line with much of the industry.
After all, these are supposed to be the 16 best drivers and teams in the series, right?
Well, things certainly didn’t unfold in that manner, at all, with sixth-place finisher Chase Briscoe being the furthest forward of those eligible for the post-season. It’s the first time in NASCAR history that no post-season driver has finished top-five in a Playoff race.
Furthermore, a record-tying eight non-playoff-eligible drivers finished inside the top-10 after Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen.
Sunday’s Watkins Glen #NASCARPlayoffs event saw a record-tying eight non-playoff drivers in the top-10 — the most in a race with more than 12 playoff drivers.
’17 Talladega (12)
’20 Talladega (12)
’22 Homestead (8)
’22 ROVAL (12)
’24 WGI (16)#NASCAR | ?: @brianofcortland pic.twitter.com/jkAwcpLYcn— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) September 16, 2024
That stellar last-lap duel for the victory in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen was between a pair of non-playoff drivers, Chris Buescher and Shane Van Gisbergen. Buescher does compete full-time in the series but was knocked from the post-season after Chase Briscoe’s walk-off win at Darlington. Van Gisbergen is currently contesting his rookie campaign in the Xfinity Series and only runs part-time.
“We came here to be a spoiler and we’re going to do that,” said Buescher after the race.
The top two may not have been much of a surprise to those watching on, though, as both Buescher and Van Gisbergen have extremely positive records when it comes to road course racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
After putting together an impressive second half of the event, rookie Carson Hocevar scored a career-best third-place result, the first top-five finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career. That result destroys a previous road course best of eighth for Spire Motorsports.
“I just needed some more confidence into [Turn 1], I did everything right until Turn 1, and then I just lifted a little too early,” said Hocevar after the race. “When I lost several, it was just game over from there, but I had a really good shot for the win.”
This third-place finish for the driver of the No. 77 Mattress Warehouse Chevrolet likely comes as a surprise, considering the Portage, Michigan native was the slowest car in practice and even attempted to change the course layout at the end of qualifying.
Ross Chastain brought his No. 1 Chevrolet home inside the top five, finishing fourth after leading a race-high 51 laps. For a four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, that may not sound super impressive, but the Trackhouse driver has worked hard to improve his results on the road courses, and the effort showed in Sunday’s 90-lap contest.
“It was so much fun to take our Busch Light Chevrolet and put it on the pole, and race with Shane [Van Gisbergen], who has taught me so much in the last year,” said Chastain. “To be able to pace with him, in front, behind, and all around, for about three-quarters of the race. Just fell off too much at the end, but we still had a shot.”
Zane Smith, the other rookie contender from Spire Motorsports, brought his No. 71 Chevrolet home in fifth, marking his second top-five result of the season, and the first-ever double top-five for the organization.
For the first time in the organization’s history, @SpireMotorsport places multiple entries inside the top five — @CarsonHocevar P3 and @ZaneSmith P5.
With @CoreyLaJoie in P8, the organization also places three entries in the top-10 for the first time.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/HhNr9QGaa0
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) September 15, 2024
Michael McDowell also scored a top-10 finish, in his second-to-last road course event with Front Row Motorsports. The driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang Dark Horse was battling for a top-five spot but dropped to seventh after getting into it with Zane Smith.
In another important milestone for the organization, an eighth-place result by Corey LaJoie — his second top-10 in the last three races — means that Spire Motorsports put three entries inside the top-10 positions for the first time.
Ryan Preece was also to sneak out a top-10 finish for Stewart-Haas Racing at Watkins Glen, finishing ninth after maintaining his track position on significantly older tires throughout the gauntlet of late-race restarts. It’s the driver’s third top-10 of the year, and second in the last nine races.
“Track position was everything today,” said Preece. “Knowing where we were and never having it. Chad [Johnson] was aggressive on the strategy and made the right calls to get us track position and we kept it. Ultimately, we got the race finish that we deserved, even with those late-race cautions.”
Entering the ‘Round of 16’, those qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs previewed the opening round as one of the most difficult and unpredictable, and Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen delivered on that, tossing the post-season picture for a loop for a second straight weekend.
Will the NASCAR Cup Series post-season contenders be able to return to form this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, or will the non-playoff drivers continue making it tough to score points and a solid finish?
