WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — NASCAR takeaways highlight how wrecks put Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski in a playoff hole during a dramatic race at Watkins Glen. Chris Buescher, a non-playoff driver, dashed the hopes of playoff contenders by clinching victory, leaving the playoff drivers scrambling for their positions.
The atmosphere was tense for playoff drivers, as three prominent figures, potentially heading for the Hall of Fame, found themselves below the playoff cutline ahead of the crucial final race of the opening round at Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday night.
Denny Hamlin faced a challenging day, involved in two accidents, including a collision on the very first lap. He finished 23rd and now trails Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe by six points, as they are tied for the last two playoff spots.
Starting in 22nd place, Hamlin attributed his misfortunes to a poor qualifying result, which placed him in a precarious position. “My fault on qualifying — I put us on a bad spot there and put us right in the middle of the crashes,” he reflected. Now, he heads to Bristol, a track where he has recently found success, needing a strong performance to advance.
“I can’t complain if I qualify bad. … I feel like we should be pretty confident [at Bristol]. I can’t think of the last time we didn’t have a race-winning car there,” he added, showing a glimmer of hope despite the setbacks.
Brad Keselowski also had a turbulent race, witnessing a three-wide situation where William Byron’s car collided with the guardrail and landed on top of Keselowski’s vehicle. He finished in 26th place, leaving him 12 points behind as he heads to Bristol, a track where he previously secured a third-place finish this spring and boasts three career Cup wins.
“It’s a great track for us,” Keselowski stated. “You don’t want to go there behind. If there’s a track to go behind to, that’s probably a good one for us,” he expressed, highlighting a silver lining in the situation.
Martin Truex Jr. faced his own challenges, finishing in 20th place and now sitting 14 points back in the playoff standings.
The race at the road course was filled with drama, particularly the final lap where Buescher and Shane van Gisbergen battled fiercely, with Buescher ultimately taking the victory. Notably, the top five finishers were all non-playoff drivers: Buescher, van Gisbergen, Carson Hocevar, Ross Chastain, and Zane Smith.
Buescher Triumphs
Buescher, who narrowly missed playoff contention after a strong regular season, was determined to make a statement. His victory marked a significant moment, as he had previously come close to winning at Kansas and Darlington, only to fall short.
The RFK Racing driver took control of the race until late cautions changed the dynamics. After a fierce battle on the final restart, Buescher reclaimed the lead from van Gisbergen, who made a crucial mistake in the inner loop, allowing Buescher to surge ahead for the win.
“We would have liked to have won a couple weeks ago, but this is huge,” Buescher said, celebrating his sixth career Cup victory and his first on a road course. “It’s such a big win for us. Everybody at RFK has worked so hard, and to finally get a road-course win is a testament to our efforts.”
“We’ve been so close so many times, and to finally pull that off is fantastic,” he concluded, reflecting on the season’s ups and downs.
After the race, van Gisbergen approached Buescher in victory lane, showing no hard feelings. “I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there,” he admitted, taking responsibility for his mistake. “As I turned and got a bit loose and clipped the inside wall — driver error. I’m gutted.”
Buescher emphasized that he didn’t feel there was anything untoward about the final laps, noting, “There was a little push and shoving on both sides. Ultimately he had a big error there into the bus stop, and we just took advantage of it and really had to be aggressive to get to the hole.”
Wild Wreck With Playoff Drivers
“It’s still on me. But at the same time, clean the damn track,” was the sentiment from Joey Logano as he sought clarity after the chaos.
Keselowski shared his perspective, explaining, “The track was really, really dirty. I assume he had marbles on the tires and he just didn’t make the turn. I got hooked in the left rear. It really is a shame.” Despite the damage, both Byron and Keselowski managed to finish the race.
Byron recounted the incident, stating, “The 22 [of Logano] and 6 [of Keselowski] were staggered two-wide, and I was going to get to the outside of the 22. It looked like the 6 was loose and over-corrected back to the left and got us. It was a bummer.”
Blaney Upset
Ryan Blaney’s day took a turn for the worse during an opening-lap wreck that left his car stalled on the track. Despite knowing that the steering was damaged, he was unable to move due to flat tires.
NASCAR’s policy dictates that a car stalled after an accident is finished for the day, primarily for safety reasons. However, Blaney felt frustrated, believing he could have continued if given the chance to make repairs in the allotted time.
“How are they going to dictate if we are done or not?” Blaney questioned. “They have no idea of the damage. They said because I couldn’t drive it back to the pit box that we were done, but if you have four flats, you get towed back to the pit box. You can’t drive that back,” he expressed, highlighting the inconsistencies in the rules.
