On the penultimate lap of the race, the Kaulig Racing driver restarted third and nudged the RFK Racing star to steal the lead away out of Turn 1.
However, on the final lap, the #17 pilot got within striking distance and returned serve at the third-to-last corner.
Van Gisbergen got loose through the bus stop chicane after clipping the inside wall and that was the only invitation Buescher needed to put the nose of his Ford Mustang to the leading Chevrolet Camaro.
The Kiwi tried to fight back but got loose out of the second-to-last turn and fought to get the #16 car under control.
That ended any hope of a last corner lunge and with it, Buescher sealed the win.
“I thought we lost it there on that last [restart]. To stay right there with him, that was the spot he was better than us and he missed it,” said Buescher.
“So I tried to crossover and went to cut. Just hard racing there. Just such an awesome finish. To be that good for so much of the end of the race, all race, to get a win, it’s good. We came here to be the spoiler.
“This is huge. Such a big win for us, everybody at RFK works so hard. To finally get a road course win, man, we’ve been so close so many times. To finally pull that off is fantastic.”
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!
CHRIS BUESCHER PASSES SHANE VAN GISBERGEN TO WIN AT WATKINS GLEN! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ZYjaSJuZ8f
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 15, 2024
The 90-lap race was a wild one from start to finish with the caution coming out before a lap was even completed.
Kyle Busch in the Richard Childress Racing #8 was spun by #7 Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie in the bus stop.
Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing) was an innocent victim in that melee and was spun trying to avoid the stricken #8 Chevrolet.
Bell’s teammate Denny Hamlin in the #11 hit the wall as did 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace in the #23 Toyota Camry.
Fellow playoff contender Ryan Blaney in the #20 stopped after a hit with the #6 RFK Racing Ford of Brad Keselowski.
This camera didn’t even last a lap. 😢
📺 : #NASCARPlayoffs | USA Network pic.twitter.com/4wy7RY0vec
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 15, 2024
Van Gisbergen rose to second, passing Martin Truex Jr. in the #19 with six laps left in Stage 1 and pitted shortly thereafter.
Van Gisbergen’s future Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain buried his car in the gravel trap on Lap 38 just two laps shy of Stage 2 ending.
Race leader Ross Chastain and van Gisbergen were caught out by the yellow, meaning they couldn’t pit as planned.
What followed was an incredible run for the leading duo who fought hard to keep those on newer tyres behind them in Stage 3.
Eventually, Buescher climbed his way through to the lead on Lap 56. Chastain and van Gisbergen pitted on Lap 58 and set about bringing the gap down to the leaders.
With 11 laps to go, the caution flew again and bunched the field up when Harrison Burton in the #20 suffered a puncture and sent rubber debris flying.
There were two more cautions that ultimately whittled the laps down and set up an overtime finish.
OH MY GOODNESS!
WILLIAM BYRON AND BRAD KESELOWSKI CRASH! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Uf3mAHGyCn
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 15, 2024
The first was for 2023 race winner William Byron (#24 Hendrick Motorsports) and Brad Keselowski (#6 RFK Racing) who clashed awkwardly through the esses.
Byron’s car ended up on top of the nose of Keselowski’s but dropped down after plucking reverse.
On the subsequent restart, Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing) and Busch clashed at the beginning of the esses shortly after Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports) and Josh Berry (#4 Stewart-Haas Racing) tangled.
On the final restart, van Gisbergen lined up directly behind Buescher and gave him a nudge into Turn 1 to cast the #17 wide as well as the #77 Spire Motorsports car of Carson Hocevar.
On the last lap, a mistake proved costly for van Gisbergen, who clipped the inside wall at the bus stop chicane and got loose.
That opened the door for Buescher who put his nose to the bumper of van Gisbergen and moved him out of the way.
The Kiwi couldn’t offer a response in the final two turns and had to settle for second.
Results: NASCAR Cup Series, Go Bowling at The Glen
| Pos | Num | Driver | laps | Diff |
| 1 | 17 | Chris Buescher | 92 | |
| 2 | 16 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | 92 | 0.979 |
| 3 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | 92 | 2.921 |
| 4 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 92 | 3.311 |
| 5 | 71 | Zane Smith # | 92 | 3.739 |
| 6 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | 92 | 3.843 |
| 7 | 34 | Michael McDowell | 92 | 3.951 |
| 8 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | 92 | 4.265 |
| 9 | 41 | Ryan Preece | 92 | 4.534 |
| 10 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | 92 | 4.601 |
| 11 | 10 | Noah Gragson | 92 | 5.065 |
| 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | 92 | 5.198 |
| 13 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | 92 | 5.575 |
| 14 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | 92 | 5.924 |
| 15 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | 92 | 6.414 |
| 16 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | 92 | 6.443 |
| 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 92 | 6.512 |
| 18 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | 92 | 6.63 |
| 19 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | 92 | 6.947 |
| 20 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 92 | 7.168 |
| 21 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 92 | 7.479 |
| 22 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (P) | 92 | 7.517 |
| 23 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 92 | 7.748 |
| 24 | 21 | Harrison Burton (P) | 92 | 7.912 |
| 25 | 4 | Josh Berry # | 92 | 8.198 |
| 26 | 6 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 92 | 8.52 |
| 27 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 92 | 8.952 |
| 28 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 92 | 9.503 |
| 29 | 51 | Justin Haley | 92 | 9.728 |
| 30 | 8 | Kyle Busch | 92 | 9.866 |
| 31 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | 92 | 96.998 |
| 32 | 50 | * Juan Pablo Montoya | 91 | 1 lap |
| 33 | 43 | Erik Jones | 90 | 2 laps |
| 34 | 24 | William Byron (P) | 90 | 2 laps |
| 35 | 15 | Kaz Grala # | 87 | 5 laps |
| 36 | 13 | * AJ Allmendinger(i) | 6 | 86 laps |
| 37 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2 | 90 laps |
| 38 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 0 | 92 laps |
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