Road course aces flew high, while playoff drivers faced adversity at every turn.
Say what you want to about the NASCAR Cup Series playoff format – at various times I’ve called it “contrived,” “confusing,” and “cheesy.” In the case of last Sunday’s excellent race at Watkins Glen, however, it can’t be denied that this race produced season-high levels of excitement, and may very well rival the 2023 COTA race as the best road course race of the Next gen era (so far).
From the first lap, it was clear that this race would have serious playoff implications. Denny Hamlin’s championship run looked promising until last month, when a bizarre inspection violation stemming from a Bristol race win in the spring cost him the bulk of his carefully stockpiled playoff points. His “play if safe” strategy didn’t pay off at Atlanta, but given that he qualified on the pole at the Glen last year and finished second, things were looking up heading into the weekend.
Unfortunately, a first-lap wreck involved playoff cars that hadn’t qualified well, including Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Hamlin, once a contender for the regular season championship, finds himself having to fight to advance to the Round of 12 by repeating his springtime performance at Bristol on Saturday.
The trouble wouldn’t stop there, however. Martin Truex, Jr. would win Stage 1, while teammates Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen would dominate the remainder of the race. Their teammate, playoff driver Daniel Suarez, would spin on lap 38 and get stuck in a gravel trap, losing precious track position. Chastain would go on to win Stage 2, but would soon find himself challenged by Chris Buescher. Buescher had a great season, but found himself narrowly missing several wins – and the playoffs – in increasingly frustrating fashion.
Stage 3 would become the Buescher and van Gisbergen show, with these two excellent road course aces – and non-playoff drivers – battling it out. That didn’t mean the end of trouble for playoff drivers, however. Harrison Burton would experience trouble, and William Byron and Brad Keselowski would collide in dramatic fashion, with Keselowski staring at Byron’s right front tire through his window net. Regular season champion Tyler Reddick would subsequently wreck with Kyle Busch, forcing overtime.
If you thought it couldn’t get more dramatic, you’d be wrong. Buescher and van Gisbergen separated themselves from the field on the final restart, and it was a battle for the ages. Like many Roush Racing drivers before, Buescher isn’t one for aggressive driving. A perpetually soft-spoken “nice guy” from the mold of Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth, Buescher finally had enough, taking advantage of a rare SVG slip-up to move the Chevrolet aside and, finally, make his way to victory lane. After the race, it was clear there were no hard feelings between these two intense – but ultimately respectful – competitors.
The Round of 16 finishes up this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the legendary Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday. Will everyone be calmed down from Watkins Glen, or will we see even more fender-banging aggression? Of course we will – it’s Bristol, baby!
The drama has already started, with Spire Motorsports and Rick Ware racing taking the unusual step of swapping drivers ahead of the completion of the season in preparation for next year. Justin Haley will move to Spire, while longtime Spire driver Corey LaJoie will move to Rick Ware Racing for the remainder of the season. This is a very surprising turn of events – with the complexities of manufacturer relationships, sponsor obligations, and team politics seemingly pushed aside in one fell swoop. It’s my guess that this move has been planned for a long time now behind the scenes, with many moving parts sorted out well in advance of the announcement. We’ll see if this change results in an improvement for one or both teams, and we won’t have to wait long to find out.
Photo: Watkins Glen International
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