Good sportsmanship can be hard to come by in NASCAR sometimes but on Sunday, it was on full display. Shane van Gisbergen was in the lead of the Watkins Glen race on the final lap but a rare mistake gave Chris Buescher a whiff of the race win.
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The RFK Racing driver took full advantage as he passed the Kiwi and got the job done. However, in his attempt to make the pass, he made contact with the #16 car. Some drivers would not be happy about it but SVG went up to Buescher and personally congratulated him for a job well done.
The Kiwi understands that it was nothing more than good, hard racing. He also made contact with #17 when he passed him for the lead earlier and expected the receipt. Had SVG not made that mistake right before turn 5, he probably would have held Buescher off for yet another road course victory. However, it was just not to be and the Kiwi was frustrated with himself after the race ended.
“Great race, mate” 🤝
Kudos from SVG to Buescher on that incredible battle for the win. pic.twitter.com/BJX4GWCSPs
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) September 15, 2024
“I was just pushing the entries and trying to get away and just made an error. Pissed because these races are hard to win, and we have had a rough run in the Cup Series this year. The WeatherTech Camaro was really good, fastest car all day, and it just didn’t work out,” he said in a post-race media interaction.
SVG will now focus on the Xfinity Series playoffs which will start a couple of weeks later. He is not the favorite for the championship but can certainly come up with a few surprises, especially with one more hybrid road course race still left on the schedule at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Fans hail three-time Supercars champion’s post-race gesture
It might take NASCAR fans a while to warm up to non-native race car drivers but a lot of them have tremendous respect for SVG. His actions after the race at Watkins Glen only made it better. “That’s class,” one user commented. “Great sportsmanship! Thanks for posting this,” quipped another. Stock car racers can get really aggressive with one another after such an incident so it was a breath of fresh air for some fans seeing the Kiwi congratulate Buescher.
“Some drivers could probably learn a lesson from these 2,” one user commented. “SVG can give it and he can take it unlike most other drivers,” wrote another. Even fans who were not happy with how Buescher won the race calmed down thanks to the gesture and acknowledged that it was a terrific finish to the event.
“Ok I’m less grumpy about it now, that was a dope finish! Grats y’all,” one fan wrote. It was indeed a heartwarming moment on Victory Lane and that is exactly what NASCAR needs more of instead of heated physical altercations.
