Why Shane van Gisbergen’s Watkins Glen Loss is NASCAR’s Gain

Ever since Shane van Gisbergen won at Chicago he had a reputation of being extremely hard to defeat on a street or road course event. His experiences from Supercars Australia gave him an edge over the competition.

However, last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen showcased that it was indeed possible to defeat the Kiwi at his own game when Chris Buescher managed to take away the lead from him in the dying seconds of the race.

SVG had managed to gain the lead on the final restart by slightly nudging Buescher out of the way. But not long after, the Kaulig Racing driver seemed to make an uncharacteristic mistake coming out of the bus stop chicane.

Right after, in the next corner, Buescher pounced on the opportunity, nudged SVG out of the way, and grabbed the lead of the race. The pair continued to fight to the end and finally, the RFK Racing driver was able to get his first win of the season, albeit in the postseason.

Following this impressive victory, some hope has been restored for the regular NASCAR drivers, who previously considered SVG to be a formidable opponent on tracks like Watkins Glen International.

Even former Cup Series racer Kyle Petty explained how Buescher’s win over the Kiwi was a major confidence booster for NASCAR. He said, “We saw on those last two corners, SVG did everything he could. He’s sideways, he’s everything but backwards but Chris Buescher powers away.”

“SVG can be beat on a road course people. He got beat. Everybody should know that now. So that brings him down a notch. At the same time, Chris Buescher never gives up, that’s a Cup driver right there. Never give up, it’s not over till they throw the checkered flag,” Petty added.

This result acts as a major confidence booster for everyone in the Cup Series and will be something to keep in mind next season when SVG joins the top flight of American stock car racing with Trackhouse Racing on a full-time basis.

It is indeed possible to defeat the best in their playground, but the drivers just have to be consistent and patient enough to wait for the right opportunity to make the pass and defend their way to victory lane.