Kyle Petty: Shane van Gisbergen 'made a mistake' on last lap at Watkins Glen
Add Kyle Petty to the list of those shocked by Shane van Gisbergen’s last-lap mistake at Watkins Glen, as he had to pick up his jaw from the floor after watching the New Zealander squander the win in New York.
Once the No. 16 wheelman got to the lead at the end of the race, it looked was elementary for SVG, but Chris Buescher never stopped pushing, forcing the van Gisbergen into a mistake and passing him. After watching it all play out, Petty tried to evaluate how it all went down over the weekend.
“The second part of the story is SVG and Chris Buescher. A guy who grew up in the flatland of Texas and learned to run road courses. Where that came from, God only knows. But here’s the way it goes,” Petty started. “We get to that last restart, the green-white-checkered. Now, SVG has been schooled by Buescher on the previous restart, so he learned, stuck in with him. He got in between just a touch, just enough to nudge him out. He takes the lead.
“All of a sudden, it’s SVG, he’s going to win this race. We saw him win Chicago. We’ve seen him win at Sears Point. We’ve seen him win everywhere in the Xfinity Series. It’s SVG’s race. Don’t count out Chris Buescher. He never gave up. Never, ever gave up. It looked like SVG was getting away from him, but on that last lap, the great SVG showed weakness, he made a mistake. And who’s there? Chris Buescher. He pounces, lays the bumper to him just a little bit, gets him out of the groove a little bit, and takes the lead.
“We saw, in those last two corners, SVG threw everything at him he could. He’s sideways, he’s everything but backwards. But Chris Buescher powers away. SVG can be beaten on a road course, people. He got beat. Everybody should know that now. So, that brings him back 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.”
Alas, Buescher was determined not to have another victory slip out of his hands, after missing out on wins at Darlington and Kansas earlier this season. SVG left him a little bit of room, and that’s all Buescher needed to get the job done.
Watkins Glen certainly delivered again, and we’ll be talking about the battle between Chris Buescher and Shane van Gisbergen for quite some time, as the New Zealander moves to the Cup Series in 2025 with Trackhouse Racing.