Shane van Gisbergen made a three-wide pass for the lead on the final overtime restart and was doing well to keep Chris Buescher at bay as the field made their way around the 2.45-mile road course for the final lap.
But to the shock of Buescher and everyone watching, the road-racing ace made a rare mistake on entry into the bus stop chicane, grazing the armco and upsetting the car. By the time he gathered it back up, Buescher was on him and immediately pounced. The cars slammed doors as Buescher slipped back into the lead, winning the race and denying SVG what would have been his second NASCAR Cup Series win.
"Driver error," said SVG, quickly blaming himself for why he lost the race. "I knew Chris [Buescher] was really going to send it and push me if he could get there. As I turned in, got a bit loose and clipped the inside wall and just driver error. I'm gutted ... The race was awesome with Ross [Chastain] and Chris and the others at the end. I'm gutted we couldn't get it. I had a lot of fun, but I'm pretty angry at myself."
In order to get the lead, SVG had to nudge Buescher out of the way and knew he would return the favor if he ever got back to his rear bumper. "It was a little bump to get him wide. I knew I was going to get it back, so that's why I was pushing so hard.
"It is what it is, but just gutted."
Sunday's runner-up finish was his best in Cup since his sensational victory on debut at the Chicago Street Course last summer. Van Gisbergen will go full-time Cup racing with Trackhouse in 2025, but he currently runs a part-time schedule with Kaulig on the Cup side while full-time in the Xfinity Series. He finished fifth in the Xfinity race on Saturday, but he does have three Xfinity wins this year -- all on road courses.
