Shane van Gisbergen knew exactly what kept him from the win after losing the lead on the last lap in Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen.
“Driver error,” he said.
The three-time Supercars champion did well to position himself for a second NASCAR Cup Series victory. On a weekend when most eyes were on the playoff field, the Kiwi qualified third and ran well enough to find himself second to leader Chris Buescher with the laps winding down.
A trio of late cautions shook up the running order and brought the field together. Van Gisbergen elected to start on the inside of the second row each time. For the first two attempts, the decision didn’t yield fruit, but on a final overtime restart, van Gisbergen was able to give Buescher a small nudge into Turn 1 and make a three-wide move on the bottom.
He cleared Buescher heading into the Esses and emerged with a slim advantage in the Bus Stop, but van Gisbergen also knew he could be due for contact in return from Buescher if the Texan was able to chase him down.
For the next full lap, van Gisbergen was flawless. He made a rare mistake in the final trip through the Bus Stop, though, clipping the inside wall and pushing him off-line. Buescher took advantage, jumped to van Gisbergen’s inside and muscled his way by for the lead.
“I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there,” van Gisbergen said. “As I turned in, I got a little bit loose and clipped the inside wall.”