SVG’s No. 16 NASCAR Chevy Slips Up At Watkins Glen: Video

Shane Van Gisbergen is a fiend on road courses, and he almost snagged his second Cup Series victory in the No. 16 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1 at Watkins Glen on September 15^th, 2024. But in the closing laps, Van Gisbergen was challenged by the No. 17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Chris Buescher, and in the end, he just couldn’t hold him off.

Van Gisbergen charged into the lead in a risky three-wide move on the final of two Overtime restarts with Buescher in hot pursuit. The two racers made contact in the “bus stop” turn as Van Gisbergen’s No. 16 NASCAR Chevy Camaro snapped loose and hit the wall, allowing Buescher to cut the distance and muscle his way into the lead. Van Gisbergen threw his Camaro in Buescher’s tire tracks, but couldn’t reel him in, finishing in the runner-up position.

“Driver error, yeah,” Van Gisbergen said of his mistake in the bus stop. “I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there and as I turned back I was a bit loose and clipped the inside wall. Just driver error and I’m gutted.”

He added, “The race was really awesome there with Ross [Chastain] and Chris [Buescher] and the others at the end, I’m gutted we couldn’t get it. We had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry at myself.”

Carson Hocevar brought up third in the No. 77 Camaro, followed by Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro in fourth. Zane Smith’s No. 71 Camaro rounded out the top five.

Other NASCAR Chevy racers – particularly those that are championship eligible – didn’t have nearly as good of a run. Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro was involved in an early-race incident, but he recovered for a 12^th-place finish. Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Camaro finished 18^th, followed by Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro in 19^th. Road course ace AJ Allmendinger suffered a mechanical issue in his No. 13 NASCAR Chevy Camaro, relegating him to a 36^th-place finish.

# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible