NASCAR Playoff Bubble Battle Explodes After Watkins Glen Drama
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The battle over the final spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is heating up after the race at Watkins Glen.
RFK Racing drivers Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher are vying for the 16th spot.
At The Glen, Buescher finished third, netting him a notable points haul, while Preece ended up lower in the classification, ending the race in 13th place.
Preece was upset with the result when speaking to the media, noting how tightly contested the race for a spot in the playoffs is.
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Nexlizet Ford, (C) speaks to Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, (L) and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford, backstage during pre-race ceremonies...
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Nexlizet Ford, (C) speaks to Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, (L) and Ryan Preece, driver of the #60 Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford, backstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2025 in Watkins Glen, New York. More
Photo by"You can definitely manage those expectations, but I f****** hate losing, so it's hard to do that... I want to go to Richmond, and I want to f****** do everything it takes to win," Preece told reporters.
"A lot of passion with racing, so it's nice to be in the position where I'm racing again."
Preece is now 34 points behind Buescher for 16th place following the race. Buescher earned 44 points, 11 points more than Preece's 33-point haul.
Even though he grew his advantage over Preece, Buescher was left disappointed not to fight for the race win, but seemed content with the weekend overall.
"At the end of the day, the next two weeks need to be solid weeks," the No. 17 car driver said.
"We need to go there, bring fast Mustangs — and we need to win. I keep spewing the same line because I certainly hate points racing.
"While it didn't give us a bad result by any means today, you have to think it hinders your best opportunity to win. It's the situation we're in - we get it."
The top 13 spots in the Cup Series playoffs are locked in already, with the bottom three spots still yet to be decided.
Tyler Reddick is 117 points clear and should get safely into the playoffs after the upcoming two races. Alex Bowman sits 60 points above the bubble, sitting securely in P15 unless he has two terrible race weekends.
Buescher is the former 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and has won six times in his Cup Series career, spanning 10 years.
He won both Richmond and Daytona back in 2023 - putting him in the driver's seat for the 16th spot unless Preece pulls out some magic at the last two races.
For more NASCAR news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
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