"It definitely stung there" - Chris Buescher felt hurt despite winning the race at Watkins Glen

With his win at Watkins Glen, Chris Buescher broke his winless streak that dated back to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 last season. However, unlike last year, his win didn't book a spot for him in the playoffs.

Despite five finishes inside the top 5, Buescher couldn't make it out of the regular season on points. A journalist asked him post-Watkins Glen whether he was thinking about his win coming a couple of races earlier than it did, so that he could've been in the playoffs.

"It hurt, it definitely stung there. To have the season we had and have that many close calls, near misses, certainly[...] haven’t thought about what it would have meant. That’s just good old-fashioned win right there," Buescher said [1:05].

Buescher then turned his attention towards the win, calling it "very special" for him and his team. Winning at a road course was "a big accomplishment", added the #17 driver.

He mentioned that throughout this season, the #17 team has had a good average, excepting road courses. But his win at Watkins Glen corrected that as well.

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Chris Buescher hoping to play the role of spoiler once again at Bristol next weekend

At Watkins Glen, Chris Buescher played spoiler while the major focus was on the playoff drivers. Many playoff drivers such as Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin had less-than-ideal races, in the context of their playoff campaigns.

With Buescher winning, he was asked what it meant for him considering he isn't a part of the playoff bracket. The RFK Racing driver pointed to NASCAR being a unique sport with its playoff format which keeps the championship-contending drivers as well as those that didn't make it to the playoffs.

"Our sport is not like others in that sense. We’re here to race, to win. We’re going to play spoiler as much as we can, in the next seven or eight weeks coming up as well. It’s big for us to get a win on the year. It’s been over a year without a win," Buescher said [13:15].

He further touched on being close many times this year to a win, having the speed which carried over through the off-season, but not being able to "seal the deal."

Chris Buescher also said that the race up next, Bristol, is his favorite, and a track where he played the role of a spoiler two years ago. He said there was a possibility he could do that again.

Buescher added that no playoff drivers being in the top 5 at the finish of Watkins Glen, made a "dent" as well.