When Brad Keselowski spun Kyle Busch at Watkins Glen before thrilling NASCAR finish

As NASCAR gears up for its second race of the Round of 16 at Watkins Glen International on September 15, NASCAR on NBC remembered the time when Brad Keselowski spun off Kyle Busch during the 2012 Finger Lakes 355 at "The Glen". Busch, who drives the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevy now, used to drive the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing back then.

Busch was well poised for the victory when Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun while running 10th, bringing out a caution. Following the restart, Bush still managed to maintain his lead while his fellow racer and two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion, Marcos Ambrose, chased him.

With just four laps to go, Busch, Ambrose, and Keselowski were running first, second and third, respectively. However, the RFK Racing driver cleared Ambrose with two laps to go. That is when things started turning sour for Busch.

Keselowski hit Busch coming off of turn 1 right before arriving at the esses. NASCAR did not bring out a caution, and it was just Keselowski and Ambrose competing for the win after that.

Moments later, Keselowski's No. 9 machine got loose and lost the lead to Ambrose. Ambrose grabbed the opportunity and delivered his second and final win of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

Reminiscing Ambrose's finish, NBC posted on X :

"ONE OF THE CRAZIEST NASCAR FINISHES EVER! Twelve years ago, Marcos Ambrose and Brad Keselowski battled hard for the win at Watkins Glen."

The NASCAR Cup Series will visit Watkins Glen for the 41st time on Sunday afternoon for the Go Bowling at The Glen. Furthermore, this is going to be the first time for the 2.428-mile racetrack to host a playoff race.

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Goodyear to debut new tire compound at Watkins Glen International

A new tire compound is all set to run at Watkins Glen for the first time in NASCAR. Besides that, the racetrack has gone through a series of adjustments. Therefore, Sunday's race is expected to be quite challenging.

"Watkins Glen isn't the typical Watkins Glen that we've seen in the past. They've changed some things to the track," Team Penske driver Joey Logano said in a recent interview (via Motorsport).

Logano won last week's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and clinched his ticket to the Round of 12. He added:

"They've added rumble strips off of turn one that prevents us from dropping way outside of the curb. They've changed the curbing to the bus stop itself to where you won't be launching them into the corner as much, and then they also added rumble strips on the exit of the carousel to keep us from dropping way out there, so the track will race differently."

The new tire compound was tested in June by NASCAR Cup Series regulars like Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, and Austin Cindric. As per reports, the new compound will induce a three-second tire fall off.

Greg Stucker, Goodyear's Director of Racing said (via Newsweek):

"The increased fall-off should lead to more comers and goers as some drivers manage their tires and gain on the field as the runs go on."

With that said, fans speculate about who will win this weekend and etch his name beside Logano as the second of the 12 drivers to qualify for the next round of the playoffs. Practice begins at 11:30 am, with the qualifying following from 1 pm onwards. The main event will start from 3 PM onwards and will stream live on NBC Sports and USA. All times are in ET.