Chris Buescher entered the season finale with a 21-point lead over Bubba Wallace, which gave him the 16th and final spot in the playoffs. However, the pressure quickly mounted as the laps went by. Wallace scored 11 points in the stage, while Buescher collected just one, nearly halving the margin between the two.

When fellow Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland put Buescher into the outside wall with 46 laps to go, he spun out the Ford driver as his playoff chances began to dwindle. Caution, however, presented an opportunity for him to pit for four fresh tires, which Wallace did not do. Momentum suddenly swung back in Buescher’s direction as he passed Wallace in the points. A multi-car collision then put Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota out of the race, but it was no moment of relief for Buescher.

The problem was Chase Briscoe, who led the race and eventually held on to win his way into the playoffs, knocking Buescher out of the playoffs despite finishing sixth. It was all for naught. He was eliminated by a mere six points.

“It’s both frustration and disbelief,” Buescher said after the race. The RFK Racing driver came ridiculously close to Victory Lane this year, losing the race at Kansas to Kyle Larson in the narrowest photo finish in NASCAR Cup history — by 0.001s. It was at this same track earlier this year that he blew a tire after contact with Tyler Reddick while leading late in the race. But with surprise winners like Briscoe and Harrison Burton, he suddenly found himself the first man down when the 16-driver playoff grid was set.

“We felt like we did what we needed to do for the most part today,” he continued. “We got back in contention at the end and got a decent finish. We just didn’t quite do it again and we’re out there now. It’s just the system that we’re all in. We’ve had such a great year. Everyone at RFK has worked so hard. We’ve been so fast. We’ve passed so many of these cars that are going to be fighting for a championship, but that’s the system and we didn’t do a good job.”

Five drivers below Buescher in the standings have leapfrogged him with race wins this year, underscoring the importance of the win-and-you’re-in system that defines modern NASCAR.

“I’m definitely going to think back to different moments during the year and see how we can do better next time,” Buescher lamented.