Shane van Gisbergen makes another statement in NASCAR Cup win: Like a world-class hunter stalking defenseless prey, Shane van Gisbergen reasserted his claim to the status as the best road course racer NASCAR has ever seen. It’s not just that the New Zealander beat runner-up Michael McDowell to the finish line to win Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen by 7.288 seconds. It was the way SVG ran down late-race leader Ty Gibbs to the tune of 29.2 seconds in 18 laps at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International Road Course.[Read More]
#97-Shane van Gisbergen won the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. The win is his first win of the year, second at Watkins Glen and seventh career win.
#71-Michael McDowell finished 2nd followed by #54-Ty Gibbs, #19-Chase Briscoe, #45-Tyler Reddick, #3-Austin Dillon, #16-AJ Allmendinger, #8-Kyle Busch, #2-Austin Cindric, and #42-John Hunter Nemechek.
van Gisbergen started from the pole and led much of the race. However he stayed out during the final caution of the day with 39 laps remaining and was then forced to pit on lap 76. He came back on track in 24th position, 29 seconds out of the lead. He worked through the field relentlessly and took the lead from Ty Gibbs with seven to go and pulled away for the win.
Stage 1 was won by #1-Ross Chastain. Stage 2 was won by #97-Shane van Gisbergen.
The fastest lap bonus a earned by #97-Shane van Gisbergen.
There were 6 lead changes among 4 drivers and 4 cautions for 12 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 98.536mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Driver Points Standings, Owner Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Infraction Report.
Race Fast Facts – Watkins Glen:
Shane Van Gisbergen won the Go Bowling at The Glen, his seventh victory in 62 Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2026.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International.
Michael McDowell (second) posted his third top-10 finish in 17 races at Watkins Glen International. It is his third top-10 finish in 2026.
Ty Gibbs (third) posted his second top-10 finish in five races at Watkins Glen International.
Connor Zilisch (20th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Tyler Reddick leads the point standings by 129 points over Denny Hamlin
Driver Points /Chase Standings after Watkins Glen:
Race 12 of 26 in the regular season:
1) #45-Tyler Reddick, 567, +290
2) #11-Denny Hamlin, 438, +161
3) #9-Chase Elliott, 422, +145
4) #12-Ryan Blaney, 405, +128
5) #17-Chris Buescher, 375, +98
6) #54-Ty Gibbs, 372, +95
7) #77-Carson Hocevar, 342, +65
8) #5-Kyle Larson, 332, +55
9) #6-Brad Keselowski, 318, +41
10) #20-Christopher Bell, 313, +36
11) #23-Bubba Wallace, 311, +34
12) #24-William Byron, 309, +32
13) #60-Ryan Preece, 296, +19
14) #7-Daniel Suarez, 295, +18
15) #2-Austin Cindric, 287, +10
16) #97-Shane Van Gisbergen, 283, +6
Outside the top 16:
17) #19-Chase Briscoe, 277, -6
18) #22-Joey Logano, 245, -38
19) #1-Ross Chastain, 236, -47
20) #16-A.J. Allmendinger, 235, -48
See the Driver Points Standings and Owner Points Standings.
Race updates:
Checkered flag for Shane van Gisbergen as he schools the field. McDowell finishes second.
White flag for SVG.
Lap 99 – Two to go. SVG over McDowell by 7.1 second.
Lap 98 – Three laps remaining. SVG McDowell Gibbs Briscoe ADillon Busch Cindric Reddick Allmendinger Nemechek.
Lap 96 – Five to go. SVG over McDowell by 5.8 seconds. Gibbs has fallen to third.
Lap 94 – Seven to go. SVG, amazingly, takes the lead back. He’s 1.7 second ahead of Gibbs already as Gibbs tries to save more fuel after losing the lead.
Lap 93 – Zilisch cut a tire down and has to pit. SVG to second, .6 second back. Third place Briscoe is 4.2 seconds back.
Lap 92 – SVG now in third, 3.2 second back.
Lap 91 – Ten to go. Zilisch made an effort to pass Gibbs on the last lap and was unsuccessful, slowing them both down. Gibbs out front by .4 second at the line. SVG now 4.9 seconds back in 5th place.
Lap 90 – No change up front, Gibbs by .2 second. SVG continues to make a push and has moved to 6th place, 8 seconds back.
Lap 88 – Gibbs’ lead holding pretty steady at .4 second over Zilisch. SVG continues to move up but still 12.7 seconds back.
Lap 86 – Fifteen laps to go. Gibbs over Zilisch by .2 second. Briscoe not making any progress. SVG still 17.4 seconds back, now 8th. Wallace spun in turn 1, but continues on. No caution.
Lap 83 – Zilisch has cut the lead to .6 second. Briscoe is 5.3 seconds back. SVG up to 12th but still 22 second back and not making up enough time.
Lap 81 – Twenty laps remaining. Gibbs leads Zilisch by 1.3 second. Then Briscoe 5.8 seconds back and ADillon 6.4 seconds back. SVG has moved up with 14th, but still 25.5 seconds back.
Lap 78 – Gibbs over Zilisch Allmendinger Briscoe ADIllon Cindric Busch Custer Buescher and Chastain. SVG is now 24th, 29.2 seconds back. Gibbs team tells him he is a half lap short on fuel. Logano comes back on track.
Lap 77 – SVG pits from the lead. 24 to go. Gibbs take the lead with Zilisch 1.6 second back.
Lap 76 – McDowell pits.
Lap 75 – SVG up by 5.2 seconds over McDowell. Gibbs now third and he does not need to stop again. Allmendinger back to 4th.
Lap 73 – Wallace pits. Reddick is now 34th.
Lap 72 – Reddick pits. Legge spun in turn 7 but no caution.
Lap 71 – Thirty to go: SVG Allmendinger McDowell Gibbs Zilisch Reddick Wallace Nemechek ADillon Briscoe the top 10.
Lap 70 – SVG by 4 seconds over Allmendinger. He will pit in the next 4-5 laps and then try to work back through the field. Reddick has fallen to 6th.
Lap 68 – SVG now with a 3 second lead as he’s trying to get a big lead before being forced to stop again. Allmendinger has moved to second.
Lap 66 – SVG has pulled out to a 1.4 second lead over Reddick.
Lap 64 – Green flag with 37 laps remaining.
Lap 63 – On the restart it will be: SVG Reddick Allmendinger Wallace McDowell Nemechek Custer Berry Suarez and Gibbs (who was off pit road first)
Lap 62 – Pit road is open. SVG and Reddick stay out. Many others pit. Off pit road: Gibbs ADillon Zilisch Bell Briscoe Buescher Cindric Busch Chastain. Those that pitted will likely try to make it to the end without stopping.
Lap 61 – CAUTION is out for Logano. He lost a tire and the carcass stayed near the track.
Lap 55 – Green flag for the start of the final stage. 46 laps remaining. SVG leads Reddick Gibbs ADillon Buescher Buescher Cindric Zilisch Briscoe.
Lap 53 – Pit road is open. Most of the leaders stay out. Just a handful pit, including Wallace and McDowell.
Lap 51 – CAUTION is out for the end of stage 2. SVG wins it over Reddick Gibbs ADillon Busch Buescher Cindric Zilisch Briscoe and Wallace. Byron gets the free pass but will still be four laps down.
Lap 48 – SVG is back in the lead. Reddick now second then McDowell Wallace and Gibbs. A handful of drivers come to pit road before it closes near the end of the stage.
Lap 47 – SVG has closed the lead to .7 second.
Lap 46 – SVG to second, 1.5 second behind McDowell.
Lap 45 – McDowell still leads, then Suarez Wallace and SVG. Byron creeps back to pit road with a possible broken toe link.
Lap 44 – Green flag with seven laps remaining in stage 2. McDowell Suarez Bell Wallace Herbst Nemechek SVG Zilisch Gibbs Reddick. Herbst spun in turn 1 but no caution. Byron spun in the interloop. He makes some contact with Blaney. Gilliland also spins. Again, no caution.
Lap 41 – Pit road is open. SVG Zilisch pit as do most others. McDowell Suarez Bell Wallace Nemechek Herbst are the only drivers that stay out.
Lap 40 – CAUTION out for a canopy that has blown out onto the track in the esses.
Lap 39 – Twelve laps left in stage 2. SVG Zilisch McDowell Gibbs Reddick ADillon Suarez Briscoe Byron Buescher.
Lap 33 – Zilisch is just .27 second behind SVG for the lead. He says he’s taking it easy still to save the car.
Lap 28 – SVG continues to dominate. Zilisch has gotten around McDowell for second. Gibbs and Reddick round out the top 5.
Lap 25 – Back to green for the start of the second stage. SVG leads McDowell Zilisch Gibbs Buescher Reddick Suarez ADillon Briscoe and Busch.
Lap 22 – Pit road is open. Those that had stayed out come in for service. SVG takes the lead again.
Lap 21 – CAUTION for the end of stage 1. Chastain leads over Logano Blaney Cindric Allmendinger Nemechek Bell SVG Herbst and McDowell. Everyone is still on the lead lap.
Lap 20 – Last lap in stage 1. Chastain is the leader.
Lap 19 – SVG pits from the lead and the pits are closed as he crosses the start finish line.
Lap 18 – McDowell and Zilisch pit along with several others further back.
Lap 17 – Several drivers in the middle of the pack come to pit road.
Lap 16 – Five laps left in stage 1. It’s all SVG so far. He leads McDowell by 6 seconds. Then Zilisch Chastain Logano Blaney Cindric Gibbs Allmendinger and Bell.
Lap 10 – SVG has pulled out to a 2.3 second lead over McDowell. Zilisch is now third, but 6 seconds off the lead.
• 8:10pm/et is the cutoff time for today’s race. The race race will end at that time if it has not already been completed (highly unlikely)
Lap 5 – SVG leads McDowell by .5 second. Third place Chastain is more than 3 seconds back already.
Lap 2 – SVG leads McDowell after the first lap.
• 3:17pm/et – Green flag for the start of the race.
• 3:04pm/et – Engines are fired.
• 2:54pm/et – Pre-race ceremonies are underway.
• As of 1:30pm/et, no cars reported to the rear today.
• Today’s forecast should not interfere with racing. From the National Weather Service: Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 62. Light and variable wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Race details:
Broadcast: FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 100 laps / 245 miles
Stages: 20 / 50 / 100
Average time of race: 2:38:00
Pit road speed: 40 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph
Fuel Window: 36 laps
Timing (all times local & subject to change)
Drivers report to the Driver’s Meeting room located in the Media Center for the Drivers Meeting by 1:55 p.m.
Driver Introductions will begin promptly at 2:20 p.m.
Invocation: 2:54:20 p.m.
Canadian Anthem: 2:55:00
National Anthem: 2:56:30 p.m.
Command: 3:03:00 p.m.
Green Flag: 3:14:00 p.m.
Paint Schemes
Cars to the rear: none reported
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International have been made.
Pole winner #97-Shane van Gisbergen chose pit stall 1.
Outside pole sitter #71-Michael McDowell took the 37th stall, with an opening on entry.
See all pit choices on the Watkins Glen Pit Stall page.
#97-Shane van Gisbergen won the Busch pole for the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International with a speed of 123.937mph for his first pole of the year, first at Watkins Glen and fifth of his career.
#71-Michael McDowell will start second followed by #2-Austin Cindric, #1-Ross Chastain, #88-Connor Zilisch, #22-Joey Logano, #12-Ryan Blaney, #20-Christopher Bell, #19-Chase Briscoe, and #54-Ty Gibbs.
Qualifying consisted of a single 35 minute session.
See the complete qualifying results and the Go Bowling at the Glen Starting Lineup.
Watkins Glen – Qualifying Fast Facts:
Shane Van Gisbergen won the Pole Award for the Go Bowling at The Glen with a lap of 71.165 seconds, 123.937 mph.
This is his fifth pole in 62 NASCAR Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2026.
This is his first pole in three races at Watkins Glen International.
Michael McDowell (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2026 and his fifth in 17 races at Watkins Glen International.
Austin Cindric (third) posted his third top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his fourth in 12
races this season.
Connor Zilisch (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Pre-race inspection in the NASCAR Cup Series garage is complete. The #78-Katherine Legge passed on the third attempt. The team will lose pit selection for this event and car chief, Keith Wolfe, was ejected.
Qualifying Order
Practice for the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is over. The results:
#2-Austin Cindric 122.147
#77-Carson Hocevar 122.072
#54-Ty Gibbs 122.032
#20-Christopher Bell 122.030
#17-Chris Buescher 121.971
Slowest: #78-Katherine Legge, 111.428mph
Most laps run: #42-John Hunter Nemechek, 29 laps.
Best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 12 drivers): #97-Shane van Gisbergen, 119.966mph.
Notes: Due to early morning rain and damp track conditions, practice was a single 55 minute session. #1-Ross Chastain and #19-Chase Briscoe suffered flat tires during the session but had no serious damage.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Go Bowling at the Glen Practice speeds page.
Crew Rosters
The entry list for the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is posted, 38 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Open teams entered: #66-Josh Bilicki, #78-Katherine Legge.
See the full entry list on the Go Bowling at the Glen Entry List page.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Watkins Glen: This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International marks the second road course of the season, with the field racing on the same Goodyear Racing Eagle tire setup used earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Go Bowling at The Glen: A look at some of the top statistical performers at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, going into the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Race rules and information:
