Shane van Gisbergen Charges Through Field to Win Watkins Glen

Shane van Gisbergen picked up the NASCAR Cup Series win at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. The New Zealand-born road course ace surged through the field in the final stage after the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing team chose a risky but successful pit strategy. It was his second straight year winning the annual Cup Series race at Watkins Glen.

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, to run them down like that,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s very, very special to win two in a row.”

Up until less than ten laps to go, Sunday’s race was shaping up as a battle between Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch for the win. Both drivers stayed out during the final round of pit stops, opting for track position over fuel and new tires. That decision proved costly, as van Gisbergen whittled down a gap of over 20 seconds to take the lead with eight to go.

Connor Zilisch entered Sunday with his best chance yet at a first career Cup Series victory. The 19-year-old finished second in the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday and then won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race on Saturday. His No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was a top contender until a tire went down on Lap 92.

“I’m not sure, honestly, what actually cut the tire there at the end,” Zilisch said. “We were running on those tires for a long time, so I’m not surprised to see it happen necessarily. Just frustrating, we had a really good day going.”

Sunday’s win was the seventh of Shane van Gisbergen’s career and his first since the Charlotte Roval in October 2025. Trackhouse Racing has struggled to find consistent speed on ovals throughout the 2026 season, and so van Gisbergen was fortunate to capitalize on his road course prowess for his team’s first win of the year.

Michael McDowell finished second for Spire Motorsports, running the same pit strategy as van Gisbergen. Ty Gibbs followed in third with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe in fourth. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick trailed them in fifth. The Richard Childress Racing duo of Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch turned in their best team performance of the season, finishing sixth and eighth respectively.

Ross Chastain won Stage 1, his third stage victory of the season. Shane van Gisbergen picked up Stage 2 to complete a stage sweep for Trackhouse Racing. Chastain was shuffled back to 27th in the final stage, a disappointing result considering the speed Trackhouse brought to race track. As a result of his late-race tire issues, Zilisch was relegated to 20th despite having potential race-winning speed.

Points Outlook

On the heels of his win Sunday, Shane van Gisbergen is back inside the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase picture. He currently sits on the cutoff line in 16th, six points ahead of Chase Briscoe. van Gisbergen spent several weeks early in the season within the top 16 drivers, before slipping below the line in recent weeks.

Tyler Reddick maintained his points lead on Sunday with no signs of giving it up soon. He sits 129 points above second-place Denny Hamlin. Next behind them is Chase Elliott, followed by Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher. The top five drivers in points remains the same as last week.

Austin Dillon gained the most points on Sunday, vaulting five spots from 27th to 22nd thanks to his best career road course finish. Still, Dillon faces a tough challenge with 66 points separating him and the Chase.

Race Results