Shane van Gisbergen rallies from 29 seconds back to win NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen

RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Steven Brien / RACEPROWEEKLY – WATKINS GLEN, NY – Shane van Gisbergen made up 29 seconds in 17 laps after making his final pit stop to pass Ty Gibbs for the lead and win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

“Stephen [Doran] made great calls,” Van Gisbergen said after exiting his No. 97 Chevrolet on the frontstretch. “I wasn’t sure how it was gonna work, and to run them down like that, very, very special to do two in a row.”

Van Gisbergen led 75 laps and won stage 2, en route to his second Watkins Glen victory in a row. This is the first victory for Trackhouse Racing in 2026, and lifts him above the Chase cutline into 16th in points.

Michael McDowell finished second after running near the front throughout the afternoon, while Gibbs faded to third after saving fuel over the closing laps. Chase Briscoe was fourth and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.

“It’s great to get momentum back on our side,” McDowell said. “We needed it after a rough few weeks.”

Austin Dillon finished sixth for his first top-10 result of the season, followed by A.J. Allmendinger in seventh, Kyle Busch eighth, Austin Cindric ninth and John Hunter Nemechek rounding out the top 10. 

Gibbs and Connor Zilisch made their final pit stops on Lap 60 and attempted to stretch their fuel to the finish, but van Gisbergen’s late stop on lap 76 ultimately proved to be the right call.

“I wish we could keep racing,” Gibbs said on pit road. “Unfurtonately, I just had to save some fuel there.”

Zilisch’s strong run ended with eight laps remaining when he suffered a right-front tire failure while running third, dropping him to a 20th place finish.

“We were running on those tires for a long time,” Zilisch said. “Not surprised to see it happen necessarily, but yeah, just frustrating.”

Van Gisbergen dominated the opening stage from the pole, leading the first 18 laps before pitting prior to the stage end. Ross Chastain stayed out to win Stage 1, followed by Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Cindric and Allmendinger. John Hunter Nemechek was sixth, Christopher Bell seventh, Van Gisbergen eighth, Riley Herbst 9th, and McDowell rounded out the top ten.

On lap 40 a debris caution would come out for a fan’s canopy flying onto the track on exit of the esses. On the ensuing restart, Herbst, one of six cars to stay out, would get spun after racing three wide into turn one. 

Additionally, on the lap 44 restart, William Byron got tagged by Chris Buescher and spun through the bus stop, collecting Blaney. The wreck would force Byron three laps down, ending his day in 36th.

Van Gisbergen reclaimed the lead from McDowell on Lap 47 and drove away to win Stage 2. Reddick finished second in the segment, followed by Gibbs, Dillon and Busch. Buescher was sixth, followed by Cindric, Zilisch, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace earned the final stage point.

Logano’s day unraveled on Lap 60 when he suffered a flat tire entering the bus stop, leaving debris on the track and bringing out another caution. Logano later spent time in the garage, eventually coming back out to finish 38th. 

Hendrick Motorsports endured a difficult afternoon, with none of its four Chevrolets finishing inside the top 20. Kyle Larson was the organization’s highest finisher in 23rd.

Late in the race, Katherine Legge spun after contact from Josh Bilicki exiting the bus stop on Lap 71, though no caution was issued. Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry also spun in the final stage without drawing yellow flags.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Go Bowling At The Glen

Watkins Glen International Raceway

Watkins Glen, NY

Sunday May 10, 2026

1. (1) Shane van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 100.
2. (2) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 100.
3. (10) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 100.
4. (9) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 100.
5. (15) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 100.
6. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 100.
7. (12) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 100.
8. (21) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 100.
9. (3) Austin Cindric, Ford, 100.
10.  (17) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 100.
11.  (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 100.
12.  (14) Chris Buescher, Ford, 100.
13.  (16) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 100.
14.  (30) Ryan Preece, Ford, 100.
15.  (19) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 100.
16.  (20) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 100.
17.  (22) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 100.
18.  (33) Zane Smith, Ford, 100.
19.  (24) Erik Jones, Toyota, 100.
20.  (5) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, 100.
21.  (8) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 100.
22.  (35) Noah Gragson, Ford, 100.
23.  (23) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 100.
24.  (27) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 100.
25.  (28) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 100.
26.  (32) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 100.
27.  (4) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 100.
28.  (11) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 100.
29.  (18) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 100.
30.  (26) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 100.
31.  (29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 100.
32.  (34) Josh Berry, Ford, 100.
33.  (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 99.
34.  (37) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 99.
35.  (38) Katherine Legge, Chevrolet, 99.
36.  (13) William Byron, Chevrolet, 97.
37.  (36) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 90.
38.  (6) Joey Logano, Ford, 85.