WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Heading into Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International, few doubted that Shane van Gisbergen was the favorite.
And for most of the afternoon, he proved exactly why.
Van Gisbergen entered the race having won five of the previous seven NASCAR road course events, including last season’s race at Watkins Glen. After earning the pole position, he quickly established himself as the driver to beat by sweeping both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Still, the race became far more complicated late in the event.
On Lap 61 of 100, Joey Logano cut a tire and brought out a caution. The yellow flag split pit strategy across the field. Van Gisbergen chose to stay out while many others pitted, meaning SVG would eventually have to make another stop while several competitors could make it to the finish on fuel.
When van Gisbergen made his final stop on Lap 76, he cycled back to eighth place and trailed the leader by more than 17 seconds with just 15 laps remaining.
What followed was a reminder of why he has become NASCAR’s modern road course standard.
Van Gisbergen rapidly sliced through the field, erased the massive gap, and ultimately pulled away to win his second straight race at Watkins Glen by more than seven seconds.
Outside of SVG’s dominance, the race itself featured limited major incidents. William Byron was involved in a lone on-track crash, while another caution was triggered when a tent blew onto the racing surface.
The victory moves van Gisbergen into the final playoff position, sitting 16th in points and six markers ahead of Chase Briscoe with 14 races remaining before the postseason.
Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick continues to lead the standings as the series heads into an off week before the Coca-Cola 600.
Historically, the Coca-Cola 600 often marks a turning point in championship seasons. Some drivers, like Jimmie Johnson in 2006 and 2013, used strong starts to build momentum toward titles. Others — including Denny Hamlin in 2021 and Kyle Larson in 2024 — saw early-season momentum fade as the summer progressed.
Since 2004, only a handful of drivers have led the standings entering the Coca-Cola 600 and gone on to win the championship. But only 3 drivers have ever won the title depsite leading the points coming into this race that being Johnson in (’06 and ’13) and Larson in (’25).
Reddick has controlled the points lead all season long.
Now the question becomes: will Watkins Glen and the upcoming summer stretch strengthen his title hopes — or mark the beginning of a shift in the championship battle?
