Shane van Gisbergen surged from a seemingly hopeless deficit to win the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen.
Turning 35 over the race weekend, the Trackhouse Racing driver delivered a scorching closing stint that turned a 29‑second hole into a 7.288‑second margin of victory ahead of Michael McDowell.
Ty Gibbs held onto third in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after his strategic gamble was ultimately undone by van Gisbergen’s tire advantage, marking a career-best road course finish that boosts his playoff hopes.
Chase Briscoe slotted the No. 19 JGR Toyota into fourth after slipping past Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon in the late‑race shuffle. AJ Allmendinger charged to seventh, while Kyle Busch salvaged eighth after early tire woes.
Austin Cindric faded to ninth in the No. 2 Ford, hampered by a loose handling condition post-Stage 2 that required multiple adjustments, yet he still outpaced John Hunter Nemechek, who rounded out the top ten in the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet.
New 2026 NASCAR Cup Series points standings after Watkins Glen
2026 NASCAR Cup Watkins Glen Race Results – Go Bowling at The Glen
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen (S2) | Superfile Chevrolet | 74 | |
| 2 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Go Bowling Chevrolet | +7.288 | 5 |
| 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | +16.531 | 17 |
| 4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Mobil 1 Toyota | +19.253 | |
| 5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Jordan Brand Toyota | +19.372 | |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer Chevrolet | +20.941 | |
| 7 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | +21.518 | |
| 8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet | +22.302 | |
| 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Snap on Ford | +22.421 | |
| 10 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | +25.438 | |
| 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Libman Ford | +25.641 | |
| 12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | +30.506 | |
| 13 | 7 | Daniel Suarez | Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet | +30.901 | |
| 14 | 60 | Ryan Preece | Mohawk Northeast Inc. Ford | +32.096 | |
| 15 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Chevrolet | +32.924 | |
| 16 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Progressive Insurance Toyota | +34.645 | |
| 17 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Farm Rich Ford | +36.364 | |
| 18 | 38 | Zane Smith | Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford | +36.599 | |
| 19 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | +37.776 | |
| 20 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | Red Bull Chevrolet | +42.011 | |
| 21 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Coofandy Menswear Toyota | +43.433 | |
| 22 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Long John Silver’s/Franks’s Red Hot Ford | +43.879 | |
| 23 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | +45.972 | |
| 24 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | +46.428 | |
| 25 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | +50.008 | |
| 26 | 35 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Zero Sugar Toyota | +51.845 | |
| 27 | 1 | Ross Chastain (S1) | Busch Light Apple Chevrolet | +53.565 | 4 |
| 28 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spectrum Chevrolet | +1:00.393 | |
| 29 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Hardee’s/Coca-Cola Toyota | +1:09.881 | |
| 30 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Modelo Ford | +1:10.527 | |
| 31 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ram Self Storage Chevrolet | +1:10.606 | |
| 32 | 21 | Josh Berry | DEX Ford | +1:20.986 | |
| 33 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Campers Inn RV Chevrolet | +1 Lap | |
| 34 | 66 | * Josh Bilicki(i) | Southern Tier Security Ford | +1 Lap | |
| 35 | 78 | * Katherine Legge | e.l.f. Chevrolet | +1 Lap | |
| 36 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | +3 Laps | |
| 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Jacob Construction Chevrolet | +10 Laps | |
| 38 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | +15 Laps |
