With an incredible drive that saw him make up 29 seconds to the leaders over 17 laps, Shane van Gisbergen won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen from the pole, taking the seventh victory of his career and his first of 2026.
Van Gisbergen pitted during the race’s final green flag run after staying out under caution, as opposed to much of the field. As Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch took over the top two positions, van Gisbergen exited pit road at a seemingly insurmountable deficit to the lead.
But the road course ace who turned 37 on Saturday ran down both Gibbs and Zilisch, who were trying to save enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag while racing each other for the lead, and drove away from Michael McDowell to earn his second consecutive Watkins Glen win.
Van Gisbergen led 75 of the race’s 100 laps.
