Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen delivered a masterclass Sunday at Watkins Glen, leading 74 of 100 laps from pole position to win his first race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. However, those statistics do not tell the entire story. When the timing of cautions split strategies throughout the field, SVG was forced to pit from the lead under green, which left him with a nearly 30-second gap to overcome to get back to the front. From that moment on, it was full throttle for the No. 97, clawing back multiple seconds per lap to reclaim the lead and extend his advantage all the way to the finish. He claimed his second consecutive win at Watkins Glen International and moved to 16th in the Chase standings.
The series now takes a short break from racing for points to focus on the annual All-Star Race. This year's event will be hosted at Dover Motor Speedway, which could be good news for Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing. The Toyota-powered organization won the last three races at the track, with Hamlin capturing the last two. This year's race will feature a full field of cars with no qualifying races to advance to the main show, but the field will be inverted after the first stage and 10 drivers will be eliminated after stage two. The million-dollar paycheck and bragging rights from winning this exhibition event are major prizes everyone will want to claim. Momentum to carry into Charlotte could be even
Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen delivered a masterclass Sunday at Watkins Glen, leading 74 of 100 laps from pole position to win his first race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. However, those statistics do not tell the entire story. When the timing of cautions split strategies throughout the field, SVG was forced to pit from the lead under green, which left him with a nearly 30-second gap to overcome to get back to the front. From that moment on, it was full throttle for the No. 97, clawing back multiple seconds per lap to reclaim the lead and extend his advantage all the way to the finish. He claimed his second consecutive win at Watkins Glen International and moved to 16th in the Chase standings.
The series now takes a short break from racing for points to focus on the annual All-Star Race. This year's event will be hosted at Dover Motor Speedway, which could be good news for Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing. The Toyota-powered organization won the last three races at the track, with Hamlin capturing the last two. This year's race will feature a full field of cars with no qualifying races to advance to the main show, but the field will be inverted after the first stage and 10 drivers will be eliminated after stage two. The million-dollar paycheck and bragging rights from winning this exhibition event are major prizes everyone will want to claim. Momentum to carry into Charlotte could be even more important when the championship fight resumes in two weeks.
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NASCAR Power Rankings After Watkins Glen
1. Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing No. 45
Last Week: 1
Tyler Reddick's Watkins Glen weekend began with a disappointing 15th-place qualifying effort. Once racing was underway, it was clear that he had a fast car, though. By the end of the first stage, the championship leader had worked his way into the mix, and Reddick was a contender for the rest of the day. As the final pit stops approached, Reddick was losing pace and opted to make a risky early pit stop. That gamble ended up working out as he took advantage of other drivers saving fuel and dealing with worn tires in the closing laps, though. In the end, his fifth-place finish was his eighth of the season and he leads the standings into the All-Star Race weekend with a whopping 129-point advantage.
2. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11
Last Week: 2
Denny Hamlin's lackluster Watkins Glen results continued Sunday with a 16th-place finish from the 20th starting spot. It was a very quiet weekend from the veteran who won at the track in 2016, but that is what fans have come to expect from him at the track recently. Sunday's finish was Hamlin's fourth finish at the Glen outside of the top 15 in the last four visits. He also failed to pick up stage points, which allowed Reddick to increase his advantage in the standings before the series heads to Dover for the All-Star Race where points will not be on offer. While Sunday's results aren't what we typically expect from Hamlin, he remains a threat on most ovals. The question remains whether or not the points he missed at the Glen will come back to haunt him at the end of the season.
3. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports No. 9
Last Week: 3
Road courses were once Chase Elliott's bread and butter. His domination on these tracks was undeniable, but he hasn't his those same heights since the introduction of the current generation of car. Results have been getting better for him more recently, but Elliott is not the contender he once was at places like Watkins Glen where he won back to back in 2018 and 2019. Sunday was more evidence of his struggles. The entire Hendrick Motorsports stable appeared off the pace with poor qualfying and a lack of pace in the race, and Elliott was not immune. The former series champion started 27th and failed to move forward, finishing the day just 24th. If the weekend at Watkins Glen showed anything, it was that Hendrick Motorsports continues to struggle unlocking the full potential of their cars this season.
4. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske No. 12
Last Week: 4
Ryan Blaney took what could have been a forgettable race and turned it into another productive afternoon. While some championship contenders failed to land respectable finishes, Blaney avoided trouble and added stage points to his productive 11th-place finish. While he didn't immediately gain any positions in the championship standings, he gained ground on two of the three drivers ahead of him. This season's change in championship format puts heavier emphasis and week-to-week consistency, and Blaney is living up to that challenge with race weekends like this. The Team Penske driver is delivering on all statistics so far this season and more wins and top finishes appear to be on the horizon for the No. 12 team if they can maintain this form.
5. Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54
Last Week: 6
Gibbs turned his single-lap Watkins Glen place into a full-race performance Sunday. Prior to this past weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had an average Watkins Glen starting spot of 12.3, but his average finish in the same span was only 28.7. He started 10th on Sunday but then avoided trouble and ultimately took advantage of strategy to get into the lead with a chance to hold it to the finish. Ultimately, the strategy that put him in front wasn't enough to hold back the drivers with fresher tires, but Gibbs drove strongly to come home third. His sixth-top-five finish of the season ended a two-race skid of poor finishes at Talladega and Texas and gives him a season total of six so far, which is second only to championship-leader Tyler Reddick.
6. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5
Last Week: 5
Hendrick Motorsports was off the pace for much of the race weekend at Watkins Glen, and Larson was unable to overcome the challenges. The two-time Watkins Glen winner was never a factor, qualifying and finishing 23rd. It was obviously throughout the race that Larson was struggling with his car, but no solutions were found in a frustrating afternoon for the squad. Sunday's finish continued his current downward trajectory at the track, too. His 23rd-place finish was his third finish worse than 20th in the four races since his back-to-back wins at the road course. While it wasn't enough to evict him from eighth in the series standings, Larson's inconsistency is starting to raise alarms. Larson had yet to win in 2026 and heads into the All-Star Race with three consecutive finishes outside of the top 20.
7. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20
Last Week: 8
Bell's woes continued in Watkins Glen. It was a track Bell should have been able to right the ship and get things back on track, but his bad luck is proving too difficult to shake. After starting and racing in the top 10 through the first stage, Bell missed the bus stop chicane in the second stage, forcing him to come to a complete stop before returning to action. That small mistake dropped him down to the 29th position, which was a steep penalty in a race where track position matters so much. By the end of the race, Bell was only able to work his way back to the 21st position, earning him his fifth consecutive finish worse than 15th. Speed does not appear to be an issue in the No. 20 camp, but misfortune and bad luck have been detrimental thus far.
8. Chris Buescher, RFK Racing No. 17
Last Week: N/A
Chris Buescher continues to make a strong case for a spot among the championship contenders with consistent finishes while others falter. Following Watkins Glen, he remains fifth in the standings with five consecutive top-15 finishes, and his points from the day mean even more with those behind him in the standings largely unable to capitalize on the afternoon. He ran among the top 10 throughout Sunday's race and scored stage points in the second segment before slipping back slightly at the end for a 12th-place finish, but that was more than enough to retain his position in the Chase standings. Buescher has been delivering consistent finishes without the wild ups and downs of others, which is proving valuable early in 2026.
9. Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports No. 77
Last Week: 9
Sunday's race was not a memorable one from Hocevar. The Spire Motorsports driver did well to qualify 11th, but road racing isn't his forte and he slipped backward throughout the race distance. One of the more eventful moments of his day came on the final lap when racing closely with Josh Berry resulted in contact with Berry coming off worse in a turn 1 spin. Hocevar was already out of contention by that time and drove home relatively unaffected in the 28th spot, though. Spire and Hocevar have been proving their mettle on ovals this season, and there are plenty more opportunities for the pairing to continue that trend this season. The coming week's All-Star Race at Dover could be one where Hocevar makes another impression toward the front, albeit not for points.
10. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing No. 23
Last Week: 10
With his prior record at Watkins Glen, Sunday's race might have been one where Wallace could have made up some ground in the championship, but it was a rough afternoon for the No. 23 team. Wallace started the day 18th, but was able to work his way into the top 10 by the end of the second stage. Traffic while he was trying to get to pit road late in the race cost him time, though. At the finish, Wallace was just 29th. Despite the poor finish, rough afternoons from some of his championship rivals enabled him to move up a spot in the standings, though. A better day would have had a bigger impact, though. Wallace and team are still working to find the small adjustments they need to unlock the consistent top finishes that will take them to the next level.
Knocking on the Door
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing No. 97
Last Week: N/A
Shane van Gisbergen made himself the undisputed king of road courses with five victories last season. A runner-up finish earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas might have given the impression the field was catching up, but Sunday's masterful drive at Watkins Glen demonstrated how much more the competition has to go, though. Despite having to pit in the final stage under green, SVG used his supreme skill and fresh tires to overcome a nearly 30-second and 20-position deficit in the final laps to race back to the lead, winning by more than seven seconds. It was one of the most determined drives in NASCAR road racing history, and it put SVG and the No. 97 team into the championship positions where they will work to stay until the Chase gets underway.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports No. 24
Last Week: 7
Sunday's race was tough for a number of drivers, but one of the hardest hit was William Byron. The Hendrick Motorsports driver struggled to find pace all weekend and could not force his way out of the middle of the pack. That proved to be a problem in the second stage when he was spun in the bus stop chicane in heavy restart traffic and was hit by oncoming cars. The damage broke Byron's suspension and his day was effectively over. With points at a premium, the team made the repairs they could and Byron returned to the track to finish three laps down in 36th position. That was Byron's third finish of 30th or worse from the last five races and leaves the team with some work to do to get back to consistent top-10 finishes after the All-Star Race.
Joey Logano, Team Penske No. 22
Last Week: N/A
Despite some optimism early in the weekend when Joey Logano qualified sixth, a tire failure in the final stage took him out of the race to record his fourth consecutive finish of 30th or worse. Nothing seems to be going right for the No. 22 team at this point, and they desperately need to use the All-Star Race weekend to regroup and find firmer footing before points racing returns at Charlotte. Logano has fallen to 18th in the standings and sits 38 points behind Shane van Gisbergen in the last Chase position. Bad afternoons like Sunday's have dug a deep hole for Logano to dig out of, and failing to turn that trend around quickly will make his situation in the standings even more desperate.
