Shane van Gisbergen claimed his seventh career NASCAR Cup Series win by dominating the 2026 race at Watkins Glen International. Driving the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, he beat runner-up Michael McDowell by 7.2 seconds, while Ty Gibbs rounded out the top three. Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Starting from the pole position, van Gisbergen led 74 of the 100 laps, including an impressive final stint where he made up 29 seconds in just 18 laps. He also won Stage 2, while teammate Ross Chastain took Stage 1. Connor Zilisch recorded the fastest lap of the race at 1:12.541.
The race ran relatively incident-free, with only Cody Ware failing to finish. Of the 38 starters, 32 ended the race on the lead lap. Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs, and Ross Chastain were the only other drivers to lead any laps.
Complete results from the 2026 NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen:
1. Shane van Gisbergen (Chevrolet) — 100 laps
2. Michael McDowell (Chevrolet) — +7.288s
3. Ty Gibbs (Toyota) — +16.531s
4. Chase Briscoe (Toyota) — +19.253s
5. Tyler Reddick (Toyota) — +19.372s
6. Austin Dillon (Chevrolet) — +20.941s
7. AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet) — +21.518s
8. Kyle Busch (Chevrolet) — +22.302s
9. Austin Cindric (Ford) — +22.421s
10. John Hunter Nemechek (Toyota) — +25.438s
(Full field results available)