With an unbelievable drive that noticed him make up 29 seconds to the leaders over 17 laps, Shane van Gisbergen received Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Collection race at Watkins Glen from the pole, taking the seventh victory of his profession and his first of 2026.
Van Gisbergen pitted throughout the race’s last inexperienced flag run after staying out underneath warning, versus a lot of the sector. As Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch took excessive two positions, van Gisbergen exited pit street at a seemingly insurmountable deficit to the lead.
However the street course ace who turned 37 on Saturday ran down each Gibbs and Zilisch, who had been attempting to avoid wasting sufficient gas to make it to the checkered flag whereas racing one another 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.
