NASCAR Cup: Van Gisbergen Dominates at Watkins Glen to Seal Fourth Road Course Win of Season

Shane van Gisbergen delivered another masterclass on Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International and cementing his status as the benchmark on road circuits.

The 36-year-old New Zealander led 38 of 90 laps, including the final 17, and took the chequered flag by 11.116 seconds over Christopher Bell in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.

The victory puts van Gisbergen alongside American legend Dan Gurney as drivers to claim their first four NASCAR Cup wins exclusively on road courses, and it capped a weekend in which Trackhouse announced his multi-year contract extension.

“Good to get that one back,’’ said Van Gisbergen, in a nod to finishing runner-up in this race last year. “What an awesome race. Coming back through (the field after his final pit stop) I had lot of fun.

“The car was just amazing again. Another win. Awesome.’’

“It’s the stuff you dream about right?’’ a smiling Van Gisbergen acknowledged of the important weekend. “I’m just a very lucky guy to get to drive for an amazing bunch of people and just execute. The day just went flawlessly and I really enjoyed it. Thank you everyone.’’

The Watkins Glen success follows wins in Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, giving van Gisbergen a rookie record of four road-course victories and drawing him level with Denny Hamlin for most Cup Series wins this year.

“I’m thrilled [today] because we’ve been struggling a little bit to find our rhythm,’’ said Bell, who passed Chris Buescher on the final lap to claim second. “The cars have been good. Really awesome to have a good day, but frustrated to get our butts kicked by the 88 car doing such a great job. That team has really got it going on.’’

Buescher, who edged van Gisbergen for the Watkins Glen win in 2024, finished third and strengthened his Playoff position. The RFK Racing driver holds the final berth by 34 points over team-mate Ryan Preece with two regular-season races remaining at Richmond and Daytona Beach.

“Had a fast race car again and definitely took the opportunity to capitalize on some stage points early,’’ said Buescher, who collected 10 important points in winning Stage 1. “Still got back into second [place] there and was making some pretty good headway but just got used up really hard getting by a couple cars to get track position and it fell off pretty hard there at the end.”

Championship leader William Byron finished fourth, extending his advantage over Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Chase Elliott to 42 points after Elliott came home 26th, his first finish outside the top 20 this year.

Chase Briscoe was fifth, polesitter Ryan Blaney sixth, Daniel Suárez seventh, followed by 23XI pair Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, with Ross Chastain rounding out the top 10.

Thirteen drivers have already secured Playoff places via regular-season wins. Reddick, Alex Bowman and Buescher currently complete the 16-driver field, with Preece and Kyle Busch (-102) just below the cut-off. A new winner at Richmond or Daytona could still reshuffle the deck.

The series now heads to Richmond Raceway for Saturday night’s Cook Out 400.