![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2275509450-copy.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael McDowell in the #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMichael McDowell in the #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen.<\/p>\n
Runner-up Michael McDowell finished seven seconds behind van Gisbergen having pulled off his own comeback in Stage 3.<\/p>\n
On Lap 75, the #71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro pitted from second with a five-second deficit to the #97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro of van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen responded a lap later, and once he completed his pit stop was just ahead of McDowell.<\/p>\n
While most of the attention was on SVG for the win, McDowell was quietly chipping away just a second or two behind in those final 25 laps.<\/p>\n
On Lap 93, van Gisbergen overtook Gibbs for the race lead and McDowell followed suit two laps later.<\/p>\n
The race leader had by then already skipped away to a near six-second lead.<\/p>\n
Van Gisbergen paced the closing laps, eventually winning by 7.288s after 100 laps.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the race, McDowell said there were fleeting instances when he thought he might be able to compete with van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were moments when I thought maybe we can hang with SVG. It felt like he was just pacing himself off me and then take back off,\u201d said McDowell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat second stage there, we got a little bit off-strategy and then we recovered well, which Travis (Peterson, crew chief) did a great job of getting back track position when we needed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust not quite enough to run him down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe restarted there 27th. I wasn\u2019t sure how that was going to work out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made pretty quick work to get near the top 10 and then it cycled around again and then we got a little bit of track position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know even if we restarted right behind SVG if we had the pace for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat last stop, we came out right with him and he still had a bit of pace on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDowell was, nevertheless, proud of the efforts of his Spire Motorsports squad.<\/p>\n
The NASCAR Cup Series veteran has been a regular road course front-runner but said there is still some way to go before he can beat van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a bit of work to do. It\u2019s a good building block,\u201d said McDowell.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur road course program has really come around. I feel like we\u2019re building on it, we just need a bit more.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, it\u2019s just tough man. Second is awesome, it\u2019s great to get momentum back on our side. We needed it after a rought few weeks, but wanted to get to Victory Lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cProud of Spire, proud of my guys, they worked really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NASCAR Cup Series continues with the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway on May 18 (AEST).<\/p>\n
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For more of the latest NASCAR news and analysis, visit Speedcafe US<\/a><\/p>\n