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Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/p>\n
Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n
Shane Van Gisbergen (97) is introduced before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/p>\n
Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n
Shane Van Gisbergen drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/p>\n
Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n
Shane Van Gisbergen does a burn out after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/p>\n
Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n
Shane Van Gisbergen, center, celebrates with his team after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/p>\n
Adrian Kraus\/AP<\/p>\n
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) \u2014 Shane van Gisbergen insists his NASCAR road-course dominance is harder than it looks, and that he feels \u201ca lot of pressure\u201d to beat the best in stock-car racing.<\/p>\n
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But the Trackhouse Racing driver was in another league Sunday, schooling the stars of the Cup Series at Watkins Glen International.<\/p>\n
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Starting from the pole position, van Gisbergen scored his seventh Cup Series victory \u2014 all on road or street courses \u2014 and his second consecutive on the 2.45-mile track by leading 74 of 100 laps in his No. 97 Chevrolet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t very good in practice, and then qualifying was amazing, and then today, what a race car,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cAnd then (crew chief) Stephen (Doran) made great calls. I wasn\u2019t sure how it was going to work, and then to run them down like that, it’s very, very special to do two in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pitting from the lead under green with 24 laps remaining, van Gisbergen emerged in 24th and was nearly 30 seconds behind leader Ty Gibbs.<\/p>\n
Extending his Cup record of wins by a driver born outside the United States, the New Zealand native needed only 17 laps to retake the lead from Gibbs, winning by 7.288 seconds over Michael McDowell.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s made it pretty clear, especially at these tracks, he likes to be on offense, so we put him there and just let him go do his thing,\u201d Doran said of the call to make a late stop for four tires instead of pitting earlier and conserving fuel as many others did.<\/p>\n
Gibbs finished third, followed by Chase Briscoe and points leader Tyler Reddick.<\/p>\n
McDowell, who started second, also had to charge through the pack after falling to 27th on his last pit stop. He occasionally thought he could keep pace with the race winner but soon realized van Gisbergen was playing possum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like he was just pacing himself off me, and he\u2019d take back off,\u201d McDowell said. \u201cWe still got a little work to do, but it\u2019s a good building block.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dating to Mexico City last June, van Gisbergen has now won six of the past seven races on road or street courses in Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy,\u201d van Gisbergen said. \u201cEveryone\u2019s really good. McDowell was good. Connor (Zilisch) was good. Tyler Reddick. There were some really good guys and a lot of pressure. So just stoked to execute every facet of our game. And speechless. This is so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trackhouse sweep<\/p>\n
The win by van Gisbergen came a day after a win in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series by rookie teammate Zilisch, who finished 20th Sunday after a tire problem late in the race. It still was a strong showing for Trackhouse, which qualified all three of its cars in the top five after compiling only four top-10 finishes in the first 11 races.<\/p>\n
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\u201cJust frustrating because we had a really good day going,\u201d Zilisch said. \u201cAt worst, we were going to get ourselves our first top five and walk out of here with something. But congrats to Shane, Trackhouse and everybody who makes this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stumping for his uncle<\/p>\n
Chase Elliott is known for avoiding public stances on NASCAR topics, but the eight-time Most Popular Driver concluded a Saturday media availability by volunteering a strong opinion.<\/p>\n
With the vote on the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2027 set for May 19, Elliott made an impassioned plea to elect his uncle Ernie Elliott, who built engines for Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, Chase\u2019s father. Ernie Elliott is on the ballot for the first time this year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t talk about this stuff a lot, but you don\u2019t have to dig very far into the Elliott racing story to recognize how much of a family effort it was,\u201d Chase Elliott said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the story has the same ending, throughout the course of the 1980s and even leading into my career, without Uncle Ernie and what he meant to all of us. He\u2019s meant a lot to my career. There are a lot of very, very deserving names on the list, but he is one of the very deserving that doesn\u2019t get talked about enough for the credit that he deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
One and done<\/p>\n
The first May race at Watkins Glen might mark the only time that NASCAR runs the road course in the spring. NASCAR has already announced a September 2027 return to the Glen on a date to be determined. The 2024 race was held Sept. 15, and the other 42 Cup races at Watkins Glen were held in July or August.<\/p>\n
NASCAR won\u2019t unveil next year\u2019s schedule for a few more months, but new CEO Steve O\u2019Donnell reaffirmed on the Fox prerace show that Homestead-Miami Speedway, which will take over from Phoenix Raceway as this season\u2019s finale, likely will be the final race in 2027.<\/p>\n
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Up next<\/p>\n
The All-Star Race will make its debut May 17 at Dover Motor Speedway. Christopher Bell is the defending winner of the exhibition event, which was held the past three years at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.<\/p>\n
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