The twists and turns at Watkins Glen International weren’t constrained to the pavement at the New York State road course.
While Shane van Gisbergen rallied from 29 seconds back to win by 7.288 seconds, the rest of the field ebbed and flowed around him. See who left New York’s Finger Lakes region on an upswing — and who didn’t — after the Go Bowling at The Glen and ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
RELATED: Race results | Watkins Glen photos
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 9th
Finished: 4th
What happened: After a couple of poor finishes, Briscoe bounced back with a strong fourth-place finish Sunday at Watkins Glen, advancing from an already-solid top-10 starting spot. Briscoe’s qualifying pace is beginning to resemble his 2025 form again, with top-five time-trial efforts in four of his last five races. A fairly quiet day through the rolling hills of New York produced his fourth top five of the season.
What’s next: This is about the time of year Briscoe established himself as a title contender last year — coincidentally also finishing fourth in the 12th race of the season in 2025 (Kansas). What came next were three straight pole positions in points-paying races. We’ll see if that happens again once we get to Charlotte on Memorial Day Weekend, but first comes the All-Star Race at Dover, where he finished second last season and led 13 laps in his first appearance at the Delaware mile with JGR.
2. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Started: 12th
Finished: 7th
What happened: Allmendinger notched his best finish of 2026 with an exceptional drive at one of his best race tracks. His day started quietly, but the 2014 Watkins Glen winner methodically remained in contention for a strong finish after staying out to score fifth-place stage points in Stage 1. He leaves Watkins Glen 20th in the Cup Series points standings, 48 points behind SVG for the final provisional berth in The Chase.
What’s next: Dover has been hit or miss for Allmendinger in recent years. He earned top-20 finishes in 2023 (18th) and 2024 (13th), but suffered mechanical DNFs in both 2022 and 2025. He’ll also attempt to return to the All-Star Race after missing the main event in 2025.
3. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
Started: 17th
Finished: 10th
What happened: Nemechek earned his first top 10 of 2026 with a 10th-place run at The Glen. That didn’t come without some on-track dustups, though. While battling for 17th, Nemechek contacted Bubba Wallace heading into Turn 1 with 14 laps remaining, spinning Wallace into a 29th-place finish while Nemechek rallied up the leaderboard for his season-best finish. The results have been consistent for JHN as of late, stringing together finishes of 22nd (Kansas), 22nd (Talladega) and 21st (Texas) before The Glen, and Texas likely would’ve ended better if not for late contact with Kyle Busch.
What’s next: Nemechek’s consistency extends to Dover, where he’s placed 20th, 20th and 21st in his last three starts at the Monster Mile. To extend that streak — albeit not in a points race this time around — Nemechek will have to advance to the main event of the All-Star Race, which he did for the first time last year at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 11th
Finished: 28th
What happened: The hot streak had to come to an end at some point, right? NASCAR’s newest winner had his six-race stretch of top 20s snapped at Watkins Glen, where he finished outside the top 25 for just the second time all season, capped by a final-lap incident. Road courses haven’t been his friend this year, as emphasized by his worst finish of the season at Circuit of The Americas (31st) back in March. Turns out his best day in New York happened long before he made it to the track.
What’s next: Two starts at Dover have not boded well for Hocevar, with a 22nd-place finish, three laps down, in 2024 and a 35th-place DNF last year. The good news: He’s locked into the All-Star Race for the first time in his career thanks to his Talladega victory, so he’ll have better memories ahead in the First State.
2. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 8th
Finished: 21st
What happened: A rough patch for the No. 20 team continued Sunday as Bell fell outside the top 10 for the sixth time in the last seven races. Bell also exchanged words with Bubba Wallace after Sunday’s race, a moment captured by cameras at Watkins Glen.
What’s next: Bell is the defending All-Star Race winner, but that came at North Wilkesboro. Dover has been hit or miss for the No. 20 bunch, with top 10s in 2022 and 2023 but a DNF in 2024 and two spins from the front of the field in last year’s contest.
3. Hendrick Motorsports, Nos. 5, 9, 24, 48 Chevrolets
Started: Kyle Larson, 23rd; Chase Elliott, 27th; Alex Bowman, 28th; William Byron, 13th.
Finished: Kyle Larson, 23rd; Chase Elliott, 24th; Alex Bowman, 25th; William Byron, 36th.
What happened: Hendrick Motorsports struggled as a whole this weekend at Watkins Glen, never establishing itself as a true threat to Shane van Gisbergen. In fact, most of the Chevrolet teams — like Trackhouse Racing and Spire Motorsports — managed to outperform Hendrick, Chevrolet’s typical standard bearer. Byron got the worst of it despite showing perhaps the organization’s best speed throughout the weekend. His No. 24 Chevrolet was sent spinning in the inner loop in the midfield and was struck by another car, breaking a toe link and plummeting Byron to a 36th-place finish, three laps down.
What’s next: Hendrick cars have typically been great at Dover, and they’ll hope to show that again with their 2026 Chevrolet body this weekend. Chase Elliott is a two-time winner at the Monster Mile, while Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman each have one apiece. In fact, this is one of Bowman’s best tracks on the circuit, notching one win and six top fives and seven top 10s in his last eight Dover starts. A win for any of these four drivers Sunday would net them the $1 million prize.
