WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – There isn’t much Chris Buescher despises more than points racing. He purely wants to win.
But with less than two weeks remaining until the 2025 Cup Series Playoffs are set, Buescher found himself chasing points in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Scott Graves, crew chief of the No. 17 Ford, called an alternate strategy, putting Buescher in prime position to capitalize on points.
Passing Alex Bowman — another driver that needs coveted points — late in the opening stage propelled Buescher to his second stage victory of the season. Graves kept the No. 17 car out at the end of the stage, hoping to run deep in the second stage to make it to the end of the race, making two pit stops as opposed to the bulk of the field doing three stops. Buescher faded quickly to begin Stage 2, so when a caution flew on Lap 28, it was the opportunity for him to pit for fresh Goodyear tires.
Enough drivers opted not to flip Stage 2 to where Buescher didn’t score any stage points. He remained on the track until Lap 54 before making his second and final pit stop.
Pitting at the edge of their fuel window, Buescher was able to cycle out of the pits in a heated battle with William Byron and Ryan Blaney. The No. 17 car passed them both and was in position to finish runner-up, a country mile behind Shane van Gisbergen. Christopher Bell made a late rally, passing Buescher on the final lap, dropping to third.
“It’s a tough decision, but unfortunately it’s the box we’re in, having to manage the two sides of it,” Graves told NASCAR.com. “A win would fix everything and, as fast as we were, who knows if we had just played the full-on race strategy, we might have had something for them. It’s hard to say.
“We got a ton of points, won a stage, third-place finish — it’s a lot of points. We gained back to the 48, cut that deficit close to half and put some points on [Ryan Preece]. We just have to keep digging. Get through these next few weeks and keep trying.”
The 44 points earned by Buescher ranked second for the race, trailing Blaney’s 45. He remains on the playoff bubble with two races remaining in the regular season, sitting 34 points ahead of RFK Racing teammate Preece [gained 11 points at Watkins Glen]. With potential wild card events looming at Richmond Raceway and Daytona International Speedway, should there be a new winner from below the elimination line, the battle would be for the next position not held on points, currently held by Alex Bowman. With Bowman finishing 20th on Sunday, Buescher gained 14 points, just 26 points behind.
“At the end of the day, the next two weeks need to be solid weeks,” Buescher added. “We need to go there, bring fast Mustangs —and we need to win. I keep spewing the same line because I certainly hate points racing. While it didn’t give us a bad result by any means today, you have to think it hinders your best opportunity to win. It’s the situation we’re in — we get it.”
Preece faded to 13th at the checkered flag on older tires. Dropping further behind the playoff bubble was a bummer for the northeast native, but he also is focused on winning.
“You can definitely manage those expectations, but I [expletive] hate losing, so it’s hard to do that,” Preece said. I want to go to Richmond, and I want to [expletive] do everything it takes to win. A lot of passion with racing, so it’s nice to be in the position where I’m racing again.”
Buescher has visited Victory Lane at each of the final two race tracks to conclude the regular season, both coming in 2023.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Shane Van Gisbergen claimed his fourth NASCAR Cup Series road-course victory of the season Sunday afternoon and second win of more than 10 seconds on the field … and he made it look effortless.
The 36-year-old New Zealander led a race-best 38 of 90 laps – including the final 17 – at the historic Watkins Glen International circuit in picturesque upstate New York, his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet officially crossing the finish line by 11.116 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
Van Gisbergen, a former Australian SuperCars Series multi-time champion, joins racing legend Dan Gurney in scoring his first five career NASCAR Cup Series victories on road courses, and he did it the same weekend as his Trackhouse team announced his multiyear 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.”
Van Gisbergen, in his first full-time season at NASCAR’s elite level, has been essentially unstoppable on the road courses. His four victories on the year – also at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma – gives him the rookie win record and he now ties perennial championship contender Denny Hamlin for most victories in the series this year.
For all intents and purposes, when it comes to this style of racing, his competition judges itself on how close it can come to him.
“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 the runner-up position. “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.”
The third-place finish for Chris Buescher, who edged Van Gisbergen for the win at Watkins Glen in 2024, still registered as a good day as far as his championship chances are concerned. The driver of the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford holds onto the final playoff position — by 34 points over RFK teammate Ryan Preece — among the 16 drivers currently eligible for the playoff field.
Two regular-season races now remain — at Richmond (Va.) Raceway next weekend and the Aug. 23 finale at Daytona International Speedway.
“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.”
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, the Regular Season Championship leader, finished fourth in the No. 24 Chevrolet. That showing — coupled with his teammate Chase Elliott’s 26th-place finish — extended Byron’s lead in the points standings to 42 over Elliott. This marks the first time this season Elliott has finished outside the top 20.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe finished fifth in the No. 19 JGR Toyota, making a last-lap pass on race pole-sitter, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Van Gisbergen’s teammate Daniel Suárez was seventh, followed by 23XI Racing teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain rounded out the top 10.
Thirteen drivers have automatic playoff bids by virtue of a regular-season win. Reddick, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman and Buescher round out the 16 drivers provisionally eligible for the playoffs on the basis of points.
Preece and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (-102 points) are just below the cutoff line. A new race winner at the Richmond short track or the Daytona Beach superspeedway, however, could drastically alter the playoff picture.
Kyle Larson, a two-time Watkins Glen winner, was knocked from contention early after a Lap 6 spin in the 90-degree first turn. Larson said his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was plagued by a brake issue, and the car went to the Cup Series garage for repairs. Larson finished last in the 39-car field, 15 laps down.
The Cup Series’ next race is the Cook Out 400, scheduled Saturday night at Richmond Raceway (7:30 ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage at Watkins Glen was completed without issue, confirming van Gisbergen as the race winner.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson went behind the wall with brake issues after just six laps in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Racing mid-pack after qualifying 26th, Larson went for a spin entering the 90-degree Turn 1, immediately radioing to his team, “I got no brakes.”
Crew chief Cliff Daniels called him down pit road, where the two-time Watkins Glen winner gingerly brought his No. 5 Chevrolet in for service. He went behind the wall moments later as Daniels said the team needed to change a brake line over the radio.
Larson spent the conclusion of Stage 1 behind the wall before rejoining the race under caution at Lap 22.
“Incredibly unfortunate because I really wish that it would’ve shown up yesterday, or at any point sooner than five laps into the start of the race,” Daniels told NASCAR.com. “When we came in and realized how much brake fluid was coming out of the lines in that area, we just took our next steps to get it replaced, get it fixed, get the brakes bled and get the car back out there.
“Certainly a lot more assessment that we’ll need to do at the shop, pick it apart and figure out exactly what the root cause was.”
Larson returned to the race at Lap 22 during the caution ending Stage 1. Coming back on track at 16 laps down, he earned the free pass eight laps later during a debris yellow and finished 15 circuits behind.
Still, the No. 5 team had more to gain. Daniels explained the need to build their notebook and practice pit strategy with just two races remaining in the regular season. Larson even earned the point for the Xfinity Fastest Lap, throwing down a heater of 73.2 seconds around the 2.45-mile road course.
“It’s nice that we got the fast lap,” Daniels said. “The luster of it has gone away a little bit for us because we’ve had to do that twice now at road courses (Sonoma), but still a good team exercise to do. Kyle stayed dug in, the team stayed dug in and salvaged the best that we could.”
With a last-place finish, Larson dropped from 45 points behind teammate William Byron to 85 below, essentially ending his hopes at the Regular Season Championship. Three of the last five races have resulted in finishes of 28th or worse for the 2021 Cup Series champion, who is riding an inconsistent stretch since failing to complete the Double back in May.
But as Richmond Raceway awaits on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), a place that Larson’s won twice, Daniels invites the naysayers.
“There’s not a whole lot to be said about right now, other than we’re just not getting the results,” Daniels said. “We’re going to keep building on the momentum that we have as a group: our operation, our chemistry and all the things that we’ve been kind of fostering and growing this year.
“Never bet against yourself, and just being realistic about where we are, the fact that we have shown up with speed the last handful of weeks, I’m really hopeful that people count us out.”
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — A pair of overlooked road-course racers, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman enter Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) in opposite points positions with just three races remaining until the 16-driver postseason field is set.
A two-time series champion, Busch heads to the Finger Lakes sitting minus-73 to the elimination line, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. It’s been 80 races since the last time the 40-year-old wound up in Victory Lane, the longest streak of his career, and he’s on a streak of 11 races without leading a lap.
But Busch heads to The Glen with a glimmer of optimism.
“Rowdy” owns two wins in the Finger Lakes (2008, 2013), and, statistically speaking, road courses have been Busch’s best track type in 2025 with top 10s in three of the four such races this year. The pinnacle nearly came at Circuit of The Americas in March, when the Richard Childress Racing driver led 42 laps and nearly held off Christopher Bell for what would’ve been a loud return to the winner’s circle.
Instead, the Las Vegas native looks to channel similar magic as his postseason hopes likely hinge on a win between now and Daytona in three weeks.
“Not real sure, just it’s kind of worked out that way for us,” Busch said Saturday when asked about his road-course racing success in 2025. “It’s just road courses are a little bit of an anomaly where it’s just a lot of inconsistencies in finishes and runs and what guys do towards the end of those races and the crashes they cause, so you just got to stay on track.
“You just race. Race the race and let it play out. Richmond’s one of my best places, statistically. Would like to think that we could be good there. Austin (Dillon, defending race winner) had a great race car there last year, and then Daytona has always been great for us at RCR with the speed that we’ve carried there each time.”
Busch’s six wins at the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway are the second most of any track in his career (only to Bristol Motor Speedway with nine), and 10 of his last 13 starts there have resulted in top 10s. But with the speed the No. 8 driver has shown on the road, it’s certainly possible the Cup veteran finds his way into the mix as the laps wind down at The Glen.
On the other side of the coin, Bowman heads to The Glen at plus-63 above the bubble, where he’s safe … for now.
With Watkins Glen’s wild-card nature, a new winner — other than Tyler Reddick (already a near-lock at plus-122) — would significantly complicate the playoff picture for the No. 48 team. A lack of consistency oftentimes plagues the 32-year-old, but since a hard crash at Michigan that left the Hendrick Motorsports driver with back pain, he’s gotten hot. Over the last eight races, Bowman’s scored 11th or better in seven of them, calculating to an average finish of 8th — second best in the series during that span.
The 2024 Chicago Street Course winner, Bowman’s career average finish at road courses is 14.9 and he has top 10s in three of the four events this season, including fourth at Mexico City in June.
Bowman described his points position as “stressful” on Saturday at Watkins Glen. Along with Sonoma, he explained, Watkins Glen is his worst road course with no finish better than 14th in eight total starts; his numbers favoring the newer road courses on the circuit. And although he’s won at Richmond in the past, parlayed with Daytona as the regular-season finale, it amplifies the importance of Sunday’s 90-lapper at The Glen.
“You have to expect [a new winner] in the situation that we’re in,” Bowman said. “It’s three not-great race tracks for us. We’ve won at Richmond before, but we’ve been extremely hit-or-miss there over the years. We’re either really good or really bad every time that we’re there, so hopefully, we’re on the really good side of that. And Daytona, just got to put yourself in position to be there at the end.
“This one (Watkins Glen) is tough. I felt like I figured out how to make a little bit of pace last year, but still, passing is really difficult. I think we’re in a position where we have to take stage points, which makes winning this race extremely difficult … I don’t know if I just kind of adapted to the places that guys don’t have 20-year notebooks at. But shoot, I’ve been coming here for 10 years now, so, I don’t know. (Watkins Glen and Sonoma) have just been tough on me.”
Both Busch and Bowman will start Sunday’s race with track position, rolling off fifth and seventh, respectively, with major playoff implications up for grabs in the quaint northeastern town.
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) marks the first of just three races remaining until the 16-driver postseason field is finalized.
For championship contenders, the annual trip to Upstate New York is a key opportunity to chase playoff points and improve their standing before the 10-race fight for the Bill France Cup commences Labor Day Weekend at Darlington Raceway. But for others, the seven-turn road course nestled in the Finger Lakes presents one of the final opportunities to score a playoff-altering victory.
Shane van Gisbergen is the obvious favorite, heading to The Glen with three consecutive Cup Series road course wins in his pocket — all from the pole. According to NASCAR Insights, SVG leads the field in overall speed, long run speed and passing at road courses in the Next Gen car, while he’s also second in defense and sixth in restarts. The Kiwi displayed his restart prowess in the closing laps last year at Watkins Glen, going two-for-one in an overtime re-fire to take the lead in Turn 1.
But in a rare slip-up on the final lap, Chris Buescher snuck past SVG in the Carousel to earn his first and only victory of the season — which, unfortunately for him, came after already missing the playoffs.
Returning to Watkins Glen as the defending winner, the RFK Racing driver is again in jeopardy of missing the field of 16 postseason competitors. Finishing 22nd last week at Iowa, Buescher holds the 16th and final playoff spot by just 23 markers over teammate Ryan Preece. Road courses historically treat the No. 17 group well, as Buescher sits tied with Tyler Reddick for a series-best 15 top 10s in 21 Next Gen races. He’s the only driver with top 10s at The Glen in each of the last three seasons.
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger is an underdog favorite this weekend as the 2014 Watkins Glen winner finds himself in a must-win position to make the playoffs. With a 10.8 average finish, The Glen is statistically Allmendinger’s best track on the circuit, the number placing him third amongst active drivers and ninth all time. According to NASCAR Insights, he’s top 10 in all five major categories in Next Gen road course races, making him an obvious threat to steal a playoff spot from the RFK Racing brigade.
A winner at the Indy Road Course in 2023, Michael McDowell is always a road course threat. He led the first 31 laps this year in the Chicago streets before a mechanical issue ended his day, but heads to New York with top fives pocketed in Mexico City and Sonoma. The Arizona native led laps in each of the last three races at The Glen, and according to NASCAR Insights, McDowell ranks as the best defender in Next Gen road course races. A win Sunday could most certainly be in the cards — and it would dramatically change the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team’s season.
But aside from SVG, according to Racing Insights, the heaviest favorites to bowl a strike at The Glen already sit atop the regular-season standings. Points leader William Byron can extend his Regular Season Championship lead over teammates Chase Elliott (minus-18) and Kyle Larson (minus-45) with a strong showing on Sunday, but it won’t be easy; the three have combined to win five of the last six races at the 2.45-mile road course. Elliott won in 2018 and 2019 before Larson nabbed back-to-back wins of his own in 2021 and 2022. A year later, Byron finally cashed in.
Last year’s opening round playoff race at Watkins Glen had just two of the 16 playoff-eligible drivers finish inside the top 11. If that’s any indication of what Sunday’s 90-lapper could bring, we’re in for a wild weekend at the world-famous road course.
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: SVG’s batting .400 with four Cup Series road course wins in 10 starts. A win Sunday would tie Chase Elliott for second all time with four consecutive road course wins (only to Jeff Gordon’s six), but more importantly, give the Trackhouse Racing driver an additional points cushion with the playoffs on the horizon.
KYLE LARSON: The 2021 Cup Series champion is responsible for two road course wins in the last eight races, but an average finish of 29th in four starts this year is third worst in the series. That said, he still ranks inside the top 10 of all five NASCAR Insights Next Gen road course categories and has a pair of Watkins Glen wins to his name.
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Allmendinger’s first of three Cup Series wins came at The Glen in 2014, and the Californian has finished sixth or better in six of his last 11 road course starts. He’s earned 11 top 10 finishes on lefts and rights since 2022, sixth best in the series, and that includes a pair of part-time seasons.
TY GIBBS: The winner of the inaugural In-Season Challenge has only trended up this summer, finishing inside the top 15 in seven of the last nine. Gibbs finished second in Chicago and has five top fives in the last 11 road course races. The No. 54 driver also owns an Xfinity Series win at The Glen.
DENNY HAMLIN: The longtime Joe Gibbs Racing driver certainly doesn’t light up road courses too often, but he’s found by far the most success at Watkins Glen. Hamlin’s lone road course win came in New York nine years ago and he has five top fives at the track in the last eight races. The native Virginian also scored two of the last six WGI poles.
KYLE BUSCH: The two-time Cup Series champion has been most consistent on road courses in 2025, earning top 10s in three of four races this year with a near-win at COTA. He’s a former winner at The Glen (2008, 2013) and is second all time with 249 laps led, only needing 13 to tie Jeff Gordon’s record.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula incorporates current track, track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to predict a projected winner and provide full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.
Track: Watkins Glen International Location: Watkins Glen, New York Track length: 2.45 miles When: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET Where to tune in: USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App Race purse: $9,797,935 Race distance: 90 laps | 220.5 miles Stages: 20 | 40 | 90 Defending winner: Chris Buescher, September 2024 Starting lineup: Ryan Blaney scores surprise pole
Pressure rises at The Glen as regular season winds down
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Only three races remain before the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin. Some drivers are chasing a Regular Season Championship. Some are still vying for one of the potential three spots still available in the postseason field.
But in New York’s Finger Lakes region Sunday afternoon, all will be chasing victory in the Go Bowling at The Glen.
William Byron currently holds the lead in the season standings by 18 points over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. But while the hunt for the regular-season title persists, Byron is also carrying a playoff-centric mindset into the Watkins Glen weekend, with the 2.45-mile road course featured ahead of the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway and 2.5-mile superspeedway at Daytona International Speedway.
“I look at it as this is kind of its own three-race round right here, so good preparation for us,” Byron said Saturday. “As unpredictable as Watkins Glen, Richmond and Daytona can be, it’s honestly not much different than the Round of 8. You’ve got Talladega in there this year, so it could be a lot like this stretch.”
The New York course features a signature downhill drop into the 90-degree, right-handed Turn 1 before a 120-foot climb twists drivers through the esses. Both are key areas of the track — but in two entirely different ways.
“Your lap time and your speed is going to come from the esses and the bus-stop (chicane),” Michael McDowell said. “But you don’t pass so much there. You pass into Turn 1 and you pass into Turn 6. And so for practice, you’re focusing on both what do I need to make ultimate lap time, and am I good in these areas leading up to the passing zones? So it is unique from that standpoint. Where some of the other tracks are more straightforward of where you need to be strong, this, I think, is different for lap time than it is for the race.”
Unlike Byron, McDowell needs a victory to propel him into the postseason. Road courses have been the veteran’s strongest suit, but the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet also won the 2021 Daytona 500, meaning Sunday isn’t his last chance to make a playoff run. Don’t tell that to him, though: The urgency for the No. 71 team couldn’t be higher.
“It’s do or die, for sure,” McDowell said. “I mean, yes, we have more opportunities. I mean, we can go to Richmond and run well too. Obviously, Daytona, I feel like we have a shot, but to me, this is the only way you control your own destiny is to win here. The other two are very tough to execute and have everything go your way. Time’s winding down, as you guys know, and the pressure always ramps up as the time’s winding down. But I’ve been in this spot before, and yeah, definitely feel confident that our road-course program’s been really good.”
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
On the surface, strategizing for a road-course race might seem cut and dry: Sacrifice track position and collect the stage points, or pit before the stages end, restart up front and go after the win.
But as Spire Motorsports crew chief Travis Peterson explained, too many variables can turn the best laid plans upside down.
“I don’t think any of the road courses are straightforward, and it’s just because there’s so many options,” Peterson, the crew chief for Michael McDowell, told NASCAR.com. “What it seems like to me is it comes down to more what everybody chooses to do than it does, ‘what’s the correct answer.’ Yeah, you may be on the right plan, but if everybody else does something different, at some point, you’re gonna be off-strategy and lose all your track position, and then what do you do? So that part of it makes it tough.”
Crew chief Alan Gustafson twice led Chase Elliott to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen, doing so in both 2018 and 2019. Part of the trick is committing to one strategy early. The other part is remaining adaptable when circumstances change.
“I think you just have to make a decision,” Gustafson told NASCAR.com. “If you feel like you’ve got a legitimate opportunity to win the race, then you kind of sell out for that. If you don’t feel as good about it and an opportunity comes to get points — it’s just so tough. I know the race in the fall, all the top cars really went to get points, and then they get buried back there. It’s just so hard to make it up through.”
Last year’s contest took place as part of the Cup Series Playoffs. Multiple contenders incurred trouble, but those who didn’t opt to score stage points instead of chasing the win and were unable to pass their way back to the front of the field. Though some drivers are still searching for points, the outlook is expected to be different this weekend.
“There’s less people in a points scenario this time,” Peterson said. “However, there are guys near the cutline and there are guys going for regular-season championships. That played a huge factor to last (year’s) Watkins Glen because almost everybody in the playoffs went for stage points and allowed people outside behind that to flip the stage and get them. So how everybody plays that out, I think, is going to be interesting, and it’s going to be a very different dynamic than last year.”
Someone who hasn’t won yet this season may do so on Sunday. According to Racing Insights, seven of the 17 Next Gen road-course races in the regular season were won by a driver ranked 16th or worse in the playoff standings.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
TY GIBBS. Gibbs has been a threat in each of this summer’s road races, leading 27 laps at Mexico City before finishing 11th, then notching a runner-up result on the Chicago Street Course and placing seventh at Sonoma Raceway. Gibbs posted the fourth-quickest lap in Saturday’s practice session and will start 14th in search of his first career Cup win.
Fantasy update
NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.
Many of the top road-course drivers were again towards the top of the scoring pylon on Saturday at Watkins Glen, though Ryan Blaney scored an upset pole award. William Byron led the way on 10- and 15-lap averages in practice. Kyle Larson was also sporty on long-run pace, but will start 27th Sunday. Chase Elliott is also mired back in 20th at the start. I’m leaving my lineup the same as it was earlier in the week, though I flirted with the idea of replacing Elliott with Chase Briscoe, who turned in another strong qualifying effort and finished runner-up at Sonoma Raceway last month. Given where Elliott is in the regular-season championship battle, I’m banking on the No. 9 team chasing stage points.
Lineup: Shane van Gisbergen, William Byron, Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher.
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• NASCAR at Watkins Glen: Key info, practice reports and more from doubleheader weekend | Read more
• Smith still angry at Hocevar: No. 38 Front Row racer unloads after Iowa contact | Read more
• Hill maintains innocence: Austin Hill shares perspective on Indy incident in NASCAR.com exclusive | Read more
• Chastain: ‘We’ve been slow’: No. 1 Trackhouse team eyeing quick turnaround before playoffs | Read more • Racing Insights: Where your favorite driver is projected to finish Sunday | Read more
• Field of 16: Last chance for McDowell, Allmendinger to burst playoff bubble | Read more • Turning Point to The Glen: Has Byron plowed his path to a regular-season title? | Read more
• At-track photos: Scenes, sights from New York’s Finger Lakes | View gallery
• Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh looks twisting through Watkins Glen | View gallery
• Power Rankings: Chris Buescher’s time to strike at The Glen | This week’s top 20
Connor Zilisch was taken to a local hospital for treatment of a broken collarbone after falling from his car in Victory Lane, just after his win in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Zilisch’s injuries forced him to miss Sunday’s Cup Series race, the Go Bowling at The Glen. Trackhouse Racing announced Saturday night that it would withdraw Zilisch’s No. 87 Chevrolet entry, wishing their driver a speedy recovery.
Zilisch was at Watkins Glen on Sunday, shown with his arm in a sling during an interview with USA Network’s crew during Stage 1. He again thanked the emergency responders, recounting his view of the incident.
“I was climbing out of the car, and obviously the window net was on the door and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped and the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling,” Zilisch said, “so glad it wasn’t any worse and that the collarbone the extent of the injuries, but I hate I couldn’t make it to the race today and give myself a shot to get a good result for Trackhouse and Red Bull.”
On Saturday, Zilisch led 60 of the 82 laps in the Mission 200, registering his sixth win of the Xfinity Series season. His celebration was abbreviated as he emerged from his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet when he suddenly fell to the ground below, losing his footing as he made a triumphant pose on the door and roof of the car.
Medical personnel at the track placed the 19-year-old driver on a backboard, and he was loaded into an ambulance for transport to the care center at the track. The CW broadcast reported that Zilisch was alert and speaking with the safety crew.
NASCAR Communications officials later announced that Zilisch was awake and alert, but that he would be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. JR Motorsports posted later Saturday evening that Zilisch had been released.
Zilisch posted to social media Saturday night about the nature of his injuries, indicating that his collarbone was broken and sharing his appreciation for the rapid response of safety personnel.
Thank you everybody for reaching out today. I’m out of the hospital and getting better already. Thankfully, CT scans for my head are clear, I just have a broken collarbone. Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.❤️
Zilisch was slated to make his fourth career Cup Series start in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen, the site of his first Xfinity Series victory last September.
Zilisch leads the Xfinity Series in both wins and points in his rookie year. His victory at The Glen broke a tie atop the standings with JRM teammate Justin Allgaier, the defending series champion.
The Xfinity Series resumes Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway, giving Zilisch an extra week to recover before the circuit’s next race. In terms of his readiness to return, Zilisch hedged when asked by USA Sports about his timetable. He did, however, mention a related story from teammate Shane van Gisbergen, who had a plate and screws inserted to remedy a broken collarbone after a mountain biking incident in March 2021.
“We’re still working with all the doctors to figure out what’s going to be the next steps, but I’ve got a little motivation from Shane, my teammate,” Zilisch said. “He had a plate put in and raced the weekend after, so I don’t know if I’ll be that quick but hopefully my young bones will heal fast and I’ll be able to get back in it as soon as possible.”
Zilisch missed a race earlier this year after suffering a lower back injury in a final-lap crash at Talladega Superspeedway in April. The injury forced him out of the Xfinity Series’ event at Texas Motor Speedway, where Cup Series regular Kyle Larson subbed in and drove his No. 88 Chevrolet to victory.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — It was as hard-earned a victory as the 19-year-old Connor Zilisch has claimed in his brief NASCAR career — answering his win from pole position a year ago in his Xfinity Series debut at the historic Watkins Glen International road course with a second consecutive victory Saturday afternoon in a crash-heavy Mission 200 at The Glen.
As Zilisch climbed out of the cockpit and onto the door ledge of his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to celebrate his series-best sixth trophy of the season, he slipped and fell to the ground. Medical teams arrived immediately to tend to him and transported him on a backboard to the trackside medical center.
NASCAR confirmed Zilisch was “awake and alert” and that he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Later, Trackhouse Racing announced Zilisch would miss Sunday’s Cup race because of a broken collarbone.
The incident followed an action-packed day of competition on the famed 2.45-mile road course that included fierce racing at the front of the field and a 45-minute red flag for a series’ track record 16-car accident with eight laps remaining.
Ultimately, Zilisch — who led 60 of the race’s 82 laps — motored off to a 2.326-second win over Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer — that sixth win one shy of Christopher Bell’s rookie record set in 2018.
It was an afternoon of high drama throughout the field.
The highly anticipated competitive duel between the JRM teammates Zilisch and road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen at the front of the field was evident from the weekend’s practice and qualifying — and ultimately the race. Zilisch claimed the pole position and started alongside the 36-year-old former Australian Supercars champion on the front row; something that has become a familiar look for the road racing aces.
For much of the day, it looked like the final outcome would indeed come down to Zilisch and van Gisbergen. They raced out front for the majority of the day before making contact with 18 laps remaining.
Zilisch inherited the lead and immediately relayed to his crew, “he [van Gisbergen] spun off my nose” and told his crew again, “if I wrecked him, tell me.” He was told to “shake it off” and go racing.
Van Gisbergen, who will start from outside the front row again in Sunday’s Cup Series race at the track, did not put any blame on Zilisch and said he needed to look at a replay.
“Pretty gutted really, gutted for the JR Motorsports guys,’’ van Gisbergen said. “The car wasn’t great but we still managed to get ourselves in good position.
“I haven’t seen it yet,’’ he said when pressed on what happened. “Will watch it later and work it out.’’
On the ensuing green flag from the incident, Austin Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevy tagged the right rear of Zilisch’s car going into the first turn, giving the veteran Hill the lead as Zilisch gathered his car wide of the racing line. A caution came out immediately for debris elsewhere on track, putting Hill and Cup Series road racing ace Michael McDowell out front for a restart.
Only eight laps after that, Zilisch raced forward from fifth place and navigated around Hill. Moments later, Hill’s car had big contact with McDowell’s, triggering the massive 16-car pileup.
McDowell, the 2021 Daytona 500 winner, took the most dramatic hit in the big accident, sliding hard into the walls on both sides of the Turns 5 and 6 section of the course. Despite the stirring incident in his first Xfinity Series start in nine years, McDowell was not injured, however, and gave a complete review of the incident, even offering a smile.
“That was unfortunate and I just hate it for everybody at Kaulig Racing,’’ McDowell said of the crash. “We had a couple shots at it and was hoping to get to Victory Lane but that was unfortunate. … But that’s racing and thankful to everybody at Kaulig. Was trying to do a good job for them there.”
Hill, who ultimately finished fourth, spoke with The CW television live broadcast during the red flag.
“The 11 [McDowell] had been struggling a little bit in front of me for a few laps,’’ Hill said of the incident. “I thought if I got a big enough run I might could get to his left side and get that position.
“I hate it for everyone involved, that was definitely not what I wanted to happen coming back from what we had going on,’’ continued Hill. “All we can do is get it behind us, put our head down and we’ve still got a shot to win this thing. Got to get my mind right for this re-start.’’
Zilisch’s JRM teammate Sammy Smith finished third, followed by Hill and JRM’s Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier.
Jordan Anderson Racing’s Austin Green, Kaulig Racing’s Christian Eckes, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones and AM Racing’s Harrison Burton rounded out the top 10.
Three races remain now before the playoffs. Zilisch and his teammate Allgaier — who each won a race stage on Saturday and remain atop the championship standings. Zilisch leads Allgaier by seven points.
With his 10th-place showing, Burton is holding on to the important 12th-place playoff transfer position. He is 30 points ahead of his cousin Jeb Burton and 38 points up on Ryan Sieg.
The Xfinity Series will take a one-week break next weekend before returning to competition in the Friday night Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ryan Truex is the defending race winner.
NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage concluded without issue, confirming Zilisch as the race winner.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – A week removed from a one-race suspension that kept him sidelined at Iowa, Austin Hill found himself involved in another controversial crash in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Battling for second at Lap 74, Hill ran wide through the exit of Turn 5 and contacted Michael McDowell, driving for Kaulig Racing in a one-off, into the left-side Armco barrier. He cut across the track and into the other Armco barrier with his No. 11 Chevrolet briefly getting airborne before sliding back into traffic and collecting nine additional cars, including playoff contenders Ryan Sieg, Taylor Gray, Jesse Love and Jeb Burton, and necessitating a red flag for wall repairs.
Hill’s crash two weeks ago came in the waning moments at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when contact from Hill turned Aric Almirola entering Turn 4 after Almirola moved Hill in the previous corner. NASCAR officials penalized him by holding him on pit road for five laps for reckless driving and later suspended him a race for what they deemed an intentional crash, nullifying his 21 playoff points.
As he did after Indy, and echoed in a NASCAR.com exclusive Friday at Watkins Glen, Hill denied intentionally crashing Almirola. He held a similar tone standing on pit road following Saturday’s race in the Finger Lakes, taking blame for the Watkins Glen crash but explaining that he didn’t mean to turn McDowell.
“Just two guys going for it. Nothing malicious, as much as everybody wants to sit there and try to make it more than it is. It was just two guys racing it out,” Hill said post-race. “I was trying to get by the 88 [Connor Zilisch] as quick as I could because the 88 was driving away from us and thought that we could maybe have a shot at racing with him and racing for the win there. I had a massive run off the Carousel. I kind of thought I was trying to catch [McDowell] off guard and get to his left side.
“The grass was coming up in front of us. I had to get to the right. I was kind of hoping he was going to move to the right and kind of give me some room, and it just didn’t happen.
“But if everyone wants to blame me for it, I’ll take the blame for it. I mean, I could have lifted and lived to fight another corner, and unfortunately, that’s not what happened and it wrecked a lot of race cars. So didn’t want to come back from what we had going on the last two weeks and have this happen, but heck, it’s racing. I mean, things like this are going to happen.”
McDowell explained that Hill ran into his No. 11 the previous two laps through the Carousel and didn’t understand why the Richard Childress Racing driver was frustrated with him. He placed the blame for the pileup on Hill but was reluctant to jump to any conclusions about the intent of the incident.
“He turned me for sure. I mean, there is no way he was gonna get alongside me,” McDowell explained after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “I got around him cleanly on those restarts, and there at the end, like I said, I’ll have to get a better view of it. But to me, he wasn’t alongside me. Just got to my rear bumper, turned me sideways.
“I’m not talking like he intentionally hooked me. He doesn’t need a penalty for that. Just, there was no way he was gonna finish the pass there, and he just made a decision not to lift and to turn me — but that’s not the same as a right-rear hook at an oval. That’s not what I’m saying, so I don’t want that to be communicated. I don’t want that to be the headline.”
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
Richard Childress Racing and Kaulig Racing both operate out of the same campus in Welcome, North Carolina, and share a strategic alliance between the companies. Kaulig president Chris Rice didn’t jump to any conclusions on the wreck specifically in a post-race interview with NASCAR.com but explained that similar incidents need to get cleaned up moving forward.
“They’re uncalled for wrecks and it’s things that is nobody’s fault,” Rice told NASCAR.com. “I don’t know. I wasn’t driving. I wasn’t in it. Sad because we come from the same campus, and you know, it’s probably a $200,000 wreck.
“When you look at it from an owner’s side, it’s a lot of money. You gotta make decisions, and sometimes, decisions are wrong. And I can go back and watch it 50 different times and I’m gonna be on our side, right?”
Moving forward, Hill said he believed there isn’t any bad blood between him and McDowell, but both parties said they would like to talk with each other to put the incident to rest. McDowell said he isn’t one to judge mistakes from a driver and wants to have the conversation to understand Hill’s perspective of a crash that reminded him of 2014 — a wreck McDowell had in the exact same spot driving the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing entry 11 years ago.
But with three races remaining in the regular season and Daytona International Speedway up next (Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), he’s ready to begin focusing on the impending playoffs at a track where Hill has won three times in eight starts, with the playoffs set to begin Sept. 12 at Bristol.
“We kind of showed that this 21 group — no matter all the outside noise, people talking in the garage, what have you — all that is chatter,” Hill said. “It doesn’t bring us down any at all. So we’re going to keep digging deep for these next few races, get ready for the playoffs and try to put it on them.”
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Zane Smith is angry at how the last month has gone for his No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team.
In each of the last four weeks, Smith has been collected in crashes not of his own doing. His tipping point came last week at Iowa Speedway, when Carson Hocevar lost control of his car to Smith’s left as they entered Turn 1, washing up the banking and directly into Smith’s left rear. Smith spun and backed hard into the SAFER barrier, later seemingly expressing his frustration by taking an apparent swipe of his own at Hocevar’s car.
After the Iowa race, Smith’s crew chief, Ryan Bergenty, confronted Hocevar to express his displeasure after the contact. One week later, in the Watkins Glen International garage Saturday morning, Smith left no room for error: He is not a Carson Hocevar fan.
“I personally can’t go have a conversation with him without getting a $75,000 fine,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “Yeah, he’s just a dumb [expletive]. That’s just how it is.”
For reference, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 after throwing a punch at Kyle Busch following the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race. Hocevar confirmed Saturday he did not attempt to reach out to Smith, who was his teammate at Spire Motorsports in 2024.
“Why would I give a you-know-what to reach out?” Hocevar said. “He took a swing, and if he wrecks me, then that’s cool, but I don’t know. He already took a swing. And, I mean, what’s the point? His tire guy or whoever wanted to get all in our face, which I thought was hilarious. So yeah, I mean, I wrecked him, which is cool — or which is what it is, right? He had the opportunity to take it back in his own hands, and he missed.”
Hocevar’s reputation precedes him. From Smith to Stenhouse Jr. to Ryan Preece and others, Hocevar has made numerous enemies throughout the NASCAR Cup Series this season alone. The 22-year-old sophomore driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet has shown no signs of changing, leaning into his personality. His personal vehicle is a Dale Earnhardt-inspired Chevrolet pickup truck. His social media posts poke fun at adversity thrown his way, most recently during a rash of cautions late in Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race when he posted on X.
i am currently watching all these wrecks. so i apologize. i feel guilty by association. will do better moving forward.
Smith has run out of patience for Hocevar’s antics, if he had any to begin with.
“I think that the media feeds into him trying to play this like, ‘Intimidator’ role, but then he’ll act like he’s your buddy, and then just be an idiot on social media,” Smith said. “I was teammates with him, and everyone at that race shop, everyone in this garage, realizes he’s an idiot.”
Through the anger, Smith and his crew are trying to find positives. Spins triggered late at Sonoma, Dover and Indianapolis in the three weeks before Iowa cost the team an estimated 51 points, Bergenty said.
Those incidents have been so costly because the No. 38 Ford has been running toward or inside the top 10 at the time of the crashes.
“We’re coming off a month of not good finishes at the disposal of other things,” Bergenty told NASCAR.com. “But I can argue that I felt we should have been running top 12 in the last 20% of all those races. So it’s been a really hard month emotionally, but he’s kept his head in a good place. …
“This sport will chew you up real quick. I feel like I’ve been through a lot of the chewing-up phases in my career. So I’ve just tried to, this week, spend time with the guys and explain to them how you’ve got to stay true to the process and keep doing what we’re doing because I do feel like if you just get back to the average position and finishes of the last month, we’re 60 to 70 points the other direction. It’s a kit. So the confidence of everybody’s still up, and I feel all right about it too.”
Watkins Glen was the site of a fifth-place finish for Smith last season. He’s hoping to replicate that with a different team in 2025.
“I had a great opportunity to win this race last year, which is awesome,” Smith said. “Finished inside the top five last year here. Probably one of my favorite race tracks, and just how this road course flows, I feel like. So yeah, I feel good about this year, and we’ve gotten our road course (program) dramatically better. Hopefully that applies today.”
