Posted on by Adam Fenwick

The great state of Massachusetts welcomes back the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this Saturday night with the running of the J&R Precast 150 at Seekonk Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

Saturday’s race marks the 14th time the Modified Tour will compete at the 0.333-mile asphalt oval located fewer than 20 minutes from Narragansett Bay. Matt Hirschman returns to Seekonk as the man to beat after winning the last three Modified Tour events at the track dating back to 2023.

In addition to Hirschman, other winners at Seekonk through the years include Reggie Ruggiero, Jerry Marquis, Chris Kopec, Ed Flemke Jr., Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Beers, Timmy Solomito, Doug Coby and Justin Bonsignore.

Tickets to Saturday’s J&R Precast 150 are available here. Below is everything you need to know before the fourth race of the 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season.

Seekonk Speedway
Matt Hirschman (60) has won the last three NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at Seekonk Speedway. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)

J&R Precast 150 at Seekonk Speedway

Matt Hirschman fans have many reasons to be excited about Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Seekonk Speedway.

Hirschman returns to Seekonk as the winner of the last three Modified Tour events at the track dating back to 2023. He’s the only driver to win at least three times at Seekonk and has also set fast time in qualifying the last three seasons at the 0.333-mile oval.

From a statistical standpoint, Hirschman is the obvious favorite to win the J&R Precast 150, but that doesn’t mean he won’t face stiff competition from a stacked field.

Leading that charge is the only other driver with multiple Modified Tour wins at Seekonk Speedway: Doug Coby. The six-time series champion will make his second start of the year in the No. 28 for Jett Motorsports at a track where he is a two-time winner.

Another notable name on the entry list for Saturday’s event is four-time Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore. He and the Ken Massa Motorsports team originally announced plans to skip both the Oxford Plains event (postponed due to weather) and Saturday’s race at Seekonk, but Bonsignore is entered and expected to compete this weekend.

No other driver entered in Saturday’s event has won at Seekonk in Modified Tour competition, but there are several with significant experience at the track. They include Jon McKennedy, who has competed at Seekonk several times through the years in other divisions and should be a contender Saturday night.

Stephen Kopcik, who has won the last two Modified Tour events (Martinsville Speedway and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park), could also be a contender Saturday night. The driver of the No. 21 for Wanick Motorsports finished second at Seekonk last year to Hirschman after a crash on the final lap took out several contenders.

Other notable entrants include Ron Silk, who has finished second to Kopcik in the last two series events, as well as Austin Beers, Patrick Emerling, Tyler Rypkema, Kyle Bonsignore, Mike Christopher Jr., Chase Dowling and Craig Lutz, among others. One driver, Jayden Harman, is scheduled to make his Modified Tour debut Saturday night at Seekonk.

The full entry list for Saturday’s race is available here.

Seekonk Speedway
Drivers line up prior to the J&R Precast 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at Seekonk Speedway on May 31, 2025. (Photo: Jaiden Tripi/NASCAR)

RACING REFERENCE:

Race J&R Precast 150
Date Saturday, May 16, 2026
Track Seekonk Speedway
Layout 0.333-mile asphalt oval
Location Seekonk, Massachusetts
Start time 8 p.m. ET
Laps 150
Posted Awards $106,132
Tickets Here
How to Watch FloRacing

SCHEDULE: Saturday, May 16: Practice from 2:45 – 3:30 p.m. ET … Final practice from 3:40 to 4:10 p.m. ET … American Racer Pole Award qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET … Start of the J&R Precast 150 at 8 p.m. ET (150 Laps / 49.95 Miles)

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Bob Katon J&R Pre-Cast 150 is limited to 28 starters including Provisional Positions.

RE-DRAW PROCEDURE: The fastest qualifier will spin the wheel to determine the number of drivers that will re-draw for their starting positions: 4,6,8 or 10 positions will re-draw. Once the fastest qualifier spins the wheel, NASCAR will have the various buckets ready to immediately start the re-draw procedure. Driver will re-draw in their qualifying order after qualifying has been completed (1 through 10, or however many are applicable). The pole position and/or any bonus point(s), if applicable, will be awarded to the fastest qualifier and will be the pole of record. If, due to adverse conditions, qualifying is canceled, the field will be set in accordance with the 2026 NASCAR Welen Modified Tour Rule Book. The re-draw procedure will still take place regardless of how the field is set.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is eight (8) tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by NASCAR Officials, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice tires during the event. The tire change rule is zero (0) tires, any position for the event.

Posted on by Staff Report

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has signed a multiyear contract extension with Hyak Motorsports to remain with the organization in the NASCAR Cup Series, the team announced Monday.

Stenhouse has driven the program’s No. 47 Chevrolet since 2020, earning two wins in his time there including a triumph in the 2023 Daytona 500. In a team release, Hyak says the extension “continues the organization’s commitment to building long-term stability and competitiveness as Hyak Motorsports continues to grow both on and off the track alongside Stenhouse.”

“Ricky has been a huge part of what we’re building at Hyak Motorsports, and we’re proud to continue this partnership for years to come,” team owner Gordon Smith said in a release. “He brings experience, leadership, and a competitive mindset every weekend, and we believe there’s still a lot ahead for this team with Ricky in the No. 47.”

MORE: Cup standings | Stenhouse through the years

Stenhouse, whose four career Cup victories have come on the superspeedways of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, has one top five and two top 10s through 12 races in 2026. Both season-best results came at Daytona (second) and Talladega (sixth).

“I’m thrilled to finally get this contract extension done,” Stenhouse said in a team release. “It’s something we’ve been working on for a while, and I’m really thankful to everyone at Hyak Motorsports, especially Gordon. His vision for this race team and the passion he brings to it every single day is special. A lot of people may not know Gordon that well yet, but he truly cares about motorsports, NASCAR, and this No. 47 team, and that shows in everything he does. Along with Gordon, (co-owners) Brad (Daugherty), Mark (Hughes), Ernie (Cope), and everyone at Hyak Motorsports, I feel like we’re continuing to improve week after week.

“It’s never easy being a single-car team, but the experience we’re gaining and the notebook we’re building is helping us get better and better. More than anything, this team feels like one big family. On and off the race track, we’re building something that has me really excited about the future of Hyak Motorsports and what we can accomplish together moving forward.”

A two-time champion in what is now known as the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Stenhouse has made the Cup Series’ postseason twice in his career, first in 2017 and again in 2023. Competing full-time since 2013, Stenhouse has four wins, 27 top fives and 65 top 10s in 484 career starts. He currently sits 27th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 90 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the final spot in the provisional 16-driver field for The Chase.

Posted on by Staff Report

J&R Precast 150

Seekonk Speedway

  • Entry list
Car No. Driver Team Crew Chief Chassis Mfg. Sponsor
1 Patrick Emerling USNE Motorsports Dale Hedquist LFR USNE Power
3 Tyler Rypkema BRE Racing Greg Fournier Boehler Racing J & R Pre-Cast; Northeast Drilling; SYP
05 Teddy Hodgdon IV Teddy Hodgdon Racing Ted Hodgdon FURY Race Cars Business Time Motorsports; The Landau Team of Re/Max; Montanari Fuel
8 John-Michael Shenette Eighty-Two Autosport Scott Morin LFR USNE Power Charlotte, Eighty-Two Services, Heintz Performance
9 Jayden Harman Wanick Motorsports Mark Harman Troyer Wanick Construction; Harman Funeral Home
15 Joey Cipriano III Fueled Up Motorsports Ryan Plourde FURY Race Cars J&R Pre-Cast Inc.; Dependable Energy; The Bass Plating Company
16 Ron Silk Haydt Yannone Racing Phil Moran FURY Race Cars Blue Mountain Machine; Future Homes
18 Ken Heagy Heagy Motorsports Greg Gorman FURY Race Cars Merkel Racing Engines
21 Stephen Kopcik Wanick Motorsports Nick Kopcik Troyer Wanick Construction Inc.; Newtown Pools
22 Kyle Bonsignore Kyle Bonsignore Cam Mcdermott FURY Race Cars ChawLew; MTT; Munn’s Auto; Penngrade Oil
28 Doug Coby Jett Motorsports John Mckenna LFR Nucar
31 Michael Christopher Jr. Elite Motorsports Eugene Orlando LFR Elite Towing; Elite Racing; Baker Racing
36 David Sapienza Sapienza Racing Greg Kleila Troyer Sapienza Enterprises; Eastport Feeds
44 Chase Dowling Tinio Racing Danny Gamache LFR S&S Paving; Harshaw Paving
46 Craig Lutz Goodie Racing Douglas Ogiejko FURY Race Cars Riverhead Building Supply
51 Justin Bonsignore Kenneth Massa Motorsports Ryan Stone FURY Race Cars Phoenix Communications Inc.
54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports Rick Kluth Troyer FX Caprara; USNE Power
56 Trevor Catalano Catalano Motorsports David Catalano Troyer USNE Power
58 Eric Goodale Goodie Motorsports Rob Hyer FURY Race Cars GAF Roofing; Riverhead Building Supply
60 Matt Hirschman Pee Dee Motorsports Mike Stein Troyer Bar Harbor Bank & Trust; Pee Dee Motorsports; Bristol Toyota
64 Austin Beers KLM Motorsports Ron Yuhas Troyer G&G Electrical Supply, Fastrack Electric, Lumiere Electrical, AP Marquadt & Sons, Dell Electric, Andrew James Interiors, Hugh
73 Paulie Hartwig III Hartwig Racing Bobby Geiger Jr LFR Jersey Shore Contracting; Velocita USA
79 Jonathan McKennedy Jonathan McKennedy Racing Patrick Walsh FURY Race Cars Stuarts Automotive; Christophers Towing; Levasseur HVAC, Leone’s Landscaping; Hillsboro Inc.; Central Mass Tree
82 Andrew Molleur DWR Racing Michael Molleur LFR Horton Ave Materials LLC
89 Matt Swanson Matt Swanson John Swanson FURY Race Cars Ceravolos Auto; Swanson GMC
95 Cory Plummer Apex Racing Jonah Gosnell Apex Race Cars Tucker’s Metal Fabrication & Welding; Apex Racecars; Croteau Machine; Shiny Rhino

 

Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — By no means does Austin Dillon consider himself a road-course ringer. In fact, it’s admittedly among his biggest racing flaws.

But Dillon has honed in on his craft, always looking to improve. He finally saw the fruits of his labor pay off with a respectable sixth-place effort in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen – his best showing ever when turning left and right in 47 starts.

“I’ve worked a really long time on my road-course racing – it has not been great,” Dillon told reporters upon exiting the No. 3 Chevrolet. “But for me, that was a huge day to be able to run up with those guys.”

MORE: Race results | Watkins Glen photos

Dillon took the initial green flag from 25th position. Looking for ways to find track position, Richard Boswell, second-year crew chief for the No. 3 bunch, called his driver to pit road earlier than any of its competitors at Lap 15.

The reward: track position. Dillon hung tough inside the top 10 for the entirety of Stage 2, collecting seven points in fourth place. His Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch wasn’t far behind – literally – in fifth, banking six points.

Boswell stayed on top of the in-race strategy throughout the 100-lap event. When Joey Logano’s tire carcass brought out the caution with 41 laps remaining, the No. 3 car was among the first cars in the pecking order to hit pit road. The objective for the rest of the race was to stretch the fuel tank to the finish line.

That’s what Dillon did while Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick weaved through traffic on fresher Goodyear rubber and a full tank of Sunoco fuel while making a pit stop under green-flag conditions. Though he stumbled after taking the checkered flag, the No. 3 car was sixth, third-best among drivers that pitted for the final time with 38 laps remaining.

“I did a good job saving,” Dillon said, giving himself a slap on the back. “I actually made it all the way back around, so I think we could have pushed a little harder. [Kyle Busch] pushed hard at the end and he surprised me into the bus stop. When he did that, I thought he must have saved earlier and then he ran out before us, so we were able to get him back at the line.

“Wish I would have gotten clear of [Chase Briscoe]; I think we would have finished in front of him, but it was going to be tough because he was going to push it hard when I went. He was trying to manage me in the mirror.”

Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch race at Watkins Glen.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Dillon admitted the out-of-nowhere vibe of the finish was unexpected, but not from a lack of effort.

He noted: “We were eighth on average in practice. We got out there in race pace today and felt really good. Richard Boswell did a good job calling me down pit road and running hard for three laps, got our track position and never gave it up.

“It’s surprising, but I’m not (surprised) from the amount of work that I put in. It feels great with the effort and time that we spend on these road races to get better.”

The sixth-place finish is Dillon’s first top 10 since winning at Richmond Raceway last August, a meaty 22 races ago. With Busch coasting across the line in eighth position, it’s the first time Richard Childress Racing has put two entries inside the top 10 since last year’s Chicago Street Race. But it’s the first time Dillon and Busch have shared a top-10 spot since Texas Motor Speedway in April 2024 (75 races ago).

“We’re a team that’s never going to give up, we’re going to keep fighting,” Dillon added. “We don’t want to suck; we want to run good. It feels really good to do it at a road course today and that was helpful. We’re working hard.”

Watkins Glen wasn’t the first time that the No. 3 car showed up at the track in 2026 with competitive pace, Boswell noted. He believes there have been a handful of scenarios that have kept Dillon from breaking through to the top 10. Scoring a combined 35 points across the three drafting-track races isn’t ideal, either.

“At the end of the day, I feel like we’ve had top-10 cars at a handful of races and have not got the finishes,” Boswell told NASCAR.com. “You give us a couple of points at some of these superspeedway races where we’ve wrecked out early and you’re right on the edge of making [The Chase]. It’s been a frustrating year from that standpoint. But from a speed standpoint, it might not look like it on paper, but we have made our cars better.”

Dillon catapulted five spots in the regular-season championship standings to 22nd with Sunday’s performance, 63 markers behind van Gisbergen at the provisional cutline.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Michael McDowell knew from the opening laps of Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen that he was going to be a realistic threat to challenge Shane van Gisbergen for the victory.

But as van Gisbergen stretched the lead quickly in the first stage, McDowell and the No. 71 bunch realized that they might be racing for the runner-up position if the race played out naturally.

“I knew it was going to be a race between myself, SVG and Connor (Zilisch), just seeing how the pace was that first stage,” McDowell told a group of reporters. “I’m not sure what happened to Connor at the end, but those guys were really fast, had a bit more than us. We have a little work to do, but we will be there.”

MORE: Race results | At-track photos

Travis Peterson, crew chief of the No. 71 car, left McDowell out on track at a Lap 60 caution with teams on the edge of their fuel window of making it the distance. The plan was to charge hard for the duration of the final stage, with other drivers needing to save maximum fuel, and the fresh tires would pay dividends.

Plan fulfilled.

McDowell followed van Gisbergen through the field, a couple of seconds in tow. When the checkered flag flew, the No. 71 car was second, 7.288 seconds behind van Gisbergen, but marking McDowell’s best finish in 48 starts with Spire Motorsports.

“It’s not a win by any means, but it’s what we needed on this 71 team,” McDowell said. “We’ve been having a rough few weeks, so it’s good to get some points, momentum and confidence back.

“We weren’t far off. I know it feels like it because SVG stretched a pretty good lead. He got through the traffic a little bit better than I did. It’s so hard to tell with him because as soon as I would close the gap, he would step the pace up a little bit, and I would feel like that I would close the gap more and he would step the pace up. You never know when he’s going all out.”

Dating back to last June in the inaugural race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, van Gisbergen has won six of the most recent seven road-course battles contested. His only defeat was at Circuit of The Americas in March when Tyler Reddick outlasted the No. 97 machine.

The gap from van Gisbergen to McDowell, another elite road-course talent, is not much, McDowell thinks. He witnessed the difference firsthand at Watkins Glen.

“He just gets through the bus stop; we saw it in qualifying,” McDowell said of where SVG was better than him. “I followed him in there a couple of times, and my car doesn’t quite recover as good as his over the curbs. We have to work on that package a little bit. He just comes off that second curb with so much control and momentum. I feel like we have a little work to do to make it better. There were sections of the track that we were better too.

“I don’t feel like he’s unbeatable, he’s just really hard to beat because he executes so well and manages tires well. A place like this where there was that much falloff, he’s a hard guy to beat.”

RELATED: Race Rewind: SVG makes it look easy

McDowell ended the race with 36 points, his second-most for a race in 2026. That sum could have been padded more had the No. 71 car not faded on older tires at the end of Stage 2 in an eight-lap dash to the stage end. He led a handful of laps before dropping to 12th position.

With a couple of untimely cautions derailing strategy plans for multiple drivers and a sizable amount of tire falloff, the combination led to tricky calls atop the pit box.

“It does make for an interesting dynamic,” Peterson told NASCAR.com. “The biggest thing was SVG kept slowly driving away all day. I think we were a second-place car all day, and the problem is, you have to do something different to beat that guy. We tried it at one point and that yellow hurt our chances of having the better tires all of Stage 3.

“In the end, we were able to see him, stay with him through the field. We just didn’t quite have enough on that last run.”

McDowell jumped a pair of spots in the regular-season championship standings to 21st. It was needed for the No. 71 team, which collected seven consecutive finishes of 18th or worse dating back to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in mid-March. With van Gisbergen’s dominant performance, however, McDowell lost five points to the cutline and now sits 58 points below.

“It’s nice to get a decent finish but we wanted to win,” McDowell added. “You only get so many shots at it. I feel like today we had a car that was close — not quite capable — but almost there.”

After taking a dive in the regular-season standings, Peterson believes a run like Watkins Glen was needed to mitigate the damage.

“This was a huge points day for us, a good reset to build momentum to go into the next stretch,” he said. “Just hitting that reset button is the biggest thing. Got to stop the bleeding, this was it. We wanted to win, but we will take second.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Connor Zilisch had all the ingredients for his best day in the NASCAR Cup Series – a speedy car, a competitive strategy and solid execution on one of his strongest tracks. The good fortune part, however, has eluded him so far in a rocky rookie season.

Zilisch’s luck failed to turn again Sunday in an otherwise stellar drive at Watkins Glen International, where a potential first top-five result transformed into a 20th-place finish in the Go Bowling at The Glen. His No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet slowed from second place when its right-front tire went down with eight laps to go, forcing him to pit road and unraveling an otherwise promising day.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I mean, I don’t really know. Just kind of sucks,” Zilisch said on pit road post-race. “I feel like I did almost everything right today that I could, but yeah, it just goes like that sometimes. So yeah, I’ll keep my head up. We’ve got a couple more road courses to go to, a couple good tracks coming up for Trackhouse. So, yeah, keep my head down and keep digging.”

Zilisch was seemingly set up for success after a final-stage caution for debris from Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford brought him and a host of other contenders to pit road for what was scheduled to be a final stop on Lap 61 of 100. After Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen and others on alternate strategies stopped roughly midway through the closing stage, Zilisch eventually rotated to second place behind Ty Gibbs, and both raced in fuel-save mode in their quests to make it to the end.

Van Gisbergen eventually blew past both with a brilliant final charge through the field, but Zilisch was still hopeful of salvaging what would easily have been his best Cup Series finish. His tire trouble sealed the fate, though he managed to tack on one extra point with the race’s fastest lap – his 95th – after his unplanned pit-road visit.

“We had a little bit of an up and down day,” No. 88 crew chief Randall Burnett told NASCAR.com. “Obviously, the first stage went really well. After that caution in the second stage, we lost the track position, so we were trying to battle back from that a little bit. We’ve been here a lot of times, and you get close to your window there, that caution comes out on whatever (Lap) 60, 61, you know you’re a lap or two short of making it, it’s hard to not pit and do that. So, we went for it, tried to save what we can. We were going to make it on the fuel deal. Shane was so fast when he came back out, I don’t think we were going to hold them off, but in hindsight, I’d have probably gone a little different on my end and made some different choices, but it’s what it is.”

The outcome extended what’s been an uneven start to the 19-year-old’s first Cup Series campaign. Zilisch gained one position in the Cup Series standings on Sunday, but a third of the way into his first full season, he ranks 32nd with a best finish of 14th at Circuit of The Americas in early March.

MORE: Cup Series standings

Burnett said he’s aiming to keep putting Zilisch in positive positions and gaining ground in the points after the All-Star Race break next weekend.

“I mean, this deal’s hard, and he’s certainly taking his rookie licks this year,” said Burnett, also in his first year with Trackhouse. “We’ve had a lot of stuff go on, and it’s kind of buried us this year, and he’s handling it really well, whole team’s handling it well. We know we’ve got a whole lot of potential. We’ve just got to have a couple things go our way and get a good finish from these days to show what this team can really do. I’m really proud of everybody at Trackhouse and everybody that puts their hands on these cars, building good cars. We’ve just got to keep bringing good stuff for Connor and just keep the battle going forward.”

Sunday brought a rapid pendulum swing of emotions the other way, one day after Zilisch’s compelling last-lap win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at The Glen.

“Just upset,” Zilisch said. “I mean, at the worst, I was going to finish inside the top five probably and have my best day in the series by far. I don’t think I could have beaten Shane, but yeah, it’s just frustrating when you’re so close. It sucks.”

Posted on by Staff Report

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell exchanged words on pit road following Sunday’s Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.

The two drivers were spotted speaking to each other as they climbed out of their race cars following the 100-lap showdown on the 2.45-mile road course.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

While it was unclear immediately after the checkered flag what led to the disagreement, the pair both limped home disappointing finishes Sunday, with Bell finishing 21st and Wallace crossing the finish line 29th after a spin in Turn 1 during the final stage.

Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft took to social media to say his driver was not upset with Bell.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR heads to Watkins Glen International for a road-course weekend tripleheader, featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Bookmark this page for everything you need, including qualifying orders, practice speeds, race results and more.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule | TV listings

NASCAR Cup Series

Race day: Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Seven sets for the weekend (five new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). Plus six additional wet-weather sets.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series

Race day: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Six sets for the weekend (four new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). Plus four additional wet-weather sets.

Note: Qualifying was canceled due to wet-weather conditions. The lineup was set by the rule book. 

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Starting Lineup
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Race day: Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The categories listed below will be filled out with links as the information becomes available.

Tires: Five sets for the weekend (three new race sets, one set transferred from qualifying and one for practice). Plus four additional wet-weather sets.

Entry List
Qualifying Order
Practice Results
Practice Lap Averages
Practice Lap Times
Qualifying Results
Pit Stalls
Stage 1 Results
Stage 2 Results
Race Results

Posted on by Reid Spencer

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Like a world-class hunter stalking defenseless prey, Shane van Gisbergen reasserted his claim to the status as the best road-course racer NASCAR has ever seen.

It’s not just that the New Zealander beat runner-up Michael McDowell to the finish line to win Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen by 7.288 seconds. It was the way SVG ran down late-race leader Ty Gibbs to the tune of 29.2 seconds in 18 laps at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course.

The mythical shark “Jaws” couldn’t have been a more relentless or terrifying pursuer.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

In defending last year’s win at The Glen, Trackhouse Racing’s van Gisbergen scored his seventh NASCAR Cup Series victory — all on road or street courses — and his first this season.

“Unbelievable to win with (the No.) 97,” van Gisbergen said. “Thank you to Trackhouse. We weren’t very good in practice, and then qualifying was amazing. Good tweaks, and then today, so what a race car.

“Then (crew chief) Stephen (Doran) made great calls. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work. Then to run them down, very, very special to do two in a row. Just stoked for these guys, you know, to execute every facet of our game. Speechless. This is so cool.”

Starting from the pole, van Gisbergen led the first 18 laps before short-pitting the first 20-lap stage. He pitted once again on Lap 41 under a bizarre caution caused by a tent blowing through the air from the camping area onto the race track.

After passing McDowell for the lead on Lap 47, van Gisbergen stayed on the track to win the second stage at Lap 50 and declined to pit on Lap 61 under caution for debris from Joey Logano’s left-front tire. That strategy was contrary to most of the rest of the field.

Van Gisbergen built a lead of more than six seconds before making a green-flag stop on Lap 76. That’s when the heroics began in earnest. 

SHOP: Winner’s gear

Leaving pit road more than 29 seconds behind Gibbs and Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch, van Gisbergen charged through the field in pursuit of the first- and second-place cars. Both Gibbs and Zilisch were saving fuel after pitting on Lap 61 and were racing on tires that were degrading rapidly.

Zilisch dropped from contention on Lap 92 with a flat right-front tire and finished 20th after posting the race’s Xfinity Fastest Lap. One lap later, van Gisbergen muscled past a helpless Gibbs into the lead and stretched his advantage until the finish.

McDowell, on a similar pit strategy to SVG’s, passed Gibbs for second on Lap 95. Gibbs held third, followed by Chase Briscoe and series leader Tyler Reddick, who leaves Watkins Glen with a 129-point lead over second place Denny Hamlin (16th on Sunday).

“Yeah, it’s great. It’s great to get this Chevrolet in the top five,” said McDowell, who had to settle for best-in-class in his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. “There were moments where I thought, ‘Oh, maybe we can hang with SVG,’ and it felt like he was just pacing himself back off me, and he would take back off.

“In that second stage there, we got a little off strategy and then recovered well, which (crew chief) Travis (Peterson) did a great job of getting the track position when we needed it. Just not quite enough to run him down.

“Like I said, it’s just tough, man. Second is awesome. It’s great to get momentum back on our side. We needed it after a rough few weeks, but we wanted to get to Victory Lane.”

In fuel-saving mode over the last 39 laps, Gibbs couldn’t run the pace he needed to stay ahead of the race winner.

“Honestly, just a little frustrating,” said Gibbs, who picked up his first career Cup Series victory at Bristol in April. “I wish we could keep racing, but unfortunately, just had to save some fuel there.

“Yeah, good to come home with a third-place finish. Obviously, wish it was another win, but you know, had a lot of fun today. Always fun to come to Watkins Glen.”

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon finished sixth — his first top 10 of the season — followed by AJ Allmendinger, RCR teammate Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric and John Hunter Nemechek.

In a race that featured six lead changes among four drivers, van Gisbergen led 74 of 100 laps, followed by Gibbs with 17. There were four cautions for 12 total laps.

The Cup Series travels to Dover Motor Speedway for next Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race on May 17 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Ryan Blaney, who signed a long-term contract extension this week with Team Penske, finished 11th with Chris Buescher, Daniel Suárez, Ryan Preece and Cole Custer rounding out the top 15.

A tough day for Hendrick Motorsports resulted in a 23rd-place finish for Kyle Larson with teammate Chase Elliott — last week’s Texas winner — 24th and Alex Bowman 25th. William Byron suffered damage in Stage 2 that dropped the No. 24 car to a 36th-place finish, three laps down.

Logano, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, finished last in 38th place, 15 laps down after his tire issue.

Stage 2 recap

Shane van Gisbergen charged from seventh to first in just two laps at Watkins Glen International to score the victory in Stage 2 of Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen.

SVG surged back to the front of the field after a mid-stage yellow flag shook up pit strategy for some. Tyler Reddick finished the stage second ahead of Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Connor Zilisch, Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

A burst of wind at Lap 40 led to the first caution for cause in Sunday’s 100-lap contest when a tent from infield blew skyward and landed squarely atop the pavement exiting the esses.

Six cars stayed out under that caution period to gain track position: Michael McDowell, Daniel Suárez, Christopher Bell, Wallace, Riley Herbst and John Hunter Nemechek. SVG had led every lap of the stage until that point and restarted seventh, ahead of Connor Zilisch, Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon. Wallace was the only driver of those who stayed out to score stage points.

Trouble occurred on the ensuring restart twice at Lap 44. Herbst spun to the excess pavement in Turn 1 and ended the stage 31st. Once the field approached the inner loop, Buescher and William Byron were in a side-by-side battle that led to an incident.

MORE: Byron around in the bus stop

Buescher hopped the curb to driver’s left entering the chicane and caught Byron’s left rear, sending the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for a spin. Byron, who made his 300th NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday, suffered a broken toe link that needed repair. In total, Byron lost four laps as a result of the incident and runs last, 38th, entering the final stage. Todd Gilliland also spun in the melee while drivers like Connor Zilisch, Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith bolted to the grass to driver’s right exiting the bus stop to avoid the spun car of Byron.

The top nine finishers in Stage 2 stayed out under caution with Ross Chastain moving into the top 10 when Wallace hit pit road.

Stage 1 recap

Shane van Gisbergen controlled the pace early at Watkins Glen International, but his Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain won Stage 1 of Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (FS1).

Chastain stayed out to collect the stage win, while van Gisbergen and other leaders opted to hit pit road to maintain track position for the Stage 2 restart. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric and AJ Allmendinger completed the top five at the end of the 20-lap opening segment.

MORE: Stage 1 results

John Hunter Nemechek, Christopher Bell, van Gisbergen, Riley Herbst and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10. Van Gisbergen and McDowell, who both started on the front row and ran first and second before pit stops began, were the only two leaders who managed to both pit and score stage points. Van Gisbergen led the opening 18 laps before surrendering the lead to Chastain to hit pit road.

Only 15 of the 38 teams in Sunday’s race opted not to pit before the stage break. Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott both elected to stay out in an attempt to score stage points but ultimately were bested by van Gisbergen and McDowell, who were leading but pit.

NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded without issue, confirming van Gisbergen’s victory. The Nos. 17 and 88 cars will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff report

Posted on by Staff Report

William Byron made his 300th start in the NASCAR Cup Series after taking the green flag in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International, but ran into trouble during Stage 2.

On Lap 44, Byron was spun in the bus stop section of the 2.45-mile road course and was hit by 2023 series titleholder Ryan Blaney. The No. 24 Chevrolet suffered a broken toe link and dropped multiple laps down.

Byron ultimately finished three laps down in 36th, his worst finish of 2026.

RELATED: Byron’s driver page | Race Results

The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has made all of his starts at the premier level with the same team — joining a shortlist of drivers to do the same such as Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and teammate Chase Elliott and Jeff Gordon, vice chairman at Hendrick.

Starting on iRacing and in Legends cars, Byron caught the eye of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and competed for JR Motorsports in the late-model scene in 2014. Byron then broke through into the Craftsman Truck Series in 2016 and stomped the competition with seven wins in 23 races.

Despite not winning the series title that year, Byron earned the call-up to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for JRM.

Byron tallied four O’Reilly wins in 2017, culminating in a championship and a fast track to Hendrick Motorsports for his rookie campaign in the Cup Series in 2018.

Filling in the shoes of Gordon after Elliott moved from the No. 24 to the No. 9 for the 2018 season, Byron had immense pressure to succeed and it bit him early with winless campaigns in his first two Cup seasons.

Byron eventually broke through in 2020 with his first career trip to Victory Lane in the Daytona summer night race.

He’s tallied 15 Cup triumphs since, highlighted by back-to-back wins in the Daytona 500 (2024, 2025). Byron has qualified for the Cup Series’ postseason in eight consecutive seasons, with a best campaign in 2023 as he scored six victories and finished third in the final standings.

MORE: Byron through the years

Now 12 starts into 2026, Byron sits 12th in the Cup Series standings.