NASCAR Weekend Preview: Watkins Glen International

NASCAR Cup race caps long weekend at the Glen for road course stars

For the first time this season, road course ace Shane van Gisbergen will have a chance to defend one of his NASCAR Cup Series victories from last year.

Because of a shakeup in the schedule, however, that first defense will come at Watkins Glen International, whose May date for Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the earliest ever for the 2.45-mile circuit.

Van Gisbergen won the last five road course races of 2026, but because of schedule changes, he’ll have the chance to defend victories at only two of the venues—Watkins Glen and Sonoma Raceway.

Mexico City isn’t on the Cup Series calendar this year, the Chicago race is moving from the downtown Street Course to the Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, and the Charlotte Roval has been displaced by the intermediate oval at the same facility.

The addition of the highly technical street course at Naval Base Coronado will give SVG another opportunity to showcase his skills, but the driver himself cautions against the assumption that all he has to do is show up to win.

“I think it’s an expectation you have to manage,” the New Zealander said. “We can’t go there and just expect to win, but hopefully we’re good and competitive and competing for the win at the end.”

For one thing, Van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing Chevrolets haven’t had the same feel the three-time Australian Supercars champion found in last year’s versions.

“I’ve just lacked turn, drive, power—the three main things you need,” SVG said. “It made it difficult at COTA (Circuit of the Americas in the third race of the season). “In qualifying we really struggled. Yeah, it’s frustrating.”

One thing Van Gisbergen won’t lack at Watkins Glen is seat time. He’ll be competing for Niece Motorsports in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race and for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event—with two-time defending race winner Connor Zilisch as his teammate.

The May date at the Glen brings weather into the equation. Cooler temperatures are predicted, with a chance of rain at some point during the weekend. Though he’s a master in wet conditions, Van Gisbergen would prefer to race on dry pavement.

“I hate racing in the rain,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m good at it. I’ll adapt if it happens, but I hope it’s dry for all three races. It’s just no fun racing in the rain. You can’t be precise. You’ve got to just wing it. Stuff goes wrong.

“I’ve just never enjoyed it.”

Before SVG arrived in the Cup Series, Kyle Larson won back-to-back races at Watkins Glen in 2021 and 2022, bridging the gap between the Gen 6 and Gen 7 race cars. Larson enters Sunday’s event on a 35-race winless streak.

William Byron, Larson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, will make his 300th Cup Series start on Sunday. Byron won at the Glen in 2023.

Despite his recent spate of ill fortune, it would be a mistake to overlook Christopher Bell, a three-time Cup road course winner. Bell has finished in the top five in seven of the last eight road course races, including a win at COTA and a runner-up at Watkins Glen, both last year.

Interestingly, seven of the last eight Watkins Glen winners have come from the first two rows of the starting grid—and three of the last four from the second starting position. The exception was Chris Buescher, who won from 24th in 2024.

Buescher is the only Ford driver to triumph at the Glen since Joey Logano in 2015.

Connor Zilisch looks for third straight O’Reilly win at the Glen

Doubtless Connor Zilisch would like the same outcome he enjoyed last year at Watkins Glen International.

Just as certainly, he wouldn’t want to repeat the circumstances that followed the 2025 race after Saturday’s Mission 200 at the Glen (4 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Zilisch is the two-time defending winner of the event. He triumphed at the Glen in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut in 2024. Last year he was victorious at the 2.45-mile road course during a 10-win campaign.

However, as he climbed from his car in Victory Lane last season and attempted to stand on the window ledge, Zilisch slipped and took a frightening fall. The result was a broken collar bone.

Nevertheless, the win at the Glen was the first of four straight victories from the pole for the then 19-year-old prodigy.

Now a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver for Trackhouse Racing, Zilisch will try for three straight Watkins Glen wins on Saturday.

“I’m excited to go for the three-peat at Watkins Glen with JR Motorsports,” said Zilisch, who will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet. “We’ve had a lot of speed everywhere this year with them, and I’m looking forward to our second road course race with the Jockey 150th Anniversary Chevrolet this weekend.

“It’s going to be fun racing against SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) all weekend and being teammates with him on Saturday in the O’Reilly Series race. I can’t wait to get up to Watkins Glen this weekend.”

Van Gisbergen will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet for JRM as Zilisch’s teammate and primary rival. With the No. 1 and No. 9 Camaros occupied, Carson Kvapil will move to the No. 91 Chevrolet fielded by DGM Racing/Jesse Iwuji Motorsports.

JRM’s streak of putting at least one driver in the top 10 reached 69 races last week at Texas Motor Speedway—second all-time behind RFK Racing (79 races, 2008-2010). The team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller has won the last 10 road course races in the O’Reilly Series, including four straight at WGI.

Aside from Zilisch, Sam Mayer of Haas Factory Team is the only other former Watkins Glen winner in the field for Saturday’s race.

Trackhouse teammates start triple duty in NASCAR Truck race

Shane van Gisbergen will race on a road course for the first time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

Connor Zilisch is trying for his first win in the series.

Ross Chastain is making his 121st Truck Series start, hoping to add to his career total of five victories.

All three drivers, Trackhouse Racing teammates in the NASCAR Cup Series, are starting a full weekend of triple duty in Friday’s Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at Watkins Glen International (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Van Gisbergen and Chastain are competing for Niece Motorsports in the Truck Series race. Zilisch is driving for Spire Motorsports as a teammate to last Friday’s Truck Series winner at Texas, Carson Hocevar.

Reigning series champion Corey Heim, who won last year’s race during a streak of five straight road course victories, is not entered this week. In fact, no former Watkins Glen winners are in the field.

Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, a Truck Series regular, won the NASCAR debut at St. Petersburg on Feb. 28 in the first road course race of the season. Friday’s event also will include road course expert AJ Allmendinger, who will drive Kaulig Racing’s No. 25 Free Agent Ram.

“Watkins Glen will always be special to me—it’s where I earned my first NASCAR Cup Series win, and it’s a place I’ve always enjoyed racing,” Allmendinger said. “Kaulig Racing has made solid progress on the truck side, and I’m looking forward to getting in the No. 25 Ram 1500 through the Free Agent Program and contributing to that.

“We had a good Darlington run to get a feel for the trucks, even though it’s a completely different challenge from a road course. Hopefully, we can unload with speed, contend up front, and put ourselves in position to fight for a win.”

Friday’s race also features three female drivers: Natalie Decker, Toni Breidinger and Dystany Spurlock. Decker owns the highest-ever finish for a female driver in Truck Series history—fifth at Daytona in 2020.

Spurlock is the first black woman to make a start in one of NASCAR’s top three national series. She makes her Truck Series debut after finishing 10th in her first ARCA Menards Series national race on April 18 at Kansas Speedway.

 

NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Go Bowling at The Glen
The Place: Watkins Glen International
Track Length: 2.45 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Sunday, May 10
The Time: 3 p.m. ET
The Purse: $11,233,037
TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 245 miles (100 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 100)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Next Race: Mission 200 at The Glen
The Place: Watkins Glen International
Track Length: 2.45 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Saturday, May 9
The Time: 4 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,653,590
TV: CW, 3:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 200.9 miles (82 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 82)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Next Race: Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen
The Place: Watkins Glen International
Track Length: 2.45 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Friday, May 8
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $789,700
TV: FS1, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)
Distance: 176.4 miles (72 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 72)

ARCA Menards Series
Next Race: General Tire 100 at The Glen
The Place: Watkins Glen International
Track Length: 2.45 Mile Asphalt Road Course
The Date: Friday, May 8
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS2 & FOX Sports App, 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (Channel 90)