Van Gisbergen Makes Late-Race Charge to Capture His First Win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| · Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen drove to yet another statement road course performance in NASCAR’s premier series – making an impressive late-race charge to take the checkered flag and his first victory of the 2026 season. With now seven road course victories to his name, the record ties fellow Team Chevy driver, Chase Elliott, for the lead as the series’ winningest active road course driver. · The victory marks Chevrolet’s third consecutive, and fourth overall, victory in NASCAR’s premier series this season. The manufacturer’s streak has been accompanied by at least half of the top-10 finishing positions in each event. All earning their season-best finish at the upstate New York circuit, the victory was celebrated by a runner-up finish by Michael McDowell, with Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Busch taking the checkered flag in the sixth through eighth positions, respectively. RACE RECAP: Stage One: A strong Saturday in upstate New York for the Chevrolet camp resulted in the manufacturer’s second-straight front row sweep – an effort led by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, who earned his first pole win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. The track’s defending winner set the pace early, edging out fellow Team Chevy driver, Michael McDowell, in Turn One to lead the field on the opening lap. With only 10 laps in the books, the road course ringer had already driven to a 2.5-second lead with a trio of Chevrolet drivers in toe to give the Bowtie brand the top-four of the running order. With the first green flag pit cycle getting underway near the end of the stage, Van Gisbergen surrendered the lead with two laps to go as crew chief Stephen Doran called his driver in for their first scheduled stop of the day. The Auckland, New Zealand, native quickly cycled back up to the eighth position to end the stage, but it was his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, that opted for points – running out the stage to lead the field to the first green-white checkered flag. Stage Two: Among those that flipped the opening stage included the Team Chevy trio of Van Gisbergen, McDowell and Zilisch, who ultimately cycled back to the front of the field to take the green flag for the 30-lap Stage Two. While Van Gisbergen quickly found his way back to the command position, he had his teammate Zilisch in his rearview mirror throughout the run with the rookie maintaining less than a half-second gap to the lead. Despite a close battle for the lead, there was no challenge for the pair as they pulled to a nearly six-second lead over the field until the first natural caution of the day flew with 10 laps to go in the stage. Among the six cars that chose to run out the stage included the Spire Motorsports teammates of McDowell and Suarez with the pair ultimately lining up on the front row for the restart. But a fresh set of Goodyear tires on the No. 97 Chevrolet paid dividends for Van Gisbergen with the driver going from sixth to the lead in a matter of two laps around the 2.45-mile circuit. Never looking back, Van Gisbergen went on to drive Chevrolet and Trackhouse Racing to a stage win sweep. Final Stage: Staying out under the stage break, Van Gisbergen reported that he was happy with the handling of his Chevrolet as he geared up to lead the field to the final stage of the race. ECR-powered Chevrolet’s took over half of the top-10 to begin the final run with Richard Childress Racing teammates, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, also settled into the top-five. A caution on Lap 60 kickstarted varying strategies along pit road with the No. 97 being among the eight teams that opted to stretch the run. With direction from Doran, Van Gisbergen looked to make a hard charge and build a strong lead to set up for the potential of a green flag pit stop. Maximizing the speed of his Chevrolet, Van Gisbergen pulled to a nearly six-second lead before being called to pit road as the race hit 24 laps to go. The top-12 of the leaderboard were all on the same pit strategy with Zilisch leading the Bowtie brigade in the second position and closing in on then race leader, Ty Gibbs, to a half-second margin with 15 laps remaining. But his fight for the lead came to a disappointing end as a right-front tire going down on his Chevrolet forced crew chief Randall Burnett to bring Zilisch down pit road under the green flag conditions. While the leaders were in fuel-saving mode, Van Gisbergen was able to make an impressive charge through the field to the lead en route to his first trip to victory lane of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. |
| Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver 1st – Shane van Gisbergen2nd – Michael McDowell6th – Austin Dillon7th – AJ Allmendinger8th – Kyle Busch  Chevrolet’s season statistics with 12 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:Wins: 4Poles: 3Top-Fives: 22Top 10s: 44Stage Wins: 10 |
| The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Dover Motor Speedway with the All-Star Race on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
| NASCAR Cup SeriesWatkins Glen International Go Bowling at The GlenTeam Chevy Post-Race ReportMay 10, 2026 |
Van Gisbergen Makes Late-Race Charge to Capture His First Win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Season |
| MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
| · Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen drove to yet another statement road course performance in NASCAR’s premier series – making an impressive late-race charge to take the checkered flag and his first victory of the 2026 season. With now seven road course victories to his name, the record ties fellow Team Chevy driver, Chase Elliott, for the lead as the series’ winningest active road course driver. · The victory marks Chevrolet’s third consecutive, and fourth overall, victory in NASCAR’s premier series this season. The manufacturer’s streak has been accompanied by at least half of the top-10 finishing positions in each event. All earning their season-best finish at the upstate New York circuit, the victory was celebrated by a runner-up finish by Michael McDowell, with Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Busch taking the checkered flag in the sixth through eighth positions, respectively. RACE RECAP: Stage One: A strong Saturday in upstate New York for the Chevrolet camp resulted in the manufacturer’s second-straight front row sweep – an effort led by Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, who earned his first pole win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. The track’s defending winner set the pace early, edging out fellow Team Chevy driver, Michael McDowell, in Turn One to lead the field on the opening lap. With only 10 laps in the books, the road course ringer had already driven to a 2.5-second lead with a trio of Chevrolet drivers in toe to give the Bowtie brand the top-four of the running order. With the first green flag pit cycle getting underway near the end of the stage, Van Gisbergen surrendered the lead with two laps to go as crew chief Stephen Doran called his driver in for their first scheduled stop of the day. The Auckland, New Zealand, native quickly cycled back up to the eighth position to end the stage, but it was his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, that opted for points – running out the stage to lead the field to the first green-white checkered flag. Stage Two: Among those that flipped the opening stage included the Team Chevy trio of Van Gisbergen, McDowell and Zilisch, who ultimately cycled back to the front of the field to take the green flag for the 30-lap Stage Two. While Van Gisbergen quickly found his way back to the command position, he had his teammate Zilisch in his rearview mirror throughout the run with the rookie maintaining less than a half-second gap to the lead. Despite a close battle for the lead, there was no challenge for the pair as they pulled to a nearly six-second lead over the field until the first natural caution of the day flew with 10 laps to go in the stage. Among the six cars that chose to run out the stage included the Spire Motorsports teammates of McDowell and Suarez with the pair ultimately lining up on the front row for the restart. But a fresh set of Goodyear tires on the No. 97 Chevrolet paid dividends for Van Gisbergen with the driver going from sixth to the lead in a matter of two laps around the 2.45-mile circuit. Never looking back, Van Gisbergen went on to drive Chevrolet and Trackhouse Racing to a stage win sweep. Final Stage: Staying out under the stage break, Van Gisbergen reported that he was happy with the handling of his Chevrolet as he geared up to lead the field to the final stage of the race. ECR-powered Chevrolet’s took over half of the top-10 to begin the final run with Richard Childress Racing teammates, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, also settled into the top-five. A caution on Lap 60 kickstarted varying strategies along pit road with the No. 97 being among the eight teams that opted to stretch the run. With direction from Doran, Van Gisbergen looked to make a hard charge and build a strong lead to set up for the potential of a green flag pit stop. Maximizing the speed of his Chevrolet, Van Gisbergen pulled to a nearly six-second lead before being called to pit road as the race hit 24 laps to go. The top-12 of the leaderboard were all on the same pit strategy with Zilisch leading the Bowtie brigade in the second position and closing in on then race leader, Ty Gibbs, to a half-second margin with 15 laps remaining. But his fight for the lead came to a disappointing end as a right-front tire going down on his Chevrolet forced crew chief Randall Burnett to bring Zilisch down pit road under the green flag conditions. While the leaders were in fuel-saving mode, Van Gisbergen was able to make an impressive charge through the field to the lead en route to his first trip to victory lane of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. |
| Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 ResultsPos. Driver 1st – Shane van Gisbergen2nd – Michael McDowell6th – Austin Dillon7th – AJ Allmendinger8th – Kyle Busch Chevrolet’s season statistics with 12 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:Wins: 4Poles: 3Top-Fives: 22Top 10s: 44Stage Wins: 10 |
| The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Dover Motor Speedway with the All-Star Race on Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
| Post-Race Driver Quotes: Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 6th“Man, God is so good. We work really hard on these road races. I put a lot of effort into them to get better and we didn’t qualify great, but Richard Boswell (crew chief) and everyone on the Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer team did a good job pushing the strategy early to go hard. We really didn’t worry about tires when we short pitted, and that got us our track position at the end of the stage. After that, we were able to maintain, and it was fun saving fuel there behind (Chase) Briscoe. I probably should have pushed a little harder because I actually made it back all the way around on fuel. So, I did a good job on saving fuel, which was cool. Thanks to all of our partners and everybody that helps us go around. We put a lot of effort into it. We’ve been working really hard at RCR. It’s cool that Kyle (Busch) and I both were racing up front. He (Kyle Busch) scared me into the bus stop with like two to go. He just gave up on saving fuel, and he ran out at the line that was kind of fun getting him back by the line. Just a good day for RCR overall. And Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, my wife. We’ll take this and take the momentum and move on.” Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 13th“Our Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Chevy was decent at times today. We tried to gain track position all race long, and the No. 7 team fought hard to work our way back toward the front and come away with a decent finish. I felt like it was a step in the right direction for our road course package. Our car was definitely better in the race than it was in practice and qualifying. Stage 2 didn’t feel the best, but the rear handling improved some for the final stage.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 8th “Strong day for the No. 8 zone Jalapeño Lime Chevrolet. We were a Top 10 car for the majority of the race, and ended eighth here at Watkins Glen International. We made the adjustments and strategy calls we needed to drive forward and make up track position after qualifying 21st, despite battling a car that trended tight throughout the race. We ran out of fuel at the end of the race, but we’re still going home with our second Top-10 finish of the season. I’m proud of the work the entire Richard Childress Racing team is putting in back in Welcome, NC, and will look to continue that momentum as the season progresses.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 7th“That was a crazy race. I thought when we started the race, the No. 16 Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet was pretty good. We just still had some of the same issues that we’ve been fighting. After around 12-14 laps, it hits a cliff and gets loose. But we got some stage points. Unfortunately, that put us a little behind in strategy. It was just so tough to pass, so I thought we were going to be in for a long day. Trent (Owens, crew chief) made a really good call there; we had a good restart and started moving through the field. I don’t know if that run would have been better if it would have stayed green, but overall, despite being in a hole on strategy, Trent did a great job to get us back in position to at least be on the offensive side. Obviously you always want more, but it was a good day.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2ndWas today the spark this team needed to get back going in the right direction?“Yeah, for sure. It’s been a rough few weeks. But that’s what is great about NASCAR – you’re only one week away from grabbing a top-five finish and having some momentum on our side. We knew this was a track we could come to and, if we executed like we did today, we could contend for the win. We still needed a little bit more to hang with Shane van Gisbergen there. But all-in-all, the No. 71 Go Bowling Chevrolet team had a good day. It wasn’t a perfect day, but it was a good day. That’s what we needed. We just needed some momentum on our side.” What did you learn today that you can take to other road courses?“We qualified second and we finished second. Shane van Gisbergen was a couple tenths better than us in qualifying and he was around a tenth better in the race. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but we still have work to do. I’m just really proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. Our road course program is coming along really well. We had a top-five at COTA and another top-five here. We’re close, but we just need to keep tuning in on it.” Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 20th“It’s just a bummer. I feel like I did almost everything right today that I could, but it just goes like that sometimes. We’ve got a couple more good road courses to go to this season for Trackhouse Racing, so we’ll keep our heads down and keep digging. At the worst, I was going to finish outside the top-five probably and have my best day in this series, by far. I don’t think I could have beat Shane (van Gisbergen). When you’re so close, it’s just frustrating. I should have passed Ty (Gibbs). I don’t think it would have been any better to stay behind him. I could have saved more fuel in front of him and ran faster, but I’ll learn from it and be better moving forward.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 1stHow do you describe how that race unfolded and how you got that win?“Yeah, pretty unreal and just thankful for my No. 97 Superfile Chevrolet team. Just an unbelievable day. It was amazing in the strategies and how they worked out, but the car was just magic to be able to do that and push when I needed to. To back it up from last year is pretty unreal.” What is it like as a driver to be on offense with a magical race car?“I love being able to do that at the end and chase everyone down on a tire difference. Josh, my spotter, was excellent in giving me the lap times and what the gap was. I was trying to calculate it as I went and manage the tires so that I would still have some when I got there. It’s just so special and really cool.” One of the changes this year was the number on this car. The No. 97 is your family number. You finally bring it to victory lane here. What does that mean to you?“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I have done it in the O’Reilly Series before, but not here. So it’s pretty awesome to represent that, and I’m proud to have it here in victory lane.” |