Shane van Gisbergen is inevitable as he wins Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen makes up a whole pit stop cycle in the final stage and wins the Go Bowling at The Glen.

This is his seventh win in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first win of the season.

On his 37th birthday weekend at NASCAR at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen ran all three races and won the Cup Series pole and the race itself in dominant fashion.

Van Gisbergen controlled the opening stage before surrendering the lead to give his Trackhouse teammate Ross Chastain his second stage victory of the season.

Once the points and pit stops were settled, van Gisbergen stormed back to the front and resumed his command of the race.

The second stage turned into a tight battle between van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch before an unusual debris caution, caused by a loose tent canopy, reset the field.

Restarting eighth with seven laps remaining, van Gisbergen sliced through traffic to claim his first stage win of the season.

Early in the final stage, Joey Logano scattered debris across the track, prompting van Gisbergen and several others to gamble on track position instead of fresh tires.

The strategy came with a cost. He was on the wrong side of the fuel window, he was forced to pit midway through the final stage.

Any doubts about his comeback chances disappeared quickly.

Van Gisbergen erased a 30-second deficit in just 17 laps. He charged through the field before passing a struggling Zilisch and a fuel-saving Ty Gibbs for the lead.

He drove away to win by more than seven seconds.

The victory, his first in the No. 97, completed a massive points swing.

He arrived at Watkins Glen 27 points below the playoff cutline and leaves sixth points above it in 16th place.

Notable Results

Michael McDowell came into the weekend with something to prove and delivered. He joined van Gisbergen with the same strategy call to come home a much needed second.

Ty Gibbs led 17 laps in the final stage and held Connor Zilisch in check until the inevitable van Gisbergen tracked him down late.

Gibbs finished third with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe, who also ran on the same fuel strategy, just behind in fourth.

Tyler Reddick opted to pit a few laps before the front two finishers and rallied late to fifth. He further stretched his series leading top five total again.

Austin Dillon earned his first top ten of the season in sixth and Kyle Busch finished eighth. Both Richard Childress Racing drivers earned a top ten today after they flipped the first stage for track position.

AJ Allmendinger ran inside the top ten for most of the event to finish seventh as he continued his tremendous form at road courses.

Austin Cindric and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top ten.

Connor Zilisch ran inside the top three for the whole event but cut his right-front tire late after sliding too much in the breaking zones.

His opportunity to lead his first Cup Series laps will have to wait for another road course. He finished 20th after a potential top five finish but he at least earned the fastest lap point after his costly mistake.

Hendrick Motorsports was nowhere to be found this weekend. Their highest qualifier William Byron sustained near terminal damage in the middle of the race while Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman ran in the lower 20’s throughout the day.

Notable Events

Joey Logano blown a tire and spread various parts across the track which brought out an awkward placed caution period not too far into the final stage. That caution period provided a multitude of opportunities for strategy calls to take place.

Logano finished last in 38th to continue his recent unfortunate run of results of late. He extends his skid of 30th plus place finishes to four in a row.

SVG and Reddick stayed out and had to pit halfway through the final run while Ty Gibbs and Connor Zilisch opted for the fuel economy run.

The flying canopy cover, which brought out the first incident caution of the day, was about the only form of entertainment other than the two Trackhouse Racing drivers who ran nose to tail.

The ensuing restart caused the first major scuffle of the day. William Byron spun after contact from Chris Buescher exiting the bus stop chicane. Ryan Blaney could not avoid the No. 24 and smacked him square in the right-rear which broke Byron’s toe link.

Byron lost five laps while making repairs and wound up finishing three laps down in 36th.

Below is the full results of the Go Bowling at The Glen.

Full Results