Shane van Gisbergen won the 2026 Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday at Watkins Glen International. He started from pole, led 74 of the 100 laps, and beat Michael McDowell by 7.28 seconds.
The victory gave van Gisbergen his first win of the season and the seventh NASCAR Cup Series win of his career. He entered the race as the defending champion after earning pole position in Saturday's qualifying.
Watkins Glen International
Van Gisbergen did not just control the front. He also overcame a 29-second deficit and 24 positions in 17 laps at Watkins Glen International, a 100-lap race run on a circuit with seven turns and 141 feet of total elevation change. That kind of recovery left him in position to settle the race before the final margin grew to 7.28 seconds.
Michael McDowell finished second, with Ty Gibbs among the drivers mentioned in the results. Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Connor Zilisch and Christopher Bell were also named as challengers in the race, but none closed the gap to the leader once van Gisbergen found clear air.
Shane van Gisbergen
The result added another layer to a season already shaped by his road-course strength. He arrived at Watkins Glen as the defending winner, and by Sunday he had backed that up with a pole, a long stretch at the front and a clean finish that turned the weekend into his first win of 2026. For anyone chasing him on road courses, the number that matters now is seven: his Cup Series win total keeps climbing.
