Shane van Gisbergen earned the Busch Light Pole Award in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Watkins Glen International on Saturday afternoon with a best lap at 123.937 mph.
Michael McDowell qualified second in the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet at 123.488 mph ahead of Austin Cindric (123.452 mph) and SVG’s Trackhouse Racing teammates Ross Chastain (123.445 mph) and rookie Connor Zilisch (123.386 mph).
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MORE: Starting lineup | At-track photos
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, teammates of Cindric at Team Penske, qualified sixth and seventh, respectively, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 for the starting grid of Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Series points leader Tyler Reddick, a five-time winner in 2026, qualified 15th.
Hendrick Motorsports struggled to find speed in Saturday’s session. William Byron was quickest for the four-car organization at 13th in the No. 24 Chevrolet, with two-time Watkins Glen winner Kyle Larson 23rd, another two-time WGI winner Chase Elliott 27th and Alex Bowman 28th. Elliott won last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and has two wins in 2026.
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Cindric leads Cup practice at Watkins Glen
Austin Cindric posted the fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice at Watkins Glen International, posting a lap at 122.147 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford on Saturday afternoon.
Carson Hocevar was second-quickest in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet at 122.073 mph, with Ty Gibbs (122.032 mph), Christopher Bell (122.031 mph) and Chris Buescher (121.971 mph) completing the top five in single-lap speeds.
MORE: Practice results | Weekend schedule: Watkins Glen
Shane van Gisbergen, who dominated this race last August, posted the best times in five-lap, 10-lap and 15-lap averages across Saturday’s practice. Of the 14 drivers who posted runs of 10 or more consecutive laps, SVG’s 10-lap average was a lap time of 73.53 seconds, with Tyler Reddick second, Hocevar third, Ryan Blaney fourth and Cindric fifth.
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Van Gisbergen, a five-time road-course winner in 2025, said this week he believes Reddick is the favorite this weekend after Reddick won the series’ most recent road race at Circuit of The Americas in March.
The session began with many teams opting for wet-weather Goodyear tires as rain washed through the Finger Lakes region of New York State early Saturday morning. As teams eventually transitioned back to slicks, two drivers and teams incurred issues: Ross Chastain and his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet cutting a left-rear tire and Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota cutting a left-front tire.
This story will be updated.
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