Winners and losers from a split strategy NASCAR cup race at Watkins Glen

Shane van Gisbergen is now the winningest driver in Trackhouse Racing history, surpassing Ross Chastain with his seventh career win — all on road courses.

It’s truly incredible to see just how unbeatable the three-time Supercars champion has been over the past two years, even with how close the field is in modern NASCAR. He has only last one of the last seven road/street course races, and even then, he finished a close second.

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Sunday’s race was perhaps the best example of just how good Van Gisbergen is, but he wasn’t the only one who impressed us at the Glen. Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Round 12 of the 2026 NASCAR Cup season from the Finger Lakes region of New York.

WINNER: Shane van Gisbergen for making up 29 seconds in 18 laps

Watch: SVG on winning in No. 97 for first time: ‘What a race car’

What. A. Drive. When SVG exited the pits for the last time, he was running in the mid-20s, a full 29.2 seconds behind race leader Ty Gibbs. However, the Kiwi’s pace was rapid, and he ran Gibbs down in just 18 laps. He went on to win the race by over seven seconds, and Michael McDowell was the only other driver who also pitted that managed to catch Gibbs by the end. Van Gisbergen continues to assert himself as one of the greatest road racers in NASCAR history, and the win vaulted him back inside the Chase, gaining three positions.

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LOSER: Connor Zilisch as career-best run ends with flat tire

Watch: Zilisch frustrated after late tire issue at The Glen

While it was all celebrations for the Trackhouse No. 97, it was the opposite for the Trackhouse No. 88 car. Connor Zilisch had high hopes after winning the NASCAR O’Reilly race and qualifying fifth for the Cup race. He ran inside the top five for most of the day, and was running second to Gibbs on the fuel-saving strategy in the closing laps. Due to the pace of SVG and McDowell, he wasn’t going to win, but Zilisch was pretty much guaranteed to finish third or fourth if he made the fuel last. The rookie driver was looking for the first top five and top ten of his Cup career, but a flat tire with eight laps to go left him with a disappointing 20th place finish instead.

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Watch: Dillon: Strategy helped secure P6 Watkins Glen finish

Finally, something positive for RCR. A double top ten at Watkins Glen, and one of just two teams to get more than one car inside the top ten at the end of the race (the other being JGR). It was the best finish of the year for both Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively. The only blight was the fact that Busch was set for a top five finish on the final lap, but the car sputtered just two corners away from the finish line, costing him three spots. Even still, the result allowed both drivers to climb up the standings, and Dillon jumped five positions. That makes him the biggest mover in the points this week.

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Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

While Trackhouse won, Spire ran strong, and RCR enjoyed their best day yet, where was the flagship Chevrolet team? The Hendrick Motorsports squad was nowhere all weekend. William Byron was their top qualifier in 13th, and none of their drivers were factors on race day. It was the worst road course result for HMS in over 20 years, with Kyle Larson leading the way in 23rd. Chase Elliott in 24th, Alex Bowman 25th, and William Byron 36th after a mid-race crash. All lost ground in the standings, and Byron fell outside the top ten.

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WINNER: Michael McDowell for being the best of the rest

Watch: McDowell: ‘Not quite enough’ to run SVG down

Behind SVG, the best of the rest was the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. McDowell started second and finished second, proving he was clearly the strongest driver not named Van Gisbergen at The Glen. He was also the only driver who pitted that managed to reach Gibbs by the end, finishing a distant second to the Trackhouse driver. SVG was the star, but McDowell deserves some praise too, especially after fighting back to the front after some questionable Stage 2 strategy that left him deep in the field.

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LOSER: Joey Logano finishes last, continuing 30th+ streak

Joey Logano, Team Penske

The three-time Cup Series champion is having an absolutely horrendous time right now. His best finish over the past four races is 30th and he is cratering down the standings. At the Glen, he qualified strong and almost won Stage 1 after staying out, but it all went downhill from there. He cut a tire mid-race, and ultimately finished in last place. Logano is now 18th in points, and another bad result in the Coke 600 could potentially drop him outside the top 20.

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WINNER: NASCAR’s call to use new tire packs as track limits seemed to work

Watkins Glen new tire packs

Many eyebrows were raised upon seeing the new tire packs lining the track in Turn 1 and the Carousel, but they actually worked out surprisingly well. The new method of enforcing track limits did just that, and while cars did hit them and suffer damage, it wasn’t absolute carnage as some had predicted. Keeping cars on the racing surface also made for some more dramatic passes through Turn 1, and kept cars from dangerous situations on the outskirts of the track at the exit of the Carousel with the way the guardrail is positioned there.

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LOSER: TV coverage as FOX struggles to keep up with road course action

Unfortunately, NASCAR on FOX’s last points-paying race wasn’t their best. FOX has made some improvements in 2026, but the TV coverage struggled to keep up with the road course action on Sunday. They caught the tail-end of several incidents while missing others, and rarely went back to show replays to explain what happened. A full list can be found in THIS STORY we posted on Monday morning. There are a lot of story lines unfolding around a road course, but TV struggled to give them proper focus at the Glen. However, that camera work for the flying tent that caused a bizarre mid-race caution was 10/10.

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