SVG Does It Again, Breakout Day for Many: NASCAR Cup at Watkins Glen Top 10 Breakdown

WATKINS GLEN. N.Y. -- Shane van Gisbergen proved again why he is the road course king in Sunday's Go Bowling at the Glen.

'SVG' led an overwhelming majority of the race and took his seventh career win and second straight Watkins Glen Cup race with over a seven-second gap to anyone who challenged him.

Despite losing to SVG, many of Sunday's top-10 finishers had a reason to celebrate after entering the weekend on a lull -- some on a pretty serious lull, SVG included.

1. Shane van Gisbergen

Coming into the weekend, SVG downplayed his chances at winning, telling media members at Texas Motor Speedway that his car didn't have what he needed at Circuit of the Americas to be able to qualify well and beat Tyler Reddick. 

Looking at Sunday's race, he may have been bluffing.

The Kiwi's kill mode proved highly effective again Sunday. With the help of crew chief Stephen Doran, the six-time Cup Series road course winner made it seven with a run through the field that saw him run 45 seconds than Ty Gibbs, whom he passed 17 laps after pitting. In the final eight laps, SVG built up a 7.288-second advantage and won.

The Trackhouse Racing now has won with three different car numbers in the Cup Series: No. 91, No. 88 and No. 97. Sunday also marked the first win for the No. 97 since late-2005 when Kurt Busch won at Richmond in the No. 97 car. 

Fast forward to this year and SVG is in the Chase by six points over Chase Briscoe after two finishes of 34th or worse in the last four races knocked him out.

Being above the cutline with two road course races coming up is great. However, Trackhouse has to get better overall for any of their drivers to make this year's Chase.

2. Michael McDowell

Nearly three years ago, Michael McDowell was frustrated after a driver waxed the field in his series debut. 

Now, three years later, you can imagine how it must feel to have that same driver still subjecting you to the same fate.

McDowell earned his best finish since Sonoma Raceway in June 2024. He was 'best of the rest,' starting second behind SVG and finishing behind him at day's end.

The driver of Spire Motorsports' No. 71 Chevrolet was also one of a few drivers to lead Sunday, spending five laps out in front.

Although it was a blow to get beat by SVG again, finishing second after five poor finishes in the previous seven races is a nice way to build momentum before Charlotte, where the team had one of their best runs of the season last year.

McDowell is 21st in the standings, 58 points below the Chase cutline.

NOTE: McDowell has now earned multiple top-five finishes in every season since 2021 and every season since 2019 except for 2020.

3. Ty Gibbs

For a little while, it looked like Gibbs was going to be the guy to beat SVG and Connor Zilisch. While he had Zilisch beat, SVG and his team's raw speed and strategy was too much for the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE.

On the bright side, Gibbs got back into the top-10 for the first time since three weeks before at Kansas, which wrapped a run of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. 

Getting back on form feels good, especially when SVG is the only driver who led more laps than you and you secure seven stage points that improve your points position.

Gibbs is sixth in the standings, three points behind fifth-place Chris Buescher and 95 points above the cutline.

4. Chase Briscoe

Is this the season start of something for Chase Briscoe or just another glimmer of how this team could possibly run?

Briscoe earned his fourth top-five finish, giving him the fifth-most top-five finishes of any driver this season.

However, Briscoe also has five finishes of 23rd this season that mean Sunday saw him lose points to the bubble when one of his competitors set the field on fire.

Summer is coming, though, and Briscoe was strong last season. He was 12th in the standings before he went on a tear in the summer that propelled him to the Championship 4.

What Briscoe needs is to figure out his speed on the speedway tracks, like Charlotte where he will have 600 miles to fine-tune their package. They don't have far to go, with finishes of eighth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and third at Kansas Speedway, but there is some speed they could find at Charlotte to elevate themselves.

5. Tyler Reddick

"Gah, what is going to take shake this guy?" said most fans looking at the top-10 finishing order (probably).

Reddick earned the third-most points of any driver, extending his points lead to 129 points after 12 races. A week after becoming the 78th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to score 100 top-10 finishes, Reddick earned No. 101 with his ninth top-10 finish of the season (eight of those are top-five finishes).

As far as the race itself, Reddick was good. Although he started 15th, he finished second to 'SVG' in the second stage before slipping back as strategies shuffled late.

NOTE: Under the old points format, which awarded the winner 15 fewer points, Reddick's lead would still be 69 points, which was more than a race-worth of points.

6. Austin Dillon

Welcome back to the top-10, Austin Dillon!

For the first time since his out-of-nowhere win at Richmond last summer, Dillon earned a top-10 finish in the Cup Series. He had an average running position of around 11th, tying Tyler Reddick, and finished fourth in the second stage. 

Ultimately, Dillon earned the sixth-most points of any driver and is up to 22nd in points, 63 points below the Chase cutline.

Richard Childress Racing is a total wildcard at this point. They have either run really well or really terribly. So far, Dillon has found his niche somewhere in the middle with an average finish (20.0) that is on track to be his best since 2022 (16.5).

Dillon has been quietly consistent this season too. In the last 10 races, he only has two finishes outside of the top-20 and ranks 18th for points earned of any driver in the field. Sitting 22nd in points, that indicates Dillon is on the rise, even if there is still work to do.

7. A.J. Allmendinger

Out of any of the top-10 finishers and any of the top-20 in the standings, Allmendinger may be the most impressive. 

Without manufacturer support they've relied on in the past, the No. 16 team shined at Watkins Glen, while teams with full support, like Spire Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports, mostly finished behind them.

Allmendinger is still a worth competitor on road courses, even if arguably worthier competitors have entered the fold or upped their level in recent years.

Now 20th in the standings, 48 below the Chase cutline, and with two road courses coming soon, Allmendinger will be interesting to watch.

8. Kyle Busch

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was so close to earning his first top-five finish since the 2025 season finale but an eighth-place finish will do (very well).

Busch showed speed in practice but qualified 21st. He didn't stay there long as he spent 70 of the 100 laps inside the top-15, earning six points for finishing fifth in stage two. On the day, he earned 

Busch has now earned a driver rating of at least 85.0 in three consecutive points races. It's the first time he has done that since a stretch from EchoPark Speedway Atlanta to Phoenix Raceway early last season.

Crew chief Andy Street and his knowledge of how to set up a NextGen car may be the missing ingredient in making Kyle Busch – and RCR for that matter – relevant again.

9. Austin Cindric

Watkins Glen marked the fourth week in a row where Cindric either finished highest or earned the best driver rating among the three Team Penske drivers. 

This past Sunday, he did both – finishing ninth and earning a 90.2 driver rating.

Cindric started third, ran seventh midway through and averaged around a 10th-place running position during the race. He also earned 11 stage points – seven in the first stage and four in the second stage – that has him 15th in the standings, 10 points above the Chase cutline.

Four speedways, two road courses, another speedway and a drafting track follow the All-Star break. Cindric has been the standout Penske driver on speedways this year and drafting tracks and road courses play into his favor. It wouldn't be a shock to see him leading the charge for Penske yet again in those races, which will go a long way to securing the fifth-year veteran's future in the No. 2 car.

10. John Hunter Nemechek

Welcome back to the top-10, John Hunter Nemechek!

The driver of Legacy Motor Club's No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE earned his first top-10 finish since Gateway last September in Sunday's race. He finished sixth in the first stage and crew chief Travis Mack navigated the strategies well enough to get his driver into the top-10.

Nemechek has now finished inside the top-10 in two of the last six road course races, ranking him 11th among all drivers and tied with champions Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.

Nemechek needed that. After earning a career-high eight top-10s last season and having some races where he looked legitimately strong at times, this season has seen him be the cut-and-paste lap car leaders work around, with just three lead-lap finishes in the first 11 races and no finishes better than 17th.

Nemechek has talent and Legacy believes in him. They just need more days like Sunday to show that to everyone.

Best of the rest: