For the first time this season, road course ace Shane van Gisbergen will have a chance to defend one of his NASCAR Cup Series victories from last year.
Because of a shakeup in the schedule, however, that first defense will come at Watkins Glen International, whose May date for Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the earliest ever for the 2.45-mile circuit.
Van Gisbergen won the last five road course races of 2026, but because of schedule changes, he’ll have the chance to defend victories at only two of the venues—Watkins Glen and Sonoma Raceway.
Mexico City isn’t on the Cup Series calendar this year, the Chicago race is moving from the downtown Street Course to the Chicagoland Speedway oval in Joliet, and the Charlotte Roval has been displaced by the intermediate oval at the same facility.
The addition of the highly technical street course at Naval Base Coronado will give SVG another opportunity to showcase his skills, but the driver himself cautions against the assumption that all he has to do is show up to win.
“I think it’s an expectation you have to manage,” the New Zealander said. “We can’t go there and just expect to win, but hopefully we’re good and competitive and competing for the win at the end.”
For one thing, Van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing Chevrolets haven’t had the same feel the three-time Australian Supercars champion found in last year’s versions.
“I’ve just lacked turn, drive, power—the three main things you need,” SVG said. “It made it difficult at COTA (Circuit of the Americas in the third race of the season). “In qualifying we really struggled. Yeah, it’s frustrating.”
One thing Van Gisbergen won’t lack at Watkins Glen is seat time. He’ll be competing for Niece Motorsports in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race and for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event—with two-time defending race winner Connor Zilisch as his teammate.
The May date at the Glen brings weather into the equation. Cooler temperatures are predicted, with a chance of rain at some point during the weekend. Though he’s a master in wet conditions, Van Gisbergen would prefer to race on dry pavement.
“I hate racing in the rain,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m good at it. I’ll adapt if it happens, but I hope it’s dry for all three races. It’s just no fun racing in the rain. You can’t be precise. You’ve got to just wing it. Stuff goes wrong.
“I’ve just never enjoyed it.”
Before SVG arrived in the Cup Series, Kyle Larson won back-to-back races at Watkins Glen in 2021 and 2022, bridging the gap between the Gen 6 and Gen 7 race cars. Larson enters Sunday’s event on a 35-race winless streak.
William Byron, Larson’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, will make his 300th Cup Series start on Sunday. Byron won at the Glen in 2023.
Despite his recent spate of ill fortune, it would be a mistake to overlook Christopher Bell, a three-time Cup road course winner. Bell has finished in the top five in seven of the last eight road course races, including a win at COTA and a runner-up at Watkins Glen, both last year.
Interestingly, seven of the last eight Watkins Glen winners have come from the first two rows of the starting grid—and three of the last four from the second starting position. The exception was Chris Buescher, who won from 24th in 2024.
Buescher is the only Ford driver to triumph at the Glen since Joey Logano in 2015
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