How to watch Sunday's Cup race at Watkins Glen: Start time, TV info and weather
With wins this season at Sonoma Raceway, the streets of downtown Chicago and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, van Gisbergen also can tie Denny Hamlin for the series lead in victories with a win at Watkins Glen.
Elliott won four consecutive road course races from 2019-20 (Watkins Glen, twice at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, Daytona International Speedway). Gordon holds the all-time mark of six consecutive road-course wins from 1997-2000 at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen.
Dustin Long,
Last year at Watkins Glen (which was held a month later in the playoffs), Chris Buescher beat van Gisbergen with a last-lap pass. Buescher is in the last provisional playoff spot by 23 points over Roush Fenway Racing Keselowski teammate Ryan Preece.
With three races remaining in the regular season, there are three spots left in the Cup playoffs that are occupied by winless drivers Tyler Reddick (plus 122 points), Alex Bowman (plus-63) and Buescher.
Details for Sunday's Cup race at Watkins Glen International
(All times Eastern)
START: The command to start engines will be given at 1:54 p.m. ... The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:05 p.m.
PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 11 a.m. ... The national anthems will be performed at 1:47 p.m.
DISTANCE: The race is 90 laps (220.5 miles) on the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course in Watkins Glen, New York.
STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 20. Stage 2 ends at Lap 40.
PURSE: $9,797,935
ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 40 cars entered at Watkins Glen International.
TV/RADIO: USA Network will broadcast the race starting with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ... Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.
FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Sunny with a high of 91 degrees and winds from the south at 5 to 10 mph. It's expected to be 88 degrees with a 0% chance for rain at the start of the Cup race.
LAST TIME: Chris Buescher outdueled Shane van Gisbergen in overtime, making contact while completing a last-lap pass for his first victory of the season.
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NASCAR Power Rankings After Watkins Glen: 10 Best Drivers Right Now, Bubba Wallace and SVG Rise
Who is the best NASCAR driver right now? If it's on a road course, the only answer is Shane van Gisbergen after he earned his fourth win of the season thanks to a dominant performance at Watkins Glen International. However, ovals dominate in stock car and that's why the best NASCAR drivers right now are at the top. Let's dive into our latest NASCAR power rankings after Sunday's Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. 1. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports William Byron is the best NASCAR driver in 2025. For all intents and purposes, he can be declared the regular-season champion. With two races to go, Byron has a 42-point lead over Chase Elliott and no other driver is within 80 points. There's no reason to expect the driver who leads the Cup in laps led (910), one of only two drivers with 560-plus laps led, will suddenly cede all that ground. If the No. 24 car hadn't run out of fuel on the final laps in a few races, he'd also have more than two wins and certainly would be leading Cup in top 10s. William Byron stats (): 812 points, 2 wins, 13 top 10s, 9 top 5s, 2 poles, 3 DNFs, 910 laps led, 10.917 average starting position, 13.75 average finishing position Related: 2. Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Chase Briscoe has been one of the best NASCAR drivers this summer. Early in the year, it was fair to criticize him for not consistently turning a great average starting position (12.75), including 4 poles, into more than just a solid but not great average finishing position (14.625) over his first 16 races. Since Mexico City, he's been on fire. Briscoe has six top‑7 finishes in the last nine races, including a win at Pocono and runner-up finishes at Sonoma, Dover, and Iowa, plus a fifth at Watkins Glen. Over the last six races, Briscoe leads the Cup Series in average starting position (2.3), average finishing position (8.7), and top‑5s (four), and he ranks third in laps led (149). Chase Briscoe stats (): 674 points, 1 win, 12 top 10s, 10 top 5s, 6 poles, 3 DNFs, 313 laps led, 10.042 average starting position, 13.333 average finishing position Read More: 3. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske It's fair to say that Ryan Blaney only won the pole at Watkins Glen over the weekend because Shane van Gisbergen ran in the first qualifying group, who all put up slower times than the drivers in the second group. Even with that acknowledged, what lands Blaney third in the NASCAR power rankings is what he's done over the last month. Across his last four races, Blaney has two stage wins (2 playoff points), 165 stage points (41.25 points per race), and he hasn't finished worse than 8th (at Dover). He also ranks third in Average Rating (95.4) in the last six races and boasts the fourth-most laps led (430) this season. The only reason he's lower than the other top drivers in points is that his No. 12 car has been on the wrong side of bad luck or had engine issues, resulting in seven DNFs. Ryan Blaney stats (): 710 points, 1 win, 12 top 10s, 8 top 5s, 2 poles, 7 DNFs, 430 laps led, 15.043 average starting position, 16.417 average finishing position Related: 4. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Road courses simply aren't good for Denny Hamlin. He started 22nd at Watkins Glen and finished 25th, with his car never really giving him a legitimate shot at a top‑15 run. In four road course races this season, Hamlin has one top‑five finish (Chicago) and three finishes outside the top 20. Missing the Mexico City race following the birth of his son likely spared him another poor result. On ovals, however, Hamlin remains one of the best NASCAR drivers in 2025. 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The hope is that Sunday's second-place finish is a springboard for Bell heading into the playoffs. Christopher Bell stats (): 727 points, 3 wins, 14 top 10s, 9 top 5s, 1 pole, 3 DNFs, 221 laps led, 14.333 average starting position, 12.125 average finishing position Read More: 6. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports If our NASCAR power rankings were determined based on pure talent, Kyle Larson deserves the No. 1 spot. However, this summer has turned 2025 into a rather disappointing season for the No. 5 car. After finishing 28th at Iowa, where his car got banged around and stuck in traffic, Larson finished last on Sunday at Watkins Glen. The car was the problem. It qualified 26th, and just a few laps into Stage 1, Larson reported brake issues that required a lengthy stop in the garage. Since trying to run 'The Double' on May 25, Larson has finished outside the top 30 four times, and he's been outside the top 15 six times. Kyle Larson (): 727 points, 3 wins, 14 top 10s, 11 top 5s, 1 pole, 2 DNFs, 873 laps led, 12.958 average starting position, 14.542 average finishing position Read More: 7. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Running as an open team has seemed to do wonders for Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing. Entering the race at Dover on July 20, Wallace was just above the cutline on the playoff bubble and in danger of missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Between that and the fallout from 23XI Racing losing its charter status, there was added pressure on Wallace. Bubba Wallace's 2025 stats (2025): 610 points, 1 win, 10 top 10s, 4 top 5s, 6 DNFs, 136 laps led, a 16.8 average starting position, and a 17.8 average finishing position. He's delivered the best stretch of his career. Wallace placed seventh at Dover, working his way up from 22nd on the starting grid. He followed that up by qualifying second for the Brickyard 400 and then beating Kyle Larson twice in overtime for a playoff-clinching win. 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It added to his strong run, posting a 9.11 average finishing position in the last nine races. Most importantly for Reddick, he's punched his ticket to the playoffs. Tyler Reddick stats (): 701 points, 0 wins, 9 top 10s, 5 top 5s, 1 pole, 1 DNF, 112 laps led, 12.792 average starting position, 14.417 average finishing position Related: 9. Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Shane van Gisbergen is the best road course racer in NASCAR history, which should be evident after his dominant win. Given his cushion in playoff points and the upcoming ROVAL 400 in the Round of 12, there is every reason to believe the rookie will make it to the Round of 8. The one thing holding SVG back from being ranked higher among the best NASCAR drivers is simply his inexperience on ovals. Excluding road course races this season, van Gisbergen's average finishing position is 28.7 in 19 races. 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