RACE RESULTS: Go Bowling at The Glen

Using an average of rankings between Racing America On SI’s Toby Christie, Joseph Srigley, and Zach Evans, here’s where all 36 full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stand heading into this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway.

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

1. Chase Briscoe

Something has clicked this Summer for Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing, between the major performances in qualifying and some strong finishes. Another top-five this season for the No. 19 team comes with a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen International. (Previously: 1st)

2. William Byron

What a roller coaster ride for William Byron, who has been looking to take home the regular-season championship. In May, it looked like he had it sewn up. In July, not so much. After a win in Iowa, and a clutch top-five run at Watkins Glen, where literally everyone else with a chance faltered, his odds look very, very good with two races left until the Playoffs. (Previously: 7th)

3. Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney started on the pole and led 35 laps on Sunday, and at times, you wondered if he’d be able to prevent the expected SVG road course win. However, his car fell off the pace on the final run and Blaney instead finished sixth, passed by Chase Briscoe on the final lap. (Previously: 8th)

4. Bubba Wallace

Noted road course non-enthusiast Bubba Wallace has started to find speed on the non-ovals recently, but the results haven’t reflected that thus far in 2025. On Sunday, Wallace put it all together for an eighth-place finish, and even picked up bragging rights at Airspeed this week over teammate Tyler Reddick. (Previously: 6th)

5. Ryan Preece

He keeps clicking off solid results, but unless he scores a win in the next two races, it may all be for not. However, Preece has taken a massive step forward this year and has proven that he belongs in the NASCAR Cup Series. (Previously: 5th)

6. Alex Bowman

It wasn’t his finest result Sunday at Watkins Glen, but a 20th-place run keeps the wheels turning toward another Playoff berth for Alex Bowman. (Previously: 2nd)

7. Christopher Bell

With just two races until the Playoffs, it was important for Christopher Bell to get himself back on the right track, and with a second-place finish at Watkins Glen International, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has managed to do exactly that. (Previously: 11th)

8. Denny Hamlin

A top-25 finish isn’t the standard, and has never been the standard, for Denny Hamlin. That’s a disappointing afternoon for a driver who is a serious contender just about anywhere that the NASCAR Cup Series goes – except for road courses, apparently. (Previously: 4th)

9. Chase Elliott

Within striking distance of a regular-season championship, Chase Elliott, Alan Gustafson and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team put in their worst performance of the season with a 26th-place run at The Glen. This was Elliott’s first finish outside of the top-20, and aside from strategically picking up some Stage Points, Elliott never really looked like a contender on Sunday. (Previously: 3rd)

10. Chris Buescher

Chris Buescher came close — well, as close as you can get with Shane van Gisbergen winning the race by more than 11 seconds — to repeating as the winner of the Go Bowling at The Glen. Still, a third-place finish keeps him moving in the right direction above the Playoff cutline. (Previously: 13th)

11. Tyler Reddick

It’s not SVG’s herculean win streak on the road courses, but Tyler Reddick now has top 10 finishes in the last three road course events after finishing ninth at Watkins Glen. With 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan in attendance, both Reddick and Bubba Wallace scored top 10 finishes on Sunday. (Previously: 15th)

12. Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski had another solid top-15 run going, but a flat left rear tire late in the race doomed any hope he had at a decent finish. Keselowski would finish 31st. (Previously: 9th)

13. Joey Logano

Joey Logano was one of the drivers playing the long game throughout the day, pitting before the end of both stages in search of track position. He ultimately came home with a 14th place finish, a solid if unspectacular day for the champion. (Previously: 14th)

14. Kyle Larson

A dead-last finish for Kyle Larson is not what the No. 5 team had drawn up going into the weekend. However, the brakes on Larson’s car faltered early, which sent him to the garage for repairs. He’d finish 15 laps down, but would turn the Xfinity Fastest Lap when he returned to the track. (Previously: 10th)

15. Austin Cindric

It’s hard to fathom, after his success on road courses earlier in his career, that many of Cindric’s worst results this summer have come on the road courses. The 16th-place finish at Watkins Glen is Cindric’s best road course result of the 2025 season. (Previously: 16th)

16. Ross Chastain

Chastain was part of history for Trackhouse Racing on Sunday, as a 10th-place finish meant that the organization put three cars inside the top-10 for the first time ever. The speed wasn’t at the level of last season, but a good performance nonetheless. (Previously: 21st)

17. Kyle Busch

Everytime Kyle Busch looks to be putting himself in a position to take a step forward, something happens to make him take a few steps backward. This week, a collision with Denny Hamlin nearly ruined his entire afternoon. Busch was able to salvage a 22nd-place finish, but he’ll need a win in the next two races to make the Playoffs. (Previously: 17th)

18. Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar finished 18th, allowing Zane Smith by uneventfully in the closing laps in spite of their clashes one week ago in Iowa. Earlier in the race, however, Hocevar spun after contact teammate Michael McDowell. That ends a run of back-to-back top 10s for Hocevar, who will look to get back on track next weekend at Richmond. (Previously: 20th)

19. Shane van Gisbergen

Shane Van Gisbergen returned to Victory Lane for the fourth time this season, capturing a dominant victory at Watkins Glen International. That’s all fine and dandy, but the next road course race isn’t until October, so he’ll need to buckle down and get to work on these ovals. (Previously: 24th)

20. Ty Gibbs

Things had been going well the last couple of months for Ty Gibbs, but on Sunday at Watkins Glen, things just fell apart. A terrible 33rd-place finish was the end result for the No. 54 Toyota Camry after an afternoon filled with bickering on the radio. (Previously: 12th)

21. AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger narrowly missed out on his sixth top 10 finish of the season, crossing the line 11th at Watkins Glen. With the last road course of the regular season in the books, Allmendinger will turn to Richmond and Daytona, looking to win his way into the Cup Series Playoffs. (Previously: 22nd)

22. Erik Jones

After a rough stretch of races, Erik Jones has started to work himself back up the ladder some. He finished 16th at Iowa Speedway, and followed that up with a quiet, yet solid 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen. (Previously: 26th)

23. John Hunter Nemechek

I’m not sure what was in the water in Watkins Glen, but it felt like everyone had some contact to hand out to Nemechek. The biggest impact of the day for JHN came off of the front bumper of Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota. However, Nemechek got the last laugh as he finished 32nd, one spot ahead of Gibbs. (Previously: 18th)

24. Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell finished 19th, one spot behind Carson Hocevar after tagging him for a spin earlier in the race. After his violent accident on Saturday in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, McDowell may have been pleased to simply see the checkered flag with his car in one piece. (Previously: 25th)

25. Daniel Suarez

His teammate at Trackhouse Racing, Shane Van Gisbergen, may have stolen the show this weekend with a victory at Watkins Glen, but a seventh-place result is a much-needed confidence boost for Daniel Suarez, proving that this No. 99 team is not a lame duck. (Previously: 28th)

26. Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team are showing signs of life heading into two tracks, Richmond and Daytona, that are really good ones for Dillon. Dillon heads into the site of his controversial 2024 win on the heels of a 10th-place finish at Iowa and a 15th-place run this past weekend at Watkins Glen. (Previously: 27th)

27. Josh Berry

Josh Berry went for a spin and tagged the guardrail after contact with Ty Dillon during Stage Two, a huge setback for the No. 21 team. Berry finished 35th, the last car on the lead lap. (Previously: 19th)

28. Justin Haley

Just as it looked like the No. 7 team had found something with three straight top-20 finishes, including an 11th in the Brickyard 400, it has been 23rd at Iowa and 27th at Watkins Glen in the past two weeks for Justin Haley. Haley battled power steering issues on Sunday around the winding road course. (Previously: 23rd)

29. Zane Smith

After weeks of crashing, getting crashed, and general misfortune, Zane Smith came home a respectable 17th-place at Watkins Glen International. Not a bad performance for the Front Row Motorsports team, but no doubt they want more. (Previously: 32nd)

30. Todd Gilliland

There wasn’t much to be said about Todd Gilliland at Watkins Glen, after having a quiet afternoon and finishing 28th. This is a team that, despite some momentum from a sixth-place run at Indianapolis, has had its fair share of struggles this season. (Previously: 30th)

31. Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon finished 30th at Watkins Glen, continuing his cold streak since the Brickyard 400. The momentum of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge run to the finals has not carried over, it appears, and short track results earlier in the season do not bode well for Dillon next weekend in Richmond. (Previously: 29th)

32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is one of the drivers who typically struggles on the road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series. A top-25 isn’t the best finish in the world, but a solid result nonetheless for a team that needs to get itself back on track. (Previously: 34th)

33. Riley Herbst

Riley Herbst finished 24th on Sunday at Watkins Glen, and the mid-20s have become a rather consistent finishing position for the rookie driver. While there’s still an outside shot with a win in the next two weeks and a strong Playoff run, it is looking increasingly likely that Shane van Gisbergen will claim Rookie of the Year honors. (Previously: 33rd)

34. Noah Gragson

All things considered, not a terrible run for Noah Gragson. It’s not special or sparkly at all, but a 21st-place finish may help the team get back on track for the final 12 events of the season. (Previously: 35th)

35. Cole Custer

After a top-10 in Mexico City, Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team likely had high hopes for Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International. However, the No. 41 team never showed any real raw speed throughout the weekend and struggled to bring it home in 34th. (Previously: 31st)

36. Cody Ware

Cody Ware was able to come home a quiet 29th and was able to score a Stage Point in Stage 1 on Sunday at Watkins Glen. He’s working on building some momentum that will bring him out of the basement of these power rankings. (Previously: 36th)

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