The Cup Series returns to Watkins Glen International this afternoon for the 2025 Go Bowling at The Glen. A seven turn, 2.454 mile road course, Watkins Glen first hosted the Cup Series in 1957 and has been a mainstay on the schedule since 1986.
Today’s race will be one of strategy. Will drivers be racing for Stage Points? Or for the win? Will they pit prior to the end of each stage? It’ll all hinge on where cautions ultimately fall, but there will be plenty of strategies, as drivers will have varying agendas this afternoon. Each team will have their fingers crossed that they indeed selected the correct strategy. As always, drivers will need to be focused on managing their equipment. Don’t be using the chrome horn unless you absolutely need to. Be patient as you work your way through the turns. With plenty of elevation changes and tight racing, things can go awry quickly. Managing your tires and brakes will be vital to maintaining track position at a track where track position is king. The easiest passes come on pit road and on restarts, but drivers will want to get to the front in any way possible. With only three races remaining until the Playoffs begin, expect plenty of aggressive strategy calls and desperate moves to be made by those looking to win their way into the Playoffs because if you’re not first, you’re last. Will the road course ringers reign supreme? Will we have an unexpected winner? Or will it be status quo, with the favorites running up front and drivers racing calmly all afternoon?
The Go Bowling at The Glen was first held in 1957 and has produced an impressive list of winners throughout the years. Tony Stewart has won this race the most time, taking the victory five times in his career. Jeff Gordon has four Watkins Glen victories, Mark Martin won here three times and Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ricky Rudd and Rusty Wallace are all multi-time winners of this race.
Last year’s edition was won by Chris Buescher, who led 19 laps and executed a last lap pass on Shane van Gisbergen to pick up the victory. van Gisbergen finished in second after leading one lap, Carson Hocevar finished in third after leading one lap, Ross Chastain finished in fourth after winning Stage 2 and leading a race high 51 laps and Zane Smith rounded out the top five. Michael McDowell finished in seventh after leading seven laps, Corey LaJoie finished in eighth after leading two laps, Joey Logano led six laps on the way to a 15th place finish, Alex Bowman led one lap on the way to an 18th place finish and Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 1 and led four laps on the way to a 20th place finish.
Coverage of the Go Bowling at The Glen can be seen on the USA Network, with pre-race beginning at 1:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 2 PM EST.
Erik Jones has just been chipping away at success all season long, posting two top fives, three top 10’s and eight top 15 finishes in the #43 car for Legacy Motor Club. Unfortunately for Jones, road courses have been his kryptonite all season long, finishing 25th or worse in three of the four races on this style of track. Watkins Glen has been a struggle of late for Jones as well, finishing 27th or worse in three of the last four races at the track. This weekend is looking to be much of the same struggle for Jones, laying down the 25th fastest lap of Practice before qualifying in 30th position. With his struggles in failing to tame the tracks with right turns, I have no doubt that Jones will finish outside the top 25 again this afternoon.
MIchael McDowell has continued his on-track persistence in 2025, locking down two top fives, three top 10’s and nine top 15 finishes in his first season behind the wheel of the #71 for Spire Motorsports. McDowell has always been a sporty road course racer, winning on the Indianapolis Road Course in 2023, and Watkins Glen is no different, qualifying inside the top 10 each of the last three seasons and leading 38 laps in those starts on the way to a pair of top seven finishes. McDowell has a pair of top five finishes through the first four road course races of the season, and he has brought that speed to Watkins Glen this weekend, laying down the second fastest lap of Practice on the way to a sixth place starting position. With McDowell needing to win to make the Playoffs, this is his best chance of taking his season to the next level. Expect McDowell to lead some laps and be a threat late in the going on the way to a top 10 finish.
The heavy favorite to win today, and for good reason, Shane van Gisbergen knows a thing or two about making both right and left turns. A four-time winner in his Cup Series career, including in his very first NASCAR start in 2023, van Gisbergen has torched the field on road courses in 2025, winning each of the last three road course races, starting on the Pole in all three of those, and finishing no worse than sixth in four road course starts. Despite the dominance, we may have found a weak spot for SVG: Watkins Glen. van Gisbergen finished fifth in the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen in 2024 after leading 14 laps and backed it up with a 31st place finish yesterday after leading 11 laps and wrecking after racing hard with teammate Connor Zilisch. And how can we forget last year’s Cup Series race, where SVG led with one lap to go, only to get loose on his own accord and passed by Chris Buescher in the carousel? Seems like SVG is great here (no shocker there), but just can’t seem to close the deal and take the victory? In spite of the quickly-forming scar tissue, van Gisbergen laid down the sixth fastest lap of Practice and will start today’s race on the front row in second position. SVG will lead some laps today and will undoubtedly be in the hunt all race long. I predict he will come up just a bit short, but will pick up another top 10 finish on a road course.
The defending winner of this race, Chris Buescher has once again shifted into bubble boy mode, posting three top fives and 11 top 10’s to rank 11th in the Driver Standings. However, he is currently the 16th and final driver in the Playoff Standings, sitting 23 points to the good over his teammate, Ryan Preece. Buescher has been a great road course racer in his career, consistently running towards the front, leading laps and putting together quality finishes. Watkins Glen is arguably Buescher’s best road course, posting seven straight top 20’s at the track, three straight top 10’s and leading 19 laps and making a last lap pass for the win over Shane Van Gisbergen last year. Despite Buescher’s road course prowess, he hasn’t had as much success this season compared to past years, posting a pair of top 10’s and four top 20’s on the road courses this season, but hasn’t finished better than 7th in any of those races. Not bad for the average driver, but those are subpar results for a driver of Buescher’s caliber. Buescher is coming in strong so far this weekend, posting the third fastest lap of Practice and ranking inside the top 6 on 5, 10 and 15 Lap Averages. Buescher rolls out from 12th today, but no worries there, as he came from a 24th place starting position to win the race last year. I predict that Chris Buescher will step up and punch his ticket to the Playoffs with a repeat victory at Watkins Glen!
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