Van Gisbergen takes Busch Light Pole at Watkins Glen, McDowell joins front row

Shane van Gisbergen won the Busch Light Pole Award in qualifying (Q3) at Watkins Glen International with a pole lap of 1:11.165 (123.937 mph). Michael McDowell will share the front row after qualifying second with a 1:11.424, and van Gisbergen was credited with taking the cleanest line into Turn 1. Qualifying set the 38-car starting lineup, with Austin Cindric third (1:11.445), Ross Chastain fourth and rookie Connor Zilisch fifth.

Practice (FP1) featured an early wet-to-slick transition that forced teams onto wet tires initially, during which Chastain and Chase Briscoe suffered cut tires. Van Gisbergen led the five-, 10- and 15-lap practice averages. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Briscoe and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top 10 in qualifying.

The pole continues van Gisbergen’s strong road-course form; a five-race road-and-street winning streak ended at COTA in March, and he won at Watkins Glen in 2025 by more than 11 seconds. Trackhouse sits outside the postseason cutline, with Chastain 18th, van Gisbergen 19th and Zilisch 33rd in the standings, and both Trackhouse teammates remain in search of their first Cup Series wins this season. Qualifying will shape early strategy and track position for Sunday’s Race, the 2.45-mile Go Bowling at The Glen scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on FS1; points leader Tyler Reddick, a five-time winner this season, qualified 15th and Hendrick Motorsports’ best qualifier was William Byron in 13th.