A look at the NASCAR qualifying results for the 2026 Go Bowling at The Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
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A rain shower on Saturday morning led to reduced practice time, but qualifying for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen went off without a hitch. While track position is a factor at every race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, it carries added significance on a road course. Passing opportunities are limited compared to a typical oval, making a strong qualifying effort more valuable than usual.
The following shares the official starting grid for Sunday’s race, along with Watkins Glen International track details and key observations from NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying. If you are playing some fantasy today, make sure you check out our NASCAR fantasy picks for the Go Bowling at The Glen!
NASCAR Qualifying Results at Watkins Glen International
2026 Go Bowling at The Glen Race Info
Date: Sunday, May 10, 2026
Start Time: 3 p.m. EST
Track: Watkins Glen International — Watkins Glen, NY
Coverage: FS1
Pole Sitter: Shane van Gisbergen
Defending Champion: Shane van Gisbergen
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Go Bowling at The Glen Race Breakdown
Distance: 245 miles
Laps: 100
Lap Length: 2.45 miles
Stages: Three (20 laps, 30 laps, 50 laps)
Course: Short Circuit
Surface: Asphalt
Turns: 7
Banking: Turns range from 6 to 10°; Straights — 0°
Official Go Bowling at The Glen Starting Lineup
Shane van Gisbergen has won five of the last six road course races contested in the NASCAR Cup Series. He looks to be well on his way to defending his win at Watkins Glen from a year ago. With a speed of 123.937 mph, SVG claimed the pole in qualifying on Saturday.
This marks the fifth time that van Gisbergen will lead the field to green in his Cup Series career. It is his first pole award in three career starts at Watkins Glen and is also his first of the 2026 season.
Joining van Gisbergen on the front row will be Michael McDowell. This marks his best-ever starting position at WGI and is the fifth time in 17 races here that he will start inside the top-10.
While Toyota has consistently been the class of the field in the NASCAR qualifying results this season, the first seven spots on the Go Bowling at The Glen starting grid are all occupied by Fords and Chevrolets. Interestingly, both Trackhouse Racing and Team Penske have all of their cars starting in the top-seven.
The table below shares the complete Go Bowling at The Glen starting lineup and NASCAR qualifying results for Sunday afternoon’s race.
| Pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team | Manufac. |
| 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | 97 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Michael McDowell | 71 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 4 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Connor Zilisch | 88 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske | Ford |
| 8 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 9 | Chase Briscoe | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 10 | Ty Gibbs | 54 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 11 | Carson Hocevar | 77 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 12 | AJ Allmendinger | 16 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 13 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Chris Buescher | 17 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 15 | Tyler Reddick | 45 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 16 | Daniel Suarez | 7 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 17 | John Hunter Nemechek | 42 | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Cole Custer | 41 | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Kyle Busch | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Todd Gilliland | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 23 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Erik Jones | 43 | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota |
| 25 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 27 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 29 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | HYAK Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Ryan Preece | 60 | RFK Racing | Ford |
| 31 | Ty Dillon | 10 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Riley Herbst | 35 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 33 | Zane Smith | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 34 | Josh Berry | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 35 | Noah Gragson | 4 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 36 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 37 | Josh Bilicki | 66 | Garage 66 | Ford |
| 38 | Katherine Legg | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet |
NASCAR Go Bowling at The Glen Practice and Qualifying Notes
- Shane van Gisbergen’s qualifying lap time of 71.165 seconds was nearly 0.26 seconds faster than second-place qualifier Michael McDowell.
- The three Trackhouse Racing drivers have gotten plenty of seat time this weekend, competing in the Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Series races in addition to Cup. Connor Zilisch and Ross Chastain join Shane van Gisbergen with top-five starting spots.
- This marks the third time that Austin Cindric has qualified inside the top-10 at Watkins Glen in five career starts.
- Hendrick Motorsports has racked up plenty of wins at WGI over the years but struggled in this week’s NASCAR qualifying results. William Byron will start 13th, but the other three HMS cars will begin outside the top-20.
- Due to rain on Saturday morning, practice for the Cup Series was reduced to a single 55-minute session.
- Austin Cindric had the fastest single-lap practice speed at 122.147 mph. Carson Hocevar, Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell also broke the 122-mph threshold.
- Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe each had a flat tire incident during practice, but neither sustained any major car damage.
