Circle Tracks

Before recording his Actions Detrimental podcast each week, Denny Hamlin goes back and reviews the race broadcast for the stories of the week, and that means sharing a frustration with race fans from this past weekend at Watkins Glen International. All the missed crashes and incidents. Read Also: NASCAR CupThe wild NASCAR Watkins Glen moments viewers never saw on ...Keep readingView the full article

Denny Hamlin was surprised that NASCAR issued a $50,000 fine and 25-point penalty to Ryan Preece, and believes it should be overturned or reduced on appeal, but also concedes from experience that the deck will be stacked against them. Preece was issued the penalty because the Sanctioning Body believed there was intent based on what the driver said over the radio, supplemented by SMT data ...Keep readingView the full article

Shane van Gisbergen is now the winningest driver in Trackhouse Racing history, surpassing Ross Chastain with his seventh career win -- all on road courses. It's truly incredible to see just how unbeatable the three-time Supercars champion has been over the past two years, even with how close the field is in modern NASCAR. He has only last one of the last seven road/street course races, and ...Keep readingView the full article

Monday marks the one-year mark since Kyle Larson last won a NASCAR Cup Series race, a triumph that came on May 11, 2025 at Kansas Speedway, and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team is still working through things early this season too. Larson finds himself eighth in the championship standings, needing to be within the top-5 by the end of the regular season to be a bonafide championship ...Keep readingView the full article

There's no doubt that Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen was fairly calm, as only one driver failed to reach the checkered flag and 32 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.  There were only two natural cautions -- one for flying debris from the infield, and another for a tire carcass at the side of the track. But there were several moments that the TV coverage either missed ...Keep readingView the full article

2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Hyak Motorsports, keeping him as the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet.  “Ricky has been a huge part of what we’re building at Hyak Motorsports, and we’re proud to continue this partnership for years to come,” said Gordon Smith, owner of Hyak Motorsports. “He brings experience, leadership ...Keep readingView the full article

The Watkins Glen weekend was full of highs and lows for 19-year-old Connor Zilisch. After leading the most laps in Friday's Truck race, he lost out to Kaden Honeycutt in overtime. However, he won Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly race with a dramatic pass on Jesse Love in the final corner of the final lap. And then there's the Cup race. Zilisch entered the Glen outside the top 30 in points, and still ...Keep readingView the full article

The deck was stacked against Shane Van Gisbergen and the Trackhouse No. 91 on Sunday at Watkins Glen but it simply didn’t matter. A caution with 39 laps to go put ‘SVG’ and crew chief Stephen Doran into quite the predicament. If they stayed out, they faced long odds of making it to the finish line on fuel, especially if others came down and were chasing them down on fresher tires. So ...Keep readingView the full article

Championship leader Tyler Reddick finished fifth at Watkins Glen, adding an extra 20-point between himself and Denny Hamlin, increasing his lead to a staggering 129 points. There was no change inside the top five in the standings, but Bubba Wallace did replace William Byron inside the top ten. In the battle around the Chase cut-line, there were a lot of movement. SVG's big win vaulted him ...Keep readingView the full article

After 100 laps of NASCAR Cup racing at Watkins Glen, pole-sitter Shane van Gisbergen walked away with the checkered flag. He made up 29 seconds in 18 laps during the final stint, and ultimately won the race by 7.2 seconds over Michael McDowell. Ty Gibbs was leading the strategy for those who cut out a pit stop, finishing third. Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick filled out the rest of the top ...Keep readingView the full article

There was no stopping Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen on Sunday, as he collected his seventh career win and Trackhouse Racing's first of the 2026 NASCAR Cup season. In 18 laps, he made up 29.2 seconds, passing Ty Gibbs for the race lead with seven laps to spare.    Michael McDowell finished second, with Gibbs finishing third. Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Tyler Reddick ...Keep readingView the full article

At the end of a scheduled media availability on Saturday at Watkins Glen, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott interjected as the press conference was being wrapped up, and requested some time to speak about the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting that is set to take place later this month. It wasn't in response to a question, but a deliberate statement he wanted to make in front of the assembled ...Keep readingView the full article

Katherine Legge will start 38th in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, making her eighth career start and her first of the 2026 season. She is once again driving the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet with sponsorship from e.l.f. Cosmetics. After she takes the checkered flag at the Glen, the British driver will travel directly to Indiana as practice gets underway for the 110th ...Keep readingView the full article

It was an incredible finish to Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Watkins Glen International. Defending series champion Jesse Love was stretching the fuel while Connor Zilisch was running him down on fresher tires. Even after slicing through the mud and damaging his car, Zilisch ran Love down, passing him in the final corner on the final lap, snatching the win away for JR ...Keep readingView the full article

The grid is set for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International. Defending winner Shane van Gisbergen earned pole position -- his first at the Glen but fifth at the Cup level. The impressive qualifying effort also comes on the Kiwi's 37th birthday! Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell will start from the outside of the front row, a full 0.259s off of SVG's fast lap of ...Keep readingView the full article

“Honestly, a bit surprised.” Ryan Preece was very measured on Saturday morning when discussing the penalty levied against him this week by NASCAR for the incident involving him and Ty Gibbs last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Gibbs crashed on Lap 101 and NASCAR deduced intent based on radio communication that indicated Preece could retaliate in some form for a previous incident ...Keep readingView the full article

During Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International, two late-race leaders were penalized for going early and mashing the gas before reaching the restart zone. The first was Ross Chastain, who led 19 laps before penalized with just ten laps to go. Two restarts later with five laps to go, it was Gio Ruggiero, who was even closer to the line and was getting pushed ...Keep readingView the full article

Watkins Glen was a big day for Kaulig Racing's new NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team, functioning as the anchor organization for Ram in its long-awaited return go the sport. Before Friday, Kaulig's fleet of five Ram 1500s had just five top tens total this year, with a best finish of seventh.  Well, at Watkins Glen International on Friday, Kaulig put three trucks inside the top ten in a ...Keep readingView the full article

Shane Van Gisbergen finished second to Tyler Reddick in the first road course race of the NASCAR Cup Series season at Circuit of the Americas but also had to work way harder for it than any of his five wins in 2025. To wit, the three-time Supercars champion turned Cup Series contender isn’t sure he is automatically this favorite for this weekend at Watkins Glen either. His road course prowess ...Keep readingView the full article

Making his 67th career start, Kaden Honeycutt is finally a winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He passed Connor Zilisch in overtime, hanging on to take the checkered flag for Tricon Garage. He also swept the day, earning a victory in the ARCA Menards Series race just hours earlier.  "It's amazing," said an emotional Honeycutt. "Thank you Toyota, this whole No. 11 crew ... everyone ...Keep readingView the full article

Watkins Glen International hosts the 12th round of the 2026 NASCAR Cup season, and will feature all three national divisions and the ARCA Menards Series from Friday through Sunday. This is also the earliest the track has ever appeared on the NASCAR schedule. Will Shane van Gisbergen go back-to-back, or will another driver capture the checkered flag at The Glen? Here's all some major storylines ...Keep readingView the full article

NASCAR's decision to move Watkins Glen to the spring will not last, as the historic road course confirmed plans to move the Cup date to the fall in 2027.  WGI will be part of the Chase for the Championship, and unless there is a dramatic change to the schedule, it will likely be the only road course in the Chase. This year, there are no road courses in the ten-race Chase after the Charlotte ...Keep readingView the full article

RFK Racing has announced plans to appeal the penalties NASCAR issued against Ryan Preece this week. The driver of the No. 60 Ford Mustang was involved in an incident with Texas Motor Speedway where he spun Ty Gibbs into the outside wall. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver suffered significant damage. Radio chatter from before the incident seemed to indicate that he intended to turn the driver of ...Keep readingView the full article

NASCAR is back on a road course this weekend with the Cup, O'Reilly, Craftsman Truck, and ARCA Menards Series at Watkins Glen International. This is the earliest WGI has ever appeared on the schedule, and the weather looks iffy with some rain expected. Shane van Gisbergen is the defending Cup winner at Watkins Glen, and he is hoping to secure his first win of the 2026 season this weekend ...Keep readingView the full article

After hearing arguments from all parties during a telephonic hearing on Tuesday afternoon, the judge overseeing the Joe Gibbs Racing v Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports lawsuits has scheduled the trial to take place in January. This is later than the November timeframe requested by the plaintiffs and earlier than the May timeline requested by the defendants. From the order: “The ...Keep readingView the full article