Final laps FINAL LAPS: Shane van Gisbergen takes checkered flag at Watkins Glen 🏁 NASCAR on FOX

Yeah. Now he's just setting his own pace out there. You see these cars back here, Kyle Larson being one of those cars back in 18th position. Clint, I'm really surprised how bad their day and weekend has been. Saint Smith running with him. They just got past Carson Josevar, who has faded to 20th. Here comes Michael McDowell on Ty Gibbs. A perfect game, but I think they probably came about one strike away from one. Yeah, they're definitely going to get a spare out of this, so this is a great day for Mike. It really is. And this is what what you would expect to see. Ty Gibbs have a lot of trouble off the corner right there. I think it may have some persuasion for the 71, but back to Michael McDowell, you know, he's expected to be good on these road courses and do a good job. And honestly, the rest of the racetracks have been a little bit off for him. And so this was one of this was a weekend that you had to have circled for McDowell to get right. And for the team at Spire Motorsports and the performance that they've that we've seen out of the seven and seventy seven, they've just done a great job. And this is what we expect out of seventy one on a week to week basis, especially on a road course. twenty third with most of our about our C.R. This is a great day. Good rebound for that eight car. We had to talk about a little bit more noise than we wanted to in Texas. But both our C.R. Cars very strong. Fifth and six. Right now, Austin Dillon. Look like Austin is going to get his first top ten of the season today. The race is behind them. That's Austin. Cedric. And then Tyler Reddick. Finish. Regan. Keep an eye on the eight car right now. Also, as they came down the back straightaway this most recent time by, they just gave him the all clear that he's got enough fuel. He can go race these other two cars if he wants to right now. Kyle Busch currently sixth with fourth place in sight and possibly third. As long as these guys that haven't been out there on tires, it feels like they have two flat tires in the back. So it's going to it's always interesting when they tell you to go and then you try to go harder. The next thing you know, you're like, well, I can't go any harder. I don't have any grip. And there is a pit stop. Nine laps fresher than Reddick's. So all of them are trying to work his way back up into a great finish. Yeah. Both of those cars. You know, forty five of Reddick when they did it, definitely thought that they were in trouble. But the way that this whole thing has cycled out with everybody being so close on gas, it has made that the preferred strategy and S.B.G. He's just basically driven off from the rest of the field. He knows that McDowell is back there in second place now, and he's just put the hammer down and said, all right, I'm just going to show you guys what I'm all about today. Not that not that they already didn't know. I want to point out something that this has really shown me, though. Tires matter. The fall off of this race. This is something that we have longed for. We've needed. And he just showed the power of tires. Spotted him. Twenty nine seconds. We knew that was a lot to ask out of those cars to not only make it on fuel, but the fall off was real today at Watkins Glen. And he proved that Shane Van Gisbergen. Tires matter. road courses. And really, this is what you're looking for every week. This is the type of tire that you want to see where you can put tires on and make a difference. And that is reinforced by Michael McDowell's day, because McDowell's laps are only a couple of tenths off Van Gisbergen's. At this point, he stopped within a lap of Van Gisbergen and the two of them. I mean, they're about a second ahead of the field per lap, with the exception of, say, all the bigger. And right now, Blaney, the other guys with fresh tires, Almendinger, Blaney, Connor Zillage just set the fastest lap of the race, but he's fired back in twenty fifth after he came in for tires just five laps ago, and we knew that the Zillage car with would have a lot of speed. So he's done a nice job today, and he still obviously has has the speed. But now it just comes down to putting everything together to have them in contention to last Shane Van Gisbergen is going to have the whole rest of the NASCAR Cup series scratching their head, analyzing data and again trying to figure out how, why, what are we missing and where do we find it? Well, they know where it's at, and he's been here for a couple of years, and they've analyzed it and analyzed it and analyzed it, and at this point, they're not going to find it. They're not going to find it unless they take their driver out and put him in. I agree. Nothing you can do about it. Great day for Chevrolet. First, second, fifth, sixth and eighth. With the Toyotas in seventh and Sendrick's four in ninth. Mercy flag for the rest of this field. One lap to go. Sponsored by Credit One Bank. As Shane Van Gisbergen and his team have put on a clinic in how to attack a road race course. Kevin in the pre-race, Chris Myers asked us if he could make the playoffs. You look over here, and the job that he's done today, guess what position he's in. 16th. He's in the playoffs. And that's really what they needed to do today. And we felt like this was a do-or-die day for track house racing in either the 97 or the 88. You see the experience of, you know, his crew chief, Steve Buran, and Shane Van Gisbergen, and they're going to capitalize on what they should have today. And we still have two more road courses before regular season ends. Well, he came in here 19th in points, 27 points below the cut line, and it looks like he will leave here in 16th. Six points above the 17th place car. Down by almost 30 seconds, he's going to win by easy. Unbelievable. Checkered flag. Shane Van Gisbergen is the master of NASCAR road racing. And he's the seventh driver to win this season. Two wins here at Watkins Glen in three starts. Seven cup wins, the most by a driver not born in the United States in NASCAR cup racing.