By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Ryan Blaney is the surprise pole winner at Watkins Glen. Blaney has already clinched the pole for the Go Bowling at the Glen race. But will it be a redux of last year’s final lap dual between SVG and race winner Chris Buescher? Let’s go racing at The Glen.
1st Stage 20 laps (90 Total) Top 8 Stage 1
Blaney takes the field to the green flag with SVG trying to take over the race lead on lap one. On lap five of 90, Ryan Blaney leads the field under green flag conditions. Blaney, in the No. 12 Ford, started from pole position and has led all five laps completed. His best lap time of 73.519 seconds came on lap two, with a speed of 119.969 mph. Blaney maintains an average running position of 1.25.
Shane van Gisbergen holds second place in the No. 88 Chevrolet, 0.376 seconds behind Blaney. Chase Briscoe runs third in the No. 19 Toyota, 1.288 seconds off the lead. The race has seen no lead changes, cautions, or pit stops thus far. Race leader Ryan Blaney and Shane Van Gisbergen pit. Blaney gets off pit road first, cycling out to seventh position. Chris Buescher takes the lead.
Check out the High Banked Fury Zoomcast and read Stage 2 below HBF talks points, make predictions, and talk to the movers and shakers in NASCAR
2nd Stage – 20 Laps (40/90) Stage 2 Top 8
Drivers pit between the stages – Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Cody Ware made pit stops. With these stops, all cars except Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, and Chase Elliott have now pitted. Chris Buescher leads from the inside with Ryan Preece on the outside as the race restarts. Preece clears Buescher for the lead entering Turn 1. Shane Van Gisbergen and Ryan Blaney battle side-by-side in the esses for third as Chase Elliott gets shuffled back. Van Gisbergen and Blaney go three-wide, passing Buescher on the backstretch. Van Gisbergen clears Blaney for second entering the bus stop, then passes Preece for the lead in Turn 6. Ryan Preece, SVG, and Blaney are now your top 3. Josh Berry spins from 23rd position off Turn 5, bringing out the caution flag. Chase Elliott, running near 21st place, takes advantage of the caution to pit but experiences a slow stop, potentially affecting his track position. Debris brings out a caution as Berry’s spinout brings the yellow flag.
Drivers are now making green flag pit stops before the end of Stage Two. Ryan Blaney clinches the Stage 2 victory, with William Byron, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five. Meanwhile, John Hunter Nemechek spins in Turn 5 from the 11th position, bringing out the caution flag.
Final Stage
Blaney leads the field to green for the final 50 laps and has led the most laps in the race. With only four drivers leading at WG, track position is pivotal. Tyler Reddick, winless in 2025, leads Ryan Preece by 126 points and has all but assured himself of making the playoffs. Blaney, Byron, and Bell are are very low on Sunoco fuel and will pit by lap 60. With tire wear becoming an issue for the leader Blaney, SVG goes by to take the race lead.
On lap 56, Ryan Blaney, running in second place, heads to pit road along with Austin Dillon and Cole Custer. SVG and other pit on lap 63. At lap 65 of 90, Chase Briscoe leads the race in the No. 19 Toyota. The field has seen six lead changes among five different drivers, with three cautions totaling eight laps under yellow.
Briscoe, who started third, has led three laps and maintains an average running position of 8.33. His best lap time of 73.686 seconds (119.697 mph) came on lap four. Briscoe has spent 35 laps in the top five and 46 laps in the top 10. With 22 laps to go, 6 drivers have led the race, and 35 of 39 drivers are on the lead lap. By lap 78, SVG leads Buescher by nearly 3 seconds. Very late in the race, Brad Keselowski experiences a flat left rear tire, causing his car to start smoking in Turn 6 while running in 14th position. SVG has broken from the field and now leads Buescher by nine seconds. Christopher Bell passes Chris Buescher for second place entering the bus stop. Shane Van Gisbergen secures the victory with an 11.116-second lead over Christopher Bell.
Checkered Flag
SVG wins for the fourth time in 2025. All on-road courses and all since Mexico two months ago. SVG led a race high 38 laps. Blaney was second with 35. What were the challenges today and how did it unfold from the driver’s seat?
“Well, the No. 12 car was amazing. He was really good at the start; driving well and I couldn’t pass him. Then all the strategies happened through Stage Two. I think it was that restart in the final stage that got me up closer to the front and we could run a bit longer. It’s amazing. Thank you to Trackhouse, Chevrolet, WeatherTech – all of our partners. To get four of these is very, very special.”
Fantasy
After qualifying on Saturday, my lone replacement was Ryan Blaney in for Ty Gibbs. Blaney can still go the last three weeks of the season fantasy-wise.
Best pick, Ryan Blaney. He wins the pole and finishes 5th. Blaney was not in my original lineup. Byron finishes fourth. That is pick 1A. It’s not often the race winner does not make the best pick. My worst decision was not dropping Carson Hocevar for Christopher Bell even though the Gofullthrottle.net simulator told me he should be there. My drivers earned 193 racing points plus 20 in the driver matchups.
They Said It…
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing –Finishing Position: 2nd
Do you walk away from this race happy? “Happy, yeah. I’m thrilled. We’ve been struggling a little bit to find a rhythm. I feel like the car has been good, but executing the races has been tough for us. Really awesome to have a good day. Frustrated to get our butts kicked by the 88 (Shane van Gisbergen) car. He’s doing a really good job. That team has it going on. We need to find a little bit more, but certainly happy. It was a good day for DEWALT Camry.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing –Finishing Position: 5th
What ultimately was the difference today? “I guess it would have been that final stage, just strategy kind of got flipped. The 88 (Shane van Gisbergen) and the 1 (Ross Chastain) and myself kind of started right there in the mid pack. The restart didn’t go me or the 1’s way, the 88 was able to get five spots ahead of us before of us on the first lap and kept pulling further and further away. I thought our car was – I don’t know what the 88 had – but I thought we were probably the second-best race car. That restart just didn’t go our way and we lost a lot of track position and obviously was able to play the long game there in the end and come home top-five. Overall, a good solid finish in a fast Bass Pro Shops Camry. We will go onto Richmond and see what we can do.”
Tale of the Tape
We will break down the points race on High Banked Fury on Wednesday of this week on High Banked Fury, the podcast. It will be on our You Tube page and all podcast platforms.
Roy J. Akers- is a NASCAR reporter for www.skyviewsports.net
