Another road course and another dominant performance from Shane van Gisbergen as the Kiwi led 38 of the 90 circuits at Watkins Glen International to score his fourth Cup Series victory of 2025, matching Denny Hamlin for most among Cup drivers this season. Van Gisbergen became the first rookie at the Cup level to snag four checkered flags in a single season.
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A straightforward Sunday in the Finger Lakes region of New York did come with its surprises as the Hendrick Motorsports camp struggled and regular-season title contenders faded. William Byron extended his points lead to 42 as teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson, as well as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, finished outside the top 20.
With two races to go in the regular season, let’s take a look at three drivers moving in the right direction and three drivers on their back foot before Saturday night’s event at Richmond Raceway (7:30 ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, HBO Max, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP
1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 9th
Finished: 2nd
What happened: Bell put together his first top-five performance since Sonoma with a runner-up to van Gisbergen — a sequel to their Mexico City 1-2. It’s a huge shot in the arm for the No. 20 Toyota team after a trying day last weekend at Iowa.
What’s next: The last victory for Bell came early in the season amid a three-race winning streak that included Atlanta, Circuit of The Americas and Phoenix. Bell should be in line for a deep playoff run, but the No. 20 team needs to string some oval momentum together as its last three top-five runs have all come on road courses. That should change at Richmond. Bell has finished sixth or better in seven of his nine Cup starts at the Virginia short track.
2. Daniel Suárez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 19th
Finished: 7th
What happened: With no plan set in stone for Suárez, every weekend for the rest of the season is an audition for a ride, and the Mexican driver put together one of his best of 2025 at Watkins Glen. Sunday marked his first top-10 run since Texas, all the way back in May.
What’s next: A surprise Richmond win isn’t likely for Suárez, but the No. 99 Chevrolet driver led 93 laps at the short track last year and finished 10th.
3. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Started: 4th
Finished: 10th
What happened: Chastain completed a day when all three full-time Trackhouse entries scored top 10s in Upstate New York. It didn’t come without some eventful occurrences on track as the No. 1 driver made contact with on-and-off rival Hamlin in Turn 7, causing Hamlin to collect Kyle Busch. It’s the first top-10 run for Chastain since Chicago.
What’s next: Similar to Bell, Chastain needs to get it going in the right direction on ovals. His last top-10 finish on an oval came in June at Michigan. Richmond has historically been a struggle for Chastain, but he has two top fives in the last four events at the track.
THREE DOWN
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 26th
Finished: 39th
What happened: Larson dealt with a brake issue early on during Sunday’s race and ultimately spun on Lap 6 in Turn 1 at the 2.45-mile road course. Crew chief Cliff Daniels opted to take the No. 5 Chevrolet to the garage to repair a brake line and Larson returned to action on Lap 22 — 16 laps off the pace. Larson was scored with a 39th-place finish, but nabbed one extra point with the Xfinity Fastest Lap.
What’s next: Larson’s bid for the 2025 regular-season title is likely out of the picture and he’ll shift focus to gaining some momentum heading into the postseason with just two races to go before the playoff grid is set. Richmond awaits Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) where Larson has finished seventh or better in four of the six Next Gen events at the short track, including a victory in the 2023 spring race.
2. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 20th
Finished: 26th
What happened: Elliott’s top-20 streak came to an end Sunday at Watkins Glen — a shocking result for the No. 9 driver who scored his first Cup victory at the New York road course. You have to go back to the Las Vegas playoff race last year to find when the Dawsonville, Georgia, native didn’t place within the top 20. Elliott lacked speed throughout the weekend and couldn’t break from the midpack aside from staying out at the end of Stage 1 to rack up seven points.
What’s next: Elliott now trails teammate Byron by 42 points in the hunt for the regular-season title. There’s a slim chance for the No. 9 to reclaim the spot within the next two races, but Elliott can start a new top-20 streak at Richmond as he hasn’t finished worse than 15th at the track since 2017.
3. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Started: 14th
Finished: 33rd
What happened: One of the better road-course racers this season did not have the car under him to compete for the win. Gibbs also had quite the back-and-forth with his No. 54 group on the team radio as the third-year driver was frustrated with the handling of his Toyota. Gibbs then came down pit road in the closing laps, which resulted in him falling outside the top 30 when the checkered flag waved.
What’s next: Gibbs needs to find Victory Lane in the next two weeks to secure a second straight berth in the Cup Series Playoffs. However, Richmond has not been his friend in his early Cup days with just one top-10 run in five starts.
