2026 Mission 200 at The Glen
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 33 in the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 9, 2026 | ||
| Location | Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.454 miles (3.949 km) | ||
| Distance | 82 laps, 201.288 mi (323.845 km) | ||
| Average speed | 92.640 miles per hour (149.090 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | JR Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Brent Crews | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 32 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Brent Crews | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Time | 1:11.934 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 1 | Connor Zilisch | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | The CW | ||
| Announcers | Adam Alexander, Jamie McMurray, and Parker Kligerman | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (Esses), Kyle Rickey (Turn 5) and Dan Hubbard (Turns 6–7) | ||
The 2026 Mission 200 at The Glen was a NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race held on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 82 laps on the 2.45-mile (3.94 km) road course, it was the 13th race of the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season, and the 30th running of the event.
Connor Zilisch, driving for JR Motorsports, made a last lap, final corner pass on Jesse Love in a thrilling finish to earn his 13th career NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series win, his second of the season, and his third consecutive win at Watkins Glen.[9] Rookie Brent Crews dominated the majority of the race, winning the first stage and led a race-high 32 laps, along with earning the fastest lap, but finished in sixth after late pit road troubles. Love finished second after staying out on fuel mileage, and Taylor Gray finished third. Ross Chastain and Brandon Jones rounded out the top five, while Crews, Parker Retzlaff, Shane van Gisbergen, Austin Green, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top ten.
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]
Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.
Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
[edit]The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, May 9, at 10:45 AM EST, and lasted for 1 hour and 30 minutes, extended from 50 minutes due to the cancellation of qualifying.[10]
Brent Crews, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:12.193 seconds, and a speed of 122.173 miles per hour (196.618 km/h).
Practice results
[edit]| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Brent Crews (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:12.193 | 122.173 |
| 2 | 1 | Connor Zilisch (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:12.266 | 122.049 |
| 3 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:12.901 | 120.986 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Starting lineup
[edit]Qualifying was originally scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 9, at 11:35 AM EST, but was cancelled due to inclement weather.[10][11] Rajah Caruth, driving for JR Motorsports, was awarded the pole position as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 1.300.[12]
Starting lineup
[edit]Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]Stage Results
[edit]Stage One Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Brent Crews (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 88 | Rajah Caruth | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 32 | Ross Chastain (i) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 10 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 20
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Connor Zilisch (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 2 | 19 | Brent Crews (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Final Stage Results
[edit]Stage Three Laps: 42
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | 1 | Connor Zilisch (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 20 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 8 | 2 | Jesse Love | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 18 | Running | 48 |
| 3 | 25 | 54 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 4 | 29 | 32 | Ross Chastain (i) | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 5 | 7 | 20 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 4 | 19 | Brent Crews (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 82 | 32 | Running | 51 |
| 7 | 6 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 8 | 12 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 7 | Running | 0 |
| 9 | 35 | 87 | Austin Green | Peterson Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 28 |
| 10 | 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 11 | 9 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 12 | 1 | 88 | Rajah Caruth | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 2 | Running | 29 |
| 13 | 5 | 41 | Sam Mayer | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 82 | 3 | Running | 36 |
| 14 | 34 | 91 | Carson Kvapil | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 17 | 17 | Corey Day | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 22 |
| 16 | 10 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 17 | 22 | 24 | Harrison Burton | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 82 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 18 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 30 | 0 | Alex Labbé | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 36 | 42 | Will Rodgers | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 38 | 50 | Preston Pardus | Pardus Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 26 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 24 | 15 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | Viking Motorsports | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 23 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 82 | 0 | Running | 12 |
| 26 | 24 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Out of Fuel | 11 |
| 27 | 20 | 45 | Lavar Scott (R) | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Out of Fuel | 10 |
| 28 | 21 | 92 | Alex Guenette | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 3 | 00 | Sheldon Creed | Haas Factory Team | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 32 | 55 | Glen Reen | Joey Gase Motorsports | Toyota | 81 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 33 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 81 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 31 | 53 | Derek White | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 78 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 11 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | Running | 4 |
| 34 | 28 | 02 | Ryan Ellis | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | Suspension | 3 |
| 35 | 16 | 26 | Dean Thompson | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 54 | 0 | Transmission | 2 |
| 36 | 14 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 15 | 0 | Engine | 1 |
| 37 | 37 | 35 | Matt Wilson | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 19 | 48 | Patrick Staropoli (R) | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 4 | 0 | Engine | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Race statistics
[edit]- Lead changes: 13 among 6 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 5 for 13 laps
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 10 minutes and 7 seconds
- Average speed: 92.640 miles per hour (149.090 km/h)
Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ "2026 schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- ^ "Watkins Glen International". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- ^ "NASCAR releases 2026 schedule, adding Chicagoland and shifting All-Star to Dover". NASCAR. August 20, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 9, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 9, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Starting Lineup" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 8, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 10, 2026. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 9, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Connor Zilisch makes last-lap pass on Jesse Love to win Watkins Glen O'Reilly race". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Wire Service. May 9, 2026. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ a b "2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Watkins Glen International Race Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- ^ "2026 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
- ^ Christie, Toby (May 9, 2026). "Starting Lineup: 2026 NOAPS Mission 200 at The Glen". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved May 9, 2026.