The Go Bowling at the Glen has gone official with NASCAR‘s latest penalty report. While the cars of Chris Buescher and Connor Zilisch had been sent post-race to NASCAR’s R&D Center, they have been given the all-clear. No teams enter the All-Star Weekend at Dover with penalties to be served.
Nonetheless, incidents did occur at Watkins Glen, prompting NASCAR to impose an in-race penalty. Below is the penalty report on Sunday afternoon in Western New York.
Advertisement
Pit Road Penalties
On lap 22, the No. 42 team of John Hunter Nemechek crossed the wall too early, forcing Nemechek to drop to the rear of the field. The team was still very fast, finishing 10th.
On lap 61, the No. 35 team of Riley Herbst was penalized for entering pit road too fast. Herbst had to drop to the rear of the field under the caution. His day resulted in 26th place.
A Clean Race Day at Watkins Glen
Cars Race at Watkins Glen Single-File. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Watkins Glen, being a road course, has among the easiest pit lanes to navigate on the circuit. It is not quite given the size of the pit lane, but the nature of the races that Watkins Glen puts on.
Advertisement
The short-course track at Watkins Glen, which NASCAR runs, is 2.45 miles long. Given its size, if a car spins out without debris and can get out of harm’s way, the caution will not be waved. There were only 2 cautions on the day that were not related to stage ends. One of those cautions was due to a rogue tent finding its way onto the track in Turn 4. The tent contacted no car.
The track also allows for lower-speed racing with many turns. The average car speed in a Watkins Glen NASCAR race is about 120 mph. In the turns and straights approaching pit lane entry, the cars generally are racing around 100 mph. Slowing to the 40 mph limit is by no means an easy task, but it is much easier than at a superspeedway, where cars run at 190 mph and need to slow to 55 mph.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
