WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Shane Van Gisbergen accomplished a near-impossible feat at Watkins Glen International, overcoming a 29.2-second deficit in the closing 17 laps to capture the trophy.

Some things in life are guaranteed. Death, taxes and road racing ace Shane Van Gisbergen with a chance to win at tracks featuring right and left turns. Cup Series drivers are learning quickly that the three-time Supercars Champion can’t be counted out, no matter how far back SVG appears.

“There was moments where I thought, oh, maybe we can hang with SVG,” second-place finisher Michael McDowell said. “He was just pacing himself back off me, and he would take back off.”

McDowell and his No. 71 GoBowling Chevrolet applied a similar strategy as Van Gisbergen, pitting midway through the final stage. He pitted one lap prior and cycled out in 27th.

“I don’t know even if we restarted right behind SVG if we had the pace,” McDowell said. “We came out right with him, and he still had a bit of pace on us. We got a little work to do.”

Cup rookie Connor Zilisch appeared to pose Van Gisebergen’s greatest threat at times. The two Trackhouse teammates pulled away from the pack in the second stage until strategies diverged.

Zilisch found himself in second behind Ty Gibbs, saving fuel during the closing laps. A flat spot on the right-front tire plagued Zilisch for several laps before it went flat with eight laps left. 

“Just frustrating,” Zilisch said of the result. “At worst, we were going to get ourselves our first top five and walk out of here with something.”

The rookie finished 20th and managed to set the fastest lap of the race.

“Congrats to Shane, Trackhouse,” Zilisch said. “Everybody makes this happen. It's really cool what we've built on these road courses, and how fast our cars are. So cool to see him win.”

Zilish tipped his cap to ECR, the program that builds engines for Trackhouse, Kaulig Racing and Richard Childress Racing. Van Gisbergen scored ECR its first win of the season in a year where many of the alliance cars struggled, while Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch notched top-10 finishes.

“We work really hard on these road races,” Dillon said. Watkins Glen is statistically one of Dillon's worst tracks on the schedule, and the team worked hard to battle forward from 25th.

“We short-pitted, and that got us our track position,” Dillon said.

He battled Busch for a spot in the top five before fuel strategy shook up the running order. Dillon finished sixth with Busch coming home eighth after running out of fuel on the final lap. 

"It's cool that Kyle and I both are racing,” Dillon said. “He just gave up on saving fuel, and he ran out at the line. It's fun getting him back by the line and just a good day for RCR overall.”