GIBBS LEADS THREE CAMRYS IN THE TOP-FIVE AT WATKINS GLEN
Reddick extends points lead with series-leading eighth top-five finish
WATKINS GLEN, NY (May 10, 2026) – Ty Gibbs managed his fuel in the final stage and delivered a third-place run to lead Team Toyota at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. Gibbs, who led 17 laps on the day, moved up to sixth in the points standings with the run. His teammate, Chase Briscoe, utilized the same strategy and crossed the line in fourth.
Tyler Reddick utilized a different strategy and charged through the field on newer tires and a full fuel load to finish fifth – his eight top-five of the season, which is two more than any other driver (Ty Gibbs – six). Reddick extended his points lead to 129 markers as the series heads to the midway point of the regular season.
John Hunter Nemechek (10th) earned a season-best result and gave Toyota four of the top-10 finishers.
TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Watkins Glen International
Race 12 of 36 – 245 miles, 100 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Shane van Gisbergen*
2nd, Michael McDowell*
3rd, TY GIBBS
4th, CHASE BRISCOE
5th, TYLER REDDICK
10th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
16th, DENNY HAMLIN
19th, ERIK JONES
21st, CHRISTOPHER BELL
26th, RILEY HERBST
29th, BUBBA WALLACE
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 3rd
How hard was it to conserve there at the end?
“Honestly, it wasn’t too hard, just frustrating. I felt like it would have been fun to race with him for the win. Unfortunately, we had to finish third today, but that was a good points day for us – just having to stretch that fuel out a little bit. It was fun though. I had a great day. Just keep going. Huge thank you to my team, Monster Energy, Oakley, Toyota – everyone that helps me out.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 4th
Had a lot to contend with but made it back for a top-five. How was your race?
“Definitely just a wild day for us. Started off the day and we just weren’t as good as we were in practice with our Mobil 1 Toyota and thought we were going to be okay and then we had a bad pit stop and we went from seventh to 17th. Then we missed that wreck in the bus stop, and kind of got somewhat back in the mix on our strategy, and then at the end James (Small, crew chief) did a really good job of just maximizing our strategy and maximized our day with the fuel mileage and everything else. We literally ran out with two corners to go. Glad we were able to end up fourth. Felt like we maximized our day outside of stage points, so we will go on to Dover and see what we can do.”
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
How was the end there seeing everyone run out of fuel?
“Yeah, pretty nuts. Just funny how that happens sometimes with where the cautions fall, but it was kind of a decent day – it was the points day that we needed to have for our Jordan Brand Toyota Camry. We were able to get up there sooner than I thought, and I don’t know just that last restart that we had, I didn’t fire off great. We were losing spots pretty quickly, so Billy (Scott, crew chief) and the team made the right call. We were bleeding bad, so we hit pit road and pitted for the final time and just had to go a really long way on a set of tires but worked out pretty well. We were able to pick them off and get back to fifth.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Finishing Position: 10th
How was your race?
“Really solid day for us. I felt like we had a really good Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Camry today. I feel like we played the first stage to get stage points. Had a late pit call but couldn’t get to pit road so we just made the most out of it. Ended up in the back and couldn’t really pass. Then we played a really good strategy at the end. Ended up staying out at the end, with like 40 to go, when a lot of guys pitted and they were going to try to make it. We were able to maintain on those tires, not lose that many spots or too much time. We kind of split the stage and ended coming home 10th. Needed one more lap, probably would have gotten five more cars with everyone running out of gas, and us pushing so hard. A lot of work has been done on road courses in the off season for sure – car, myself – and we showed it today. It’s what we needed.”
About Toyota
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