What’s Happening?

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen for the 42nd time in history, and for the penultimate road course race of the season. Over the years, the track has seen its share of dominant drives and late-race drama, but as the field gets ready for another trip to upstate New York, here’s a look at the all-time lap leaders and the track records at Watkins Glen.

1st. Jeff Gordon – 262 [12.6%]

2nd. Kyle Busch – 249 [14.6%]

3rd. Tony Stewart – 225 [15.9%]

4th. Mark Martin – 206 [10.6%]

5th. Chase Elliott– 170 [23.5%]

6th. Rusty Wallace – 140 [8.6%]

7th. Dale Earnhardt – 134 [10.2%]

8th. Brad Keselowski – 123 [9.7%]

9th. Marcos Ambrose – 117 [18.6%]

10th. Geoffrey Bodine – 101 [7.9%]

Races	Laps Run	Wins	Poles	Avg. Finish	Avg. Start
15	101	1	1	19.1	11.9

Top 15 Active Drivers Rank

• 1st. Kyle Busch (249)
• 2nd. Chase Elliott (170)
• 3rd. Brad Keselowski (123)
• 4th. William Byron (66)
• 5th. AJ Allmendinger (60)
• 6th. Ross Chastain (51)
• 7th. Joey Logano (41)
• T8th. Michael McDowell (38)
• T8th. Shane van Gisbergen (38)
• T8th. Kyle Larson (38)
• T8th. Ryan Blaney (38)
• 12th. Chris Buescher (24)
• 13th. Denny Hamlin (21)
• 14th. Daniel Suarez (14)
• 15th. Chase Briscoe (13)

Track Records

• Most Races: Jeff Gordon (24)
• Most Laps Run: Jeff Gordon (2075)
• Most Laps Led: Jeff Gordon (262)
• Most Wins: Tony Stewart (5)
• Most Poles: Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon & Mark Martin (3)
• Most Top 5s: Mark Martin (12)
• Most Top 10s: Mark Martin (16)
• Most Lead Lap Finishes: Mark Martin (21)
• Qualifying Lap Record: Marcos Ambrose| 68.113 seconds – 129.491mph| April 9, 2014
• Worst Starting Position by a Winner: 24th – Chris Buescher in September 2024
• Winners from Pole: 10 in 42 Races – Latest: Chase Elliott on April 8th, 2019
• Most Lead Changes in a Race: 14 in 1991, 2006, and 2011
• Fewest Lead Changes in a Race: 0 in 1957
• Fun Fact: The winner at Watkins Glen started inside the top 10 in 32 races out of 42 in its history. Before Chris Buescher’s win in 2024, the winner had started outside the top 7 only twice since 2004, with Joey Logano (16th in 2015) and Tony Stewart (13th in 2009) being the outliers.

Let us know your thoughts on this list. Are there any drivers that surprise you? What track record do you think is never being broken? Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.