2026 Go Bowling at the Glen Betting Race Picks

Date/Time: Sunday May 10th, 2026. 3:00PM (EST)
Where: Watkins Glen International
TV: FOX

So far this weekend, Watkins Glen International has provided race fans two straight days of fantastic racing at the historic 2.450 mile road course. On Sunday, this weekend’s festivities will culminate with the running of the Go Bowling at the Glen as the Cup Series takes center stage for another round of road course racing. Of course, the man everyone typically chases at the road course venues surrounds international star Shane Van Gisbergen (SVG). Not only is SVG the defending winner of the Go Bowling at the Glen but he also won the pole for Sunday’s Go Bowing at the Glen and will lead the field to the green flag!

Before Tyler Reddick won the opening road course race of the season at Circuit of the Americas back in March, SVG had won 5 straight road course races going back to last season. As things currently stand, SVG holds a lucrative 138.0 average driver rating in our dynamic average on the road courses which is the highest I believe we have ever seen in any dynamic averages category. If you add the fact that SVG will be starting from the pole in prime track position and is not chasing points in the stages, it only makes him tougher to beat on Sunday. Needless to say, SVG is the rightful betting favorite going into Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen and by a wide margin.

Unfortunately, overwhelming favorites have been a trend throughout the weekend at Watkins Glen which has essentially saturated the betting value in the futures (win) market. For that reason, we have heavier focus on the H2H match-ups and that will likely be the strategy again on Sunday for sharp betting value. While we will adapt a betting strategy that is tailored towards H2H match-ups, we will not completely ignore the futures (win) market. We know there is the potential for surprise winners when you consider the fact these races at Watkins Glen are often heavily influenced by track position and pit/fuel strategy. Luckily, I believe there are several drivers that are suitable to play the upset role on Sunday. We will just need to ensure that their betting value is strong enough to warrant betting consideration because we know the percentages will be in favor of SVG.

Watkins Glen – Cup Notes

Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott are tied for the most wins (2) among active drivers at Watkins Glen.
AJ Allmendinger, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chris Buescher, and SVG are all former winners at Watkins Glen.
SVG has finished 1st and 2nd in two career starts at Watkins Glen.
Chase Elliott has finished 4th or better in 4 of the last 7 races at Watkins Glen.
Chase Briscoe has finished 6th or better in the last two races at Watkins Glen.
Michael McDowell has finished 7th or better in 2 of the last 4 races at Watkins Glen.
Christopher Bell has finished 8th or better in 4 of 5 career starts at Watkins Glen.
Chris Buescher has finished 9th or better in the last 4 races at Watkins Glen
Tyler Reddick has finished in the Top 10 in 4 of 5 career starts at Watkins Glen.
AJ Allmendinger has finished 11th or better in 5 of his last 7 starts at Watkins Glen.
Alex Bowman’s best finish is 14th in 9 career starts at Watkins Glen.
Denny Hamlin has finished 20th or worse in 3 of the last 4 races at Watkins Glen.
Chevrolet drivers have won 6 of the last 7 races at Watkins Glen.
The eventual race winner has started from the Top 4 starting positions in 7 of the last 8 races.
There have been 5 cautions or less in 7 of the last 8 races at Watkins Glen.

Practice Observations

While I know I have talked too much about SVG’s dominance already in this preview, I might as well also mention that he was also the car to beat in Saturday’s practice. SVG led all drivers with the fastest 5, 10, and 15 lap consecutive categories. With that being said, I will say that very few drivers actually ran 10 consecutive laps so we don’t have great insight into long-run speed. However, we do know that the tire fall off is pretty significant at Watkins Glen compared to other road courses. Therefore it is important that we point out the fact the drivers like Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, and Ryan Blaney were among the fastest of the drivers that ran at least 10 consecutive laps by a relatively wide margin. All 3 of those drivers have performed well at Watkins Glen in recent years which adds sleeper value to their profiles.

While it is relatively hard to decipher if drivers are truly struggling in practice or simply had a “few” bad lap times that throw off their averages, I will say that I observed individual lap times very closely in Saturday’s practice. In reviewing individual lap times, it appears that Connor Zilisch, Kyle Larson, and Chase Briscoe were among the names that appeared to be well off from expectations and betting odds entering practice. Even now, Zilisch is listed at just 4-1 odds for the outright win on Sunday but he has yet to show any speed that is separate from the field, despite his well-known skill set. Meanwhile, both Larson and Briscoe are drivers that have run well at Watkins Glen in recent races. However, both drivers seemed to struggle from the beginning to the end of practice on Saturday!

Betting Targets

If we are ranking drivers, I believe I have made it perfectly clear that SVG is an overwhelming favorite going into Sunday not only from current betting odds but also nearly all handicapping metrics. The problem is that SVG’s betting odds are essentially at even-money. As a result, I can only consider SVG a potential betting target in parlay or H2H formats. The question is who are the best options behind SVG? While Zilisch seems like an obvious choice from a skill perspective, I think he is overvalued based on the speed he has shown thus far on the Cup side. Based on my observations, I believe both Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick are checking enough boxes to warrant immediate consideration in futures (win) markets at better than 15-1 betting odds. Reddick is having one of the best starts to a season in history and won earlier this year at COTA. Meanwhile, Bell checks off nearly every handicapping box that is on the sheet!

Personally, I believe Bell provides’ the sharpest betting value and can be targeted aggressively in H2H formats considering the drivers in his range of betting odds. Ryan Blaney and William Byron are also prominent dark horses that have really appetizing price tags. While I don’t really see either driver winning on Sunday, both drivers have the ROI for betting consideration in all formats. I personally like both drivers in H2H formats only, but others can be considered. Lastly, I would consider Carson Hocevar and Joey Logano as additional names that are undervalued going into Sunday. Both drivers are getting near 50-1 odds and have much higher upside than current betting odds suggest. Both drivers are potential options in group/prop bet formats.

2026 Draftkings Go Bowling at the Glen Optimal Lineup

2026 Go Bowling at the Glen Race Picks

*FINAL* Tyler Reddick +1400 (.5 unit)
Christopher Bell +1600 (.5 unit)
Ryan Blaney +3000 (.25 unit)
William Byron +4000 (.25 unit)

H2H Match-Ups and Props

Joey Logano -130 over Ryan Preece (2 units)
Carson Hocevar +115 finishes Top 10 (1 unit)
Ryan Blaney +320 wins Group 1 (Cindric, McDowell, Chastain)(1 unit) *Draftkings*
Michael McDowell +1200 finishes Top Chevrolet (.5 unit)
William Byron +2500 finishes Top Chevrolet (.25 unit)
Carson Hocevar +2800 finishes Top Chevrolet (.25 unit)