The 2026 season has been anything but smooth for Richard Childress Racing drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, but they both delivered strong runs in the final race before the All-Star break.
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Austin Dillon scored his first top-10 finish of the season as he crossed the line in sixth place. This marked his first top-10 at Watkins Glen International. His previous best finish at the track was 15th in 2021 and 2025.
Kyle Busch crossed the finish line in eighth place. This was his second top-10 finish of the season and his first since Talladega Superspeedway. This was his first top-10 finish at Watkins Glen International since the 2021 season.
"Strong day for the No. 8 zone Jalapeño Lime Chevrolet team," Busch said after the race. "We were a top-10 car for the majority of the race, and ended eighth here at Watkins Glen International.
"We made the adjustments and strategy calls we needed to drive forward and make up track position after qualifying 21st, despite battling a car that trended tight throughout the race. We ran out of fuel at the end of the race, but we're still going home with our second top-10 finish of the season."
CUP series race results from Watkins Glen.
@BassProShops | @winchester | #zone_partner pic.twitter.com/udGNwrMjQb— RCR (@RCRracing) May 10, 2026
The two drivers finished the opening stage outside of the top 20, but they gained some much-needed points in stage 2. Dillon scored seven stage points by finishing fourth. Busch scored six points by finishing fifth.
The two drivers spent the final stage focusing on saving fuel. Their strategy kept them in contention for top-10 finishes. They didn't try to challenge winner Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs, or the other leaders. They just went about their day.
"Man, God is so good. We work really hard on these road races," Dillon said after the race. "I put a lot of effort into them to get better and we didn't qualify great, but Richard Boswell (crew chief) and everyone on the Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer team did a good job pushing the strategy early to go hard.
"We really didn't worry about tires when we short-pitted, and that got us our track position at the end of the stage. After that, we were able to maintain, and it was fun saving fuel there behind (Chase) Briscoe. I probably should have pushed a little harder because I actually made it back all the way around on fuel. So, I did a good job on saving fuel, which was cool."
