Watkins Glen is up – a racetrack which redeems people. In last year’s September race, Chris Buescher was riding a 37-race winless streak, dating back to the 2023 regular season finale victory in Daytona. Even amidst the pressure, the RFK Racing driver did the unthinkable and toppled road racing god Shane van Gisbergen in the final lap to win at the 2.45-mile track. 24 years earlier, another NASCAR Cup Series driver also redeemed himself.
After three straight races on ovals, Watkins Glen is up as the 5th road course event this season. Drivers are taking notes from Shane van Gisbergen’s three-peat streak this year to excel at this event. At the same time, they are also remembering a thoroughly unexpected victory by Steve Park back in 2000.
When Watkins Glen produced a shock winner
Steve Park was initially a marvelous fixture in the Xfinity Series, formerly called the Busch Series. During a full-time stint in 1997, he won three races and soon after, upgraded to the Winston Cup Series. Park drove for none other than Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s team, DEI. Soon after, however, doubts overshadowed his career as the first two years spelled a dry spell. Park signed an extension contract with Pennzoil in 2000, but the sponsors were adamant that he wins. Dale Sr. apparently pounded his fist on the meeting table, looked Park in the eye, and said, “You better win, Park.” Clearly, the pressure was solid for the driver, who was 32 years old at the time. As it turned out, that pressure yielded gold in Watkins Glen.
Steve Park faced a fairly intimidating competition. Jeff Gordon had a four-year reign of terror at Watkins Glen International, where he won three consecutive wins from 1997-99. Mark Martin also had a three-year record in the 1990s and holds the most road course top tens of all time. Not only did Park break Gordon’s stranglehold, but he also staved off a fierce charge by Martin in the final laps. Park fulfilled Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s wishes and finished 0.384 seconds ahead of Martin at the checkered flag. Journalist Steve Taranto recently shared a video of that iconic victory. He wrote, “Steve Park vs. Mark Martin for the win at Watkins Glen in 2000…Park holds on under intense pressure to earn his very first Winston Cup win.”
Steve Park vs. Mark Martin for the win at Watkins Glen in 2000
Park holds on under intense pressure to earn his very first Winston Cup win pic.twitter.com/k4QlMV79Mn
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) August 6, 2025
Steve Park went on to clinch one more victory at North Carolina Speedway in 2001. After that, his career was derailed due to a freak injury in Darlington, which resulted in a severe brain injury. In a 2010 interview with ESPN, Park said that his 2000 victory was the most memorable. “Obviously, my first win in Cup, at Watkins Glen [in 2000], probably ranks as my best memory — for two reasons. Not only is it your first win in Sprint Cup, Winston Cup at the time, but what made that victory so great was having Earnhardt come to Victory Lane and hug you around the neck and tell you, ‘Good job!’”
Indeed, getting that certificate from one of NASCAR’s greatest legends, Dale Earnhardt Sr., must feel like one of a kind. Meanwhile, another star is out for redemption as well.
All eyes on the Kiwi
Well, Chris Buescher may have snapped a long winless streak last year. But in doing so, he also planted a teeth-clenching resolve in his rival. During the final lap of the 2024 Watkins Glen race, Shane van Gisbergen lost the lead due to the slightest mistake on the ‘Bus Stop’. The bobble on that section of the track allowed Buescher to slide ahead and charge for the victory. Standing in 2025, SVG is cracking his knuckles loudly – for Buescher and for any other rivals who may come in his way for a Watkins Glen redemption. And 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick is taking notice.
With SVG’s jaw-dropping stats in the NASCAR Cup Series 2025 season, the redemption seems more than likely. The Trackhouse Racing driver clinched three back-to-back road course race wins this year. Mexico City, Chicago, and Sonoma were all in his list of conquests. Hence, Kevin Harvick declared his pick for this season’s Watkins Glen winner. “I don’t think so…” Harvick said, asked if he was picking van Gisbergen. “I’m just kidding. Yeah, well, I like (the SVG pick).” SVG will have a strong rival, though, in 19-year-old Connor Zilisch. The two already engaged in fierce rivalry earlier in the Xfinity Series, with SVG beating Zilisch in Chicago and the latter beating SVG in Sonoma. So, the fight will be intense.
The upcoming race in Watkins Glen will be packed with storylines. The 2000 victory by Steve Park may inspire the drivers – so let us see who prevails in 2025.
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