2
months
agoThe
Go
Bowling
at
The
Glen
started
off
a
bit
rough
for
Christopher
Bell
this
past
weekend,
as
he
was
involved
in
a
first-lap
wreck
that
sent
the
No.
20
Toyota
spinning
along
with
several
other
cars.
Thankfully,
Bell
didn't
get
much
damage
in
the
wreck,
and
heread more...
2 months agoMartin Truex Jr.'s final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series definitely isn't going as well as he hoped. Through 28 races this year, Truex has an average finish of 17.8, which is his worst average result since the 2014 season, where he finished 24th in points. With his 20th-place finish at Watkins Glen this past weekend, Truex now sits 14 points below the cut line heading into the final race of the first round at Bristol on Saturday night. That 20th-place result also marks the seventh straight finish of 20th or worse for Truex, a streak that dates back to the Indianapolis race in late July. After Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen, Truex aired his frustrations to reporters, saying, "This racing is just ridiculous. It's a joke." Truex added, "It's just crazy that all these races always come down to this. I just don't understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of these races."Source: RACER
2
months
agoTyler
Reddick
of
23XI
Racing
placed
27th
in
Sunday's
Go
Bowling
at
the
Glen
at
Watkins
Glen
International.
Starting
from
the
16th
position,
Reddick
looked
like
he
had
a
solid
performing
car
right
at
the
beginning
of
the
first
stage.
The
No.
45
Toyota
driver
made
it
upread more...
2
months
agoJoe
Gibbs
Racing
driver
Denny
Hamlin
finished
23rd
after
a
day
full
of
struggle
in
the
Go
Bowling
at
the
Glen
at
Watkins
Glen
International.
Starting
from
the
22nd
position,
it
didn't
take
long
for
misfortune
to
find
Hamlin
on
the
race's
first
lap,
and
he
got
involvedread more...
2
months
agoShane
Van
Gisbergen
placed
second
at
Watkins
Glen
International
during
the
Go
Bowling
for
the
Glen,
falling
short
of
victory.
Starting
from
third
place,
Van
Gisbergen
showcased
how
much
faster
his
car
was
compared
to
the
field
during
the
first
stage.
In
the
first
stage,
SVG
ran
insideread more...
2
months
agoFor
Sunday's
Go
Bowling
at
the
Glen
at
Watkins
Glen
International,
Chase
Elliott
placed
19th.
Starting
from
the
14th
position,
Elliott
quickly
made
up
ground
during
the
first
stage,
especially
as
others
went
to
pit
road
at
the
end
of
the
first
stage.
Elliott
finished
sixth
at
theread more...
2
months
agoHendrick
Motorsports
driver
William
Byron
ended
the
Go
Bowling
in
the
Glen
at
Watkins
Glen
International
in
the
34th
position,
two
laps
off
the
lead
lap.
Starting
from
the
11th
position,
Byron
began
the
first
stage
in
favorable
standing
as
he
would
compete
for
a
top-10
running
position.read more...
2 months agoChase Briscoe ended Sunday's Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International in the sixth position, having a solid performance throughout the day. Starting from the 12th position, Briscoe efficiently worked his way through the field with one of the faster cars of the race early. The No. 14 Ford driver ended the first stage in the third position and collected stage points. In the second stage, Briscoe continued to race inside the Top 10 but lost some ground and ended the stage in seventh. In the final stage, Briscoe stayed out of trouble, and despite falling back due to a pit stop, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver made it back to the sixth position by the race's last restart and scored a new career-best Cup finish at the Glen. With the Cup Series next heading to Bristol, Briscoe has been decent at the site with three top-15 finishes in four previous races.Source: NASCAR.com
2 months agoDaniel Suarez was one of several playoff contenders who chose to go for stage points at Watkins Glen rather than maximizing his odds of winning. Although he qualified eighth and ran in the top ten for the entire first stage (ultimately finishing fourth in the stage), he and all the other drivers who pitted during the stage break struggled to recover and he could only make it back to 13th. However, he still beat most of the other playoff drivers in total points scored and sits fifth in the standings a whopping 36 points above the cutline, which both extends his recent uptick in performance and makes it very likely that he will make the Round of 12.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoBrad Keselowski has mightily struggled on road courses for the past few years, and Sunday's Watkins Glen race was no exception. After a poor qualifying run and two penalties for speeding and a loose tire, Keselowski's team still made an aggressive strategy play in Stage 3 to go extra long on his final set of tires. However, after receiving a bump from his former teammate Joey Logano, Keselowski slid into the path of William Byron, with both drivers scraping across the outside guardrail while Byron's car wedged atop Keselowski's. The incident resulted in a 26th-place finish and dropped Keselowski 12 points behind the playoff cut line. Since he is typically great at Bristol, he definitely can still advance to the Round of 12, but it's hardly guaranteed. The bright side for Keselowski is that Chris Buescher still won the race for his team.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoAustin Cindric backed up his 10th-place finish at Atlanta with another at Watkins Glen on Sunday, placing him three points behind Christopher Bell for the playoff points lead. Although two 10th-place finishes would normally be nowhere near the points lead, he had the great fortune that most of the other playoff contenders either crashed or made strategy gambles that cost them better finishes. Although he ran in the top 10 for the entirety of Stage 1, his decision to go for stage points cost him track position and he spent the entirety of Stage 2 in the middle of the pack, but he made a significant charge and benefited from attrition, including the two late wrecks, to sneak into the top 10 on the final restart. While it initially seemed like he was likely going to be eliminated, now Cindric advancing to the Round of 12 seems like a near certainty.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Ross Chastain has surprisingly lacked speed for most of the season, he had his best run of the year in Sunday's Watkins Glen race. Chastain is not normally a great qualifier, so his pole indicated that he would probably be a significant race contender. He dominated the first two stages and led 51 laps, but his chances for victory were ultimately foiled by a caution coming out a few seconds before he was poised to pit at the end of Stage 2. At that point, Chastain had little choice but to stay out until he had to pit for fuel, but the drivers on fresher tires ran him down, and Chris Buescher passed him for the lead to take control of the race. Nonetheless, Chastain's fourth-place finish and best driver rating of the season give him hope for a win before the season ends.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoAlthough Alex Bowman's fourth-place starting position at Watkins Glen matched his best of the season, he was one of many drivers who elected to go for stage points at the end of Stage 1 even if it took him out of the race for the win later. Bowman remained in fourth for the entirety of the first stage before being elevated to second when Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen pitted because they were not in the playoffs. This strategy play relegated him to mid-pack and he never was a contender again, but although he only finished 18th, the strategy was effective as his 31 points outscored all but three of the other playoff drivers. As a result, Bowman sits tied for third in points with Joey Logano and he is very safe to advance to the Round of 12.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoRyan Blaney, who entered Sunday's Go Bowling at the Glen as the playoff points leader, crashed and finished last in an opening-lap crash triggered when Corey LaJoie spun out Kyle Busch. While trying to weave his way through the wrecked cars, he was lightly grazed on the door by John Hunter Nemechek. Although it looked like Blaney had made it through the wreck, the contact from Nemechek broke his steering column. He was unable to restart his car and was parked under the damaged-vehicle policy, which drew a lot of criticism. Nonetheless, he was fortunate that most of the playoff contenders didn't finish very well and he only dropped to eighth in the standings and remains 29 points above the playoff cut line, so despite the setback, he remains highly likely to advance.Source: Racing Reference
2 months agoKyle Larson has some work to do if he wants to contend for the win at Watkins Glen this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver made a small mistake during qualifying for this weekend's Go Bowling at The Glen and will roll off the starting grid from 20th-place when the race goes green on Sunday afternoon. That's not a major concern, though, as we have seen plenty of drivers make their way through the field at this track and still contend for good finishes. As far as Larson's track record goes at The Glen, he has won two of the last three races here. Additionally, he won at Sonoma earlier this season, which is the other "original" road course race on the schedule. Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet ranked sixth-fastest in 10-lap average during practice this weekend. He should definitely be a contender for the win on Sunday, and has huge Place Differential upside in DFS contests due to his qualifying blunder.Source: NBC