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Michael Waltrip has more starts than any other driver at Watkins Glen but he won't be on the track this weekend.By the Numbers: The Glen
Kyle Busch only Chase bubble driver with Glen victory
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For the final time this season, Cup drivers will make right-hand turns as the series heads to New York for Sunday's running of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Watkins Glen has an interesting history. The track has been with NASCAR since 1957, making it the fourth-oldest track on the schedule, but it's only seen 26 races in its history. After Buck Baker won the inaugural race at The Glen, it took seven years for the series to return.
The track hosted just two races, one in 1964 and one in 1965, and then didn't see the Cup Series for two decades, until it finally came back for good in 1986.
The track is the fifth-longest on the Cup Series schedule, but ironically hosts the second-shortest race of the year.
Three drivers are heads-and-tails above the rest of the field at Watkins Glen. Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon lead all drivers with four wins. Right behind those two is Mark Martin with three wins, but he is the track leader with 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 19 races.
INSIDE THE DATA
Shortest races, in length, on the Cup Series schedule
| Track | Races | Miles | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infineon Raceway | 1 | 219.0 | 110 |
| Watkins Glen International | 1 | 220.5 | 90 |
| Martinsville Speedway | 2 | 263.0 | 500 |
| Bristol Motor Speedway | 2 | 266.5 | 500 |
| Richmond International Raceway | 2 | 300.0 | 400 |
| Phoenix International Raceway | 2 | 312.0 | 312 |
| New Hampshire Motor Speedway | 1 | 317.4 | 300 |
| New Hampshire Motor Speedway | 1 | 318.5 | 301 |
CHASING THE CHASE
11. Matt KensethAfter a solid 11th-place finish at Pocono, Kenseth heads to Pocono 11th in points, 102 up on 13th place. Kenseth isn't great at Watkins Glen with zero wins and just three top-10s in nine starts but he is consistent. His average finish is 16.2 and he has finished every race but one on the lead lap.
12. Greg BiffleBiffle finished 15th at Pocono, dropping a position in the standings to 12th, 101 points ahead of 13th place. If there is one driver not excited about heading to New York, it's Biffle, who has struggled throughout his career at the track. He has an average finish of 28.7 with just one top-10. However, he has been getting better. After four consecutive finishes of 30th or worse, he finished 10th in 2007 and 21st in 2008.
13. Kyle BuschBusch finished a disappointing 16th at Pocono to fall 101 points out of the Chase. That gives him four consecutive finishes outside the top 10. That could all change at The Glen though, as Busch has dominated recently. His first race at the track was a dismal 33rd but the following three have been a ninth, a seventh and a win last season.
14. Brian VickersVickers came home sixth at Pocono giving him four consecutive finishes of seventh or better. In the last six races, Vickers has earned 785 points, eighth most on the circuit. Vickers is 104 points out of a Chase spot and he has had an up-and-down career at The Glen. In five races, he has two finishes of 30th or worse and three finishes 18th or better.
15. Clint BowyerClint Bowyer's third at Pocono broke a streak of 14 races without a top-five finish. Bowyer now has two top-10s in the last three races and looks to keep it going at Watkins Glen where he has yet to finish in the top 10. That doesn't mean he is horrible at the road course, though. In three races he's finished on the lead lap each time and has an average finish of 17.7 with finishes of 14th, 16th and 23rd.
NECESSITOUS NUMBERS
3Number of drivers with multiple starts at Watkins Glen who average a top-10 finish at the track: Tony Stewart (5.7), Denny Hamlin (6.7) and Mark Martin (6.9).
4Four of the last five qualifying session at Watkins Glen have been rained out. Ironically, Joe Gibbs Racing went on to win each of those races with Tony Stewart winning three of them and Kyle Busch winning last year.
5Tony Stewart has five consecutive top-two finishes at Watkins Glen. He won in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and finished second in 2006 and 2008.
5.38Average starting position of the race winners at Watkins Glen. In 26 races, nine have been won from the pole and 17 have been won from a top-five starting position. Steve Park's win in 2000 came from the 18th starting position, the lowest for a race winner at the track.
6Number of drivers who won a race last season still looking for their first win of 2009: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman.
7Number of road-course ringers entered in Sunday's race. Ron Fellows, Boris Said, Max Papis, Patrick Carpentier, P.J. Jones, Brian Simo and Andy Lally will look to be the first non-Cup regular since Mark Donahue in 1973 to win a road-course event.
10.0Average green flag run, in laps, at Watkins Glen in the last eight races.
12Denny Hamlin was the 12th different driver to win a Cup Series race this season, tying the record set in 2008 for number of drivers to win a race.
20.1Average finish for Jeff Gordon in the last seven races at Watkins Glen. Since his last win in 2001, Gordon has just one top-10 finish and four finishes of 20th or worse.
22Michael Waltrip is the all-time starts leader at Watkins Glen with 22 but will not race this weekend, giving the seat of the No. 55 to Patrick Carpentier.
Also
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Watkins Glen International
Race Winners
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-fives | Top-10s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Stewart | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Jeff Gordon | 16 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Mark Martin | 19 | 3 | 12 | 16 |
| Rusty Wallace | 20 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| Ricky Rudd | 21 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Buck Baker | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Billy Wade | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Geoffrey Bodine | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Kyle Petty | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Robby Gordon | 10 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Ernie Irvan | 11 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Steve Park | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kevin Harvick | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Tim Richmond | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kyle Busch | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Marvin Panch | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
• Bold: Active Drivers
Sprint Cup Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Tony Stewart | 3,188 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 2,991 | -197 |
| 3. | -- | Jeff Gordon | 2,989 | -199 |
| 4. | -- | Kurt Busch | 2,751 | -437 |
| 5. | +1 | Denny Hamlin | 2,713 | -475 |
| 6. | -1 | Carl Edwards | 2,665 | -523 |
| 7. | +1 | Kasey Kahne | 2,642 | -546 |
| 8. | +2 | Juan Montoya | 2,631 | -557 |
| 9. | -2 | Ryan Newman | 2,627 | -561 |
| 10. | -1 | Mark Martin | 2,622 | -566 |
| 11. | +1 | Matt Kenseth | 2,564 | -624 |
| 12. | -1 | Greg Biffle | 2,563 | -625 |
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