Go Bowling at The Glen
(⏰ Sunday, 3 p.m. ET | USA Network | NBC Sports App | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101
Location: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, NY.
Track length: 2.45 miles
Race purse:$7,572,831
Race distance: 90 laps | 220.5 miles
Stages: 20 | 40 | 90
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Starting lineup: Ross Chastain to lead field to green on Sunday
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: William Byron, August 2023
Key things to watch
Saturday sessions
Non-playoff drivers split the top-10 starting spots evenly with the playoff as Ross Chastain nabbed his second career Cup Series pole with a 122.279 mph lap in the final round of qualifying. While big names like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott missed out on advancing in the first round of Saturday’s qualifying, Martin Truex Jr., who enters Sunday’s race 19 points below the elimination line, took advantage of others’ misfortunes and will start on the front row alongside Chastain. Playoff drivers Alex Bowman (fourth), Austin Cindric (fifth), Joey Logano (seventh) and Daniel Suárez (eighth) will have great track position when the green flag drops.
William Byron (11th), Chase Briscoe (12th), Elliott (14th), Ty Gibbs (15th), Reddick (16th), Christopher Bell (17th), Larson (20th), Hamlin (22nd), Brad Keselowski (28th), Ryan Blaney (30th) and Harrison Burton (33rd) will all have work to do to improve their playoff position at The Glen.
Road-course ace Reddick was fastest on single-lap speed in split 20-minute practices for both groups to get a feel of tire fall-off. Looking at 10 and 15-consecutive lap averages, it was dominated by road-course ringers, with Michael McDowell, Shane van Gisbergen and Cindric all appearing inside the top 10. Blaney was the slowest of playoff drivers to make 10 consecutive laps, while Elliott and Gibbs did not turn 10 straight circuits during either practice session. | Full Saturday recap
Big story line
Hendrick Motorsports going for six straight at Watkins Glen
For the last six years, Watkins Glen has been a playground for Hendrick Motorsports, with three different drivers in the historic organization splitting the taste of victory in the last five races at the road course. Chase Elliott was the first to strike, nabbing a long-awaited maiden victory in 2018 after holding off Martin Truex Jr., who was the last non-Hendrick driver to win at The Glen.
Elliott went back-to-back in 2019 before Kyle Larson entered the Hendrick fold in 2021 and went on to win a pair of his own. The ending of 2022’s race got dicey as Larson and Elliott battled for the win on the front row. In Turn 1, Larson smoked the brakes and forced his teammate well off the preferred angle to take the checkered flag.
William Byron dominated the most recent Watkins Glen race. He started second and led 66 of 90 laps en route to his fifth win during the 2023 season.
Fortunes haven’t been the same for Alex Bowman, who is still seeking his first top-10 result at The Glen. With an average finish of 21.4 across seven starts at the road course, the No. 48 driver will need to dramatically improve that mark on Sunday to hold onto what is a steady margin above the elimination line (plus-27) after a strong showing at Atlanta.
While most of the Hendrick camp is in a good position in the playoffs entering Sunday, Larson finds himself in a precarious spot after crashing late in Stage 1 at Atlanta and parachuting down to 10th in the standings after entering the postseason as the top seed. Now, with just a 15-point gap to the elimination line, Larson needs to get back to his 2021 and 2022 ways at Watkins Glen or be stuck in a bind entering a cutoff race at Bristol that could produce the same chaos as it did in the spring.
Sunday also lends an opportunity for the Chevrolet and Hendrick camp to reassert their position as the favorites for the remainder of the playoffs. Two Team Penske drivers and a pair of Toyota wheelmen currently command the top four spots of the playoff standings. Chevy’s last win came from Austin Dillon at Richmond in August, and Ford has won the last three events with three different organizations. Watkins Glen isn’t just vital to a handful of drivers’ playoff positions but one that could set the tone for the rest of Hendrick’s 2024 postseason campaign.
History tells us…
Tire fall-off will favor the veterans. If Goodyear’s tire compound this weekend does produce the intended dramatic fall-off, then it will likely play into the hands of the sport’s most experienced. While Bristol is no comparison to Watkins Glen, we saw the trio of Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski command the top three amid a race filled with drivers wearing their tires out too fast, and the three conserved their tires enough in the final to speed past the field to the checkered flag.
For a driver like Keselowski, who has just one road-course top 10 in the last 21 races, a different look to a road-course race could certainly boost the driver’s hopes to finally have a big day as he enters Sunday’s race one point below Ty Gibbs for the final spot in the Round of 12.
Add in road-course connoisseurs Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and the one-off return of Juan Pablo Montoya on Sunday, and now, all four of those guys could be legitimate threats to spoil the playoff field with their experience on left and right-turn venues.
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. Road-course events usually don’t play in favor of an underdog, but in the two Next Gen events so far at Watkins Glen, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion has had two sneaky-good performances. A 15th and 13th-place showing in the last two races at The Glen may not be flashy, but Stenhouse has been consistent at the speedy road course with top-20 finishes in all but two of his 10 starts (2015, 2016).
Stenhouse enters Sunday’s race with 150-1 odds, which puts him near the bottom of the betting board, but in terms of points scored in the last two races at Watkins Glen, he’s earned more than the likes of Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman. | Watkins Glen odds
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
– New tire compound: Goodyear to bring softer tire with dramatic fall-off for Cup Series at The Glen | Read article
– Title favorite in trouble?: Larson carries less buffer into Watkins Glen on Sunday | Read article
– Welcome back, Juan: Juan Pablo Montoya in it to win it in first Cup race since 2014 on Sunday | Read article
– Word of mouth: How mouthpiece data, driver feedback led to Watkins Glen safety improvements | Read article
– Bubble Watch: Which drivers need big points day on Sunday? | Photo gallery
– Second attempt: Kyle Larson to try Indy 500-Coke 600 double in 2025 | Read article
– Inside the Playoffs: ‘Logano is the one you didn’t want to already be in’ | Watch video
– Inside the Race: How Watkins Glen configuration changes will affect strategy on Sunday | Watch video
– Crew rosters: See the full roster for every Cup Series team competing this weekend | Read article
– Active road-course winners: No. 48 driver the most recent winner on a road course | Photo gallery
– Power Rankings: Bowman makes an early statement with strong Atlanta showing | Photo gallery
– Road-course ringers: The winningest Cup Series drivers on left, right-turn circuits | Photo gallery
– Turning Point: The even-year enigma of Joey Logano | Read article
– NASCAR Betting: Where Montoya lands in one-off return at Watkins Glen | Photo gallery
– Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s playoff race | Read article
– 36 for 36: Check out this week’s survivor pool picks | Read article
– Fantasy Fastlane: Expect the unexpected for Sunday | Photo gallery
– Fantasy Update: Playoff drivers struggling at Watkins Glen | Read article
– Memorable moments: Races for the history books from Watkins Glen | Photo gallery
– Watkins Glen gladiators: Full list of Cup Series race winners | Photo gallery
– NASCAR Classics: Rewind with three Watkins Glen all-timers from the vault | Read article
– Paint Scheme Preview: Fresh designs for Watkins Glen playoff race | Pick your favorite
Fast facts ⏩
Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
– All six stages in 2024 on road courses were won by a different driver.
– The last eight races of 2024 were won by eight different drivers.
– A Watkins Glen race winner has never started lower than 18th. The last six races there were won from a top-six starting position.