Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The famed seven-turn Watkins Glen International has had numerous thrilling finishes over the years. Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen was added to the list thanks to an epic battle to the finish between Chris Buescher and Shane van Gisbergen.

After executing the strategy right, Buescher sailed to a lead north of four seconds. Then, a caution flew for Harrison Burton, blowing a tire and having the carcass cover the track. All that hard work was erased.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Buescher cleared the field, with rookie Carson Hocevar lining up to his outside during the next two restarts. Ultimately, the race was sent to overtime for a multi-car incident in the esses.

“I sure did like it being four seconds out front and cruising to victory, that sure seemed a lot easier,” Buescher said. “A little bit wilder at the end to have caution after caution was certainly frustrating.”

On the overtime restart, van Gisbergen lined up inside the second row and, while entering Turn 1, moved Buescher up the track to take the lead. The race for the win was on.

Van Gisbergen scooted away from Buescher for the next lap, but Buescher noticed he was reeling the No. 16 Chevrolet back in coming to the white flag. He knew passing a road course ace would be a tall order.

“We went up through the esses and I saw him hanging on to it, really loose,” Buescher said. “I went to a point where I wasn’t really comfortable at my entry marker into the Bus Stop, and I think he was still going. I had a feeling something big was going to happen and sure enough, he had that big slide.”

The No. 16 car went wide in the inner loop, clipping the grass. That allowed Buescher to cross over to the inside of van Gisbergen entering the carousel where the two collided. Buescher escaped with the lead, snapping a 37-race winless streak dating back to the 2023 regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

“I knew when he got that spot on us on that last restart that it was going to be tricky to get back by him,” Buescher explained. “Wanted to make sure we stayed in the hunt and drove the thing hard and kept the pressure on him and made him realize that we were still there and it wasn’t going to be a cruise away. I think that was the ticket to make sure that you get other drivers looking up in their mirror instead of looking forward and it’s a good old-fashioned hard battle at the end.

“There have been so many fantastic last one or two laps here at The Glen and I certainly feel like I’m going to go back and watch that one, and it’s going to feel like it’s going to add up with some of the old school Ambrose, Keselowski battles or a handful of others.”

Van Gisbergen expected the contact after giving it to Buescher on the restart. He considered the contact from Buescher fair.

“I did, because I gave [a bump],” van Gisbergen told NASCAR.com, walking up pit road. “Just a little tap to get position on him. I knew there was a chance he would try to get me back. I was pushing really hard on the entries, and I had a little wobble into the Bus Stop and it put me in too early and just clipped the grass.”

Compared to the overtime finish of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, van Gisbergen thought it was clean.

“There’s a scale of it where it’s like that and then another scale where it’s like the Xfinity race yesterday which was just crap,” he added. “I think it can work well sometimes.”

Had van Gisbergen not made a mistake in the inner loop, Buescher wasn’t going to go as far as wrecking him for the victory. That would have been unnecessary in his book.

MORE: Buescher details last-lap pass | SVG ‘gutted’ by loss

But after scoring a pair of runner-up finishes this season, including being on the wrong side of the closest finish in NASCAR history at Kansas Speedway in May, Buescher was content with how it played out.

“I didn’t like losing the lead there, but I didn’t think it was dirty; it was very aggressive racing,” Buescher stated. “I’m not out here to flat out wreck somebody. He didn’t do anything to me that deserved something like that, but we were going to race hard for it and have a battle all the way to the finish.”

After the race, van Gisbergen congratulated Buescher on the hard-fought win in Victory Lane. There was zero bad blood between the two drivers.

“I didn’t feel like there was anything that was dirty about it,” Buescher noted of his pass. “I didn’t expect him coming over to be mad about anything.

“On that note, I think that’s the one guy out here that’s bigger than me. So if there’s that moment where I feel like he is mad coming over, I better take note, right? Just on the flip side, I’m sure some others don’t like seeing me.”

A good pat on the back was all that was needed.

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

Most of the 16-driver playoff field will be limping into Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday for the Round of 16 elimination race as only two drivers scored top 10s at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. It wasn’t who you would expect either, as Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric kept their Fords clean through a chaotic 92-lap affair in the Finger Lakes to finish sixth and 10th, respectively.

WINNER

He had his heart broken multiple times in the regular season and ultimately came up short, unable to return to the postseason. Still, Chris Buescher shedded some of that misfortune at Watkins Glen as he moved Shane van Gisbergen in the carousel on the final lap to snag his first victory of 2024 and first of his career on a road course. It marks the fourth win in a row for Ford in the Cup Series.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Watkins Glen

WHO’S HOT?

Chase Briscoe. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was easily the big winner of the day among the playoff field as Briscoe’s sixth-place finish was highest of the championship-eligible 16 drivers. Sunday was the first time dating back to the postseason’s introduction in 2004 that zero playoff drivers grabbed a top-five result. Briscoe capitalized on 12 stage points by the halfway point and kept his car out of the trouble in the final stage to bring home his second top 10 in the last three races. Going from minus-21 to the elimination line to plus-6, Briscoe will have a lot of momentum heading to Bristol where he can advance to the Round of 12.

Austin Cindric. A big day last weekend at Atlanta was doubled at Watkins Glen as Cindric’s 10th-place finish put him in third in the playoff standings and a whopping 43 points above the elimination line. Much like Briscoe, Cindric stayed out for the Stage 1 finish and snagged six points. The driver of the No. 2 Ford also stayed out of harm’s way throughout the final stage. Barring a bad outcome early at Bristol, Cindric is in exceptional position to advance to the Round of 12 and will just need to stay out of trouble, which is easier said than done at Bristol.

WHO’S NOT?

Everyone else. It’s hard to pinpoint just a handful of playoff drivers who aren’t hot because the remaining 14 drivers all struggled or were caught up in incidents at Watkins Glen.

Kyle Larson was the best of those to finish outside the top 10 with a 12th-place result. It was a good recovery for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team after a vehicle interference penalty sent Larson to the rear of the field during the final stage. He also grabbed three points in Stage 1 that salvaged an otherwise so-so day for the 2021 Cup champion. Daniel Suárez and Christopher Bell also recovered for top-15 results after both spun in Sunday’s race. The No. 99 Trackhouse Racing driver could not capitalize on everyone’s misfortunes but scored seven key points in Stage 1 and leaves The Glen 36 points above the elimination line despite his Stage 2 spin. Bell is the highest in the playoff standings without a win at plus-46.

bell spins at watkins glen
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

Joey Logano (15th), Alex Bowman (18th), Chase Elliott (19th) and Martin Truex Jr. (20th) rounded out the top 20 for playoff drivers. Elliott and Truex were caught up in late-race incidents that caused heavy damage to the likes of Brad Keselowski (26th) and William Byron (34th).

Ty Gibbs (22nd) and Tyler Reddick (27th) could not find their way to the front of the field after poor qualifying efforts Saturday and Reddick was spun in the closing laps, leading the race into NASCAR Overtime. Harrison Burton, who finished 24th, blew a tire with 11 laps to go and is now 20 points below the elimination line entering Bristol and last of the 16-driver standings.

The playoff-driver woes Sunday began with Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney from the get-go on Lap 1 as Corey LaJoie spun Kyle Busch in the Bus Stop, culminating in a chain-reaction wreck. Hamlin hit Busch and had another setback later in the race as Keselowski spun Hamlin as the No. 11, Keselowski and Larson tried going three-wide through the esses.

Blaney’s day ended after left-rear contact with Keselowski brought the No. 12 Ford to a halt on the track and Blaney couldn’t drive his vehicle back to pit road.

HAMLIN INCIDENTS: Lap 1 wreck | Final stage spin

Despite two separate incidents, Hamlin recovered for a 23rd-place result and sits just six points below the elimination race heading to Bristol where he’s won the last two concrete races.

BUBBLE WATCH

RANKDRIVERCUTOFF
9Kyle Larson26
10William Byron25
11Chase Briscoe6
12Ty Gibbs6
ELIMINATION LINE
13Denny Hamlin-6
14Brad Keselowski-12
15Martin Truex Jr.-14
16Harrison Burton-20
Posted on by Holly Cain

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — In a largely chaotic race — action-packed literally from the drop of the green flag — it was RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher who prevailed in NASCAR Overtime in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, passing road-course ace Shane van Gisbergen in a bumper-to-bumper last-lap duel to claim his first career road-course victory at the famed Watkins Glen International.

Van Gisbergen took the lead from the second row in a daring three-wide move on an overtime restart, but Buescher chased him down. Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford and van Gisbergen’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet made contact in the course’s famous Bus Stop, then Buescher slid his Mustang inside van Gisbergen’s Camaro in the esses and motored off to a 0.979-second win over the New Zealand superstar in the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race of the season.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Spire’s Zane Smith rounded out the top five. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe placed sixth as the highest-finishing playoff driver, followed by Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, Spire’s Corey LaJoie, SHR’s Ryan Preece and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric.

Briscoe and Cindric were the only two playoff drivers to finish among the top 10 in what was a perpetually dramatic day for the 16 playoff drivers racing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

“Oh man, it was such a good Ford Mustang, speed was so great and long-run speed phenomenal,” said the 31-year-old Texan Buescher, who just missed qualifying for the playoffs when Chase Briscoe won the regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway three weeks ago.

“I thought we lost it there on the last one, but, man, to stay right there with him. It was a spot he was better than us, but he just missed it, so I tried to cross over and just hard racing. What an awesome finish. To be that good for so much at the end of the race — all race — to get a win is good.

“We came here to be spoilers, and we’re going to do that.”

Van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago Street Race last season in his NASCAR Cup Series debut, was a factor all day, as expected for the former Australian Supercars champion, who will compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series next year in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing.

“Driver error, yeah,” van Gisbergen said of his slip in the Bus Stop. “I knew Chris was really going to send it and push me if he could get there, and as I turned back, I was a bit loose and clipped the inside wall. Just driver error, and I’m gutted.

“The race was really awesome there with Ross [Chastain] and Chris [Buescher] and the others at the end, I’m gutted we couldn’t get it. We had a lot of fun, but I’m pretty angry at myself.”

It was a fitting dramatic ending to a day that shook up the playoff standings from the opening lap to the final lap (92). Twelve of the 16 Playoff drivers suffered some sort of “challenge” on the day.

RELATED: Latest NASCAR Playoffs standings

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney — who led the points standings entering the race — was eliminated from the race on Lap 1 after being innocently caught up in a collision that included half a dozen cars, including fellow playoff competitors Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Christopher Bell.

It was just the beginning of a long, challenging day for Hamlin, who was involved in another accident mid-race. He was part of a three-wide line of playoff drivers – also including Kyle Larson and Keselowski – trying to make it through the track’s famous series of turns called the esses. Unfortunately for Hamlin, there wasn’t enough room for the wide challenges, and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota again suffered damage.

SHOP: Race winner gear

Larson and fellow playoff drivers Regular Season Champion Tyler Reddick, Bell, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and William Byron were involved in multiple incidents throughout the day.

The high-speed, high-action day ended a streak of five consecutive Hendrick Motorsports wins at the historic 2.45-mile Watkins Glen track. Among the playoff drivers, Larson finished 12th, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, Bell and Logano rounding out the top 15.

Hendrick’s Alex Bowman was 18th, followed — in order — by teammate Elliott and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr.

JGR’s Ty Gibbs was 22nd, followed immediately by his teammate Hamlin and Wood Brothers’ Harrison Burton. Keselowski was 26th and Reddick 27th. Byron ended up 34th, and Blaney was 38th, the first car out.

Those results mean that with one race left in this opening three-race playoff round, Bell holds a three-point edge on Cindric atop the standings, with Bowman five points back. Logano’s win at Atlanta two weeks ago scored him an automatic bid into the next round.

Heading into next Saturday night’s first-round elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Hamlin is now ranked 13th, six points below his JGR teammate Gibbs on the elimination line. Keselowski is 12 points back, Truex 14 points back and Burton is 20 points off the transfer position.

“I thought our Camry was solid, needed to be better on long runs for sure, but worked hard and persevered and had a decent day, but as always, you get the cautions at the end, and guys just run through you,” said a frustrated but determined Truex, who ran up front early and was — at one point — more than a dozen points above the elimination line.

MORE: Cup Series schedule

“It’s just crazy all these races always come down to this and I don’t really 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,” Truex added. “It’s very frustrating, but it is what it is these days.”

The NASCAR Cup Series will conclude a triple-header race weekend at the famed Bristol high-banks with Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race (7 p.m. ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Denny Hamlin is the defending winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage at Watkins Glen concluded without issue, confirming Buescher as the race winner.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Denny Hamlin is delighted that the Round of 16 closes with Bristol Motor Speedway because the first two weeks of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have been calamity for the No. 11 team.

That frustration continued Sunday at Watkins Glen International, where the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota finished 23rd, collecting just 15 points in the second race of the postseason and leaving the 2.45-mile road course beneath the provisional elimination line.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

By overdriving Turn 1 during qualifying, Hamlin was credited with a 22nd-place starting position. That threw the No. 11 team behind the eight ball from the get-go, needing to score stage points. Hamlin didn’t even make it half a lap into the 90-lap race before he had sizable damage. Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch spun around in the Bus Stop, and when Busch came across the race track, Hamlin piled in.

“It sucks because I knew the damage was bad,” Hamlin said of his mindset after the opening lap. “I was really looking forward to this race, believe it or not, because we made some really good adjustments overnight to help with where I felt like we were going to be a little bit off. I wanted to just race and see what my car had. Just never had a chance.”

In the same wreck that retired Ryan Blaney from the race, Chris Gabehart, crew chief of the No. 11 team, had a synchronized plan in place. In an extended caution, the team had seven minutes to work on the car on pit road, make minimum speed and get off the damaged vehicle policy clock. That goal was accomplished.

“You’re a whisker from finishing dead last, not getting off of DVP,” Gabehart told NASCAR.com. “Once my team, who I’m so proud of, Brandon Griffith my car chief, all the mechanics, the pit crew — it takes everyone being coordinated to work your way out of a hole like that in just seven minutes. I can’t say enough how proud I am for even giving us a shot. The minute we left that scenario, the new goal was to try to figure out a way to run about 25th or 26th because realistically, I thought it was the best we could do with the damage we had and at least give ourselves a shot to go to Bristol.”

Hamlin lost a lap but was the free-pass recipient at the end of the opening stage. With a variety of strategies playing out, he even scored a stage point in Stage 2.

MORE: Truex wins Stage 1 | Suárez stuck in gravel at Stage 2 end

In a three-wide battle with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson through the esses, Hamlin’s race derailed for a second time on Lap 46. The No. 11 car backed into the outside wall and ricocheted around to receive nose damage.

“We were three-wide and [Keselowski], I thought, could have let off there because we were so far ahead,” Hamlin added. “He kept it three-wide and I wrecked.”

Hamlin received another free pass in the waning laps and avoided chaos in a rash of late cautions. He took the checkered flag in 23rd, ahead of five other playoff drivers.

“Great effort to keep us in it,” Hamlin said. “Obviously, the car is just destroyed. To finish 23rd, I guess is a positive. We were in a worse place that mostly all day and luckily, we had some attrition at the end that helped us out.”

With Bristol on the horizon, the No. 11 team is confident. Hamlin has won the last two races at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile,’ combining to lead 305 of 1,000 laps contested in those events. He enters the race six points below the elimination line, which is currently held by both Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe in a tie six points above the line.

“I feel like we can go there and win,” Hamlin stated. “… We feel like we control our destiny there.

Gabehart is just as confident.

“Six out ain’t going to be enough to hold the 11 back at Bristol,” he said. “The ‘but’ is, we’ve got to have the asteroids to quit falling on top of the 11 car. Our performance is matched by very, very few. We just aren’t on the lucky side of things right now.

“This week, we made our luck by qualifying poorly. No one is perfect and this team showed that it’s championship caliber today. I can promise you nobody is going to beat us on performance at Bristol. Six ain’t enough. Now, does it go our way? We’ll see, but six isn’t enough to beat us on performance.”

The Round of 16 finale is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and NBC Sports App.

Posted on by Staff Report

Multiple playoff cars were involved in a Lap 1 wreck through the Bus Stop at Watkins Glen International on Sunday afternoon, and no one felt the impact worse — literally, figuratively — than Ryan Blaney.

Contact with Corey LaJoie caused Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to spin around and collect playoff drivers Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell through the exit, immediately creating postseason implications in the second of three Round of 16 races in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Damage to Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford proved terminal, with Blaney’s car taken to the garage and finished the race in 38th place, last. Damage to Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota additionally forced him to pit road, costing him and the team one lap as repairs were made — and while Hamlin would get his lap back, he was involved in another wreck on Lap 46 racing three-wide with Keselowski and Kyle Larson.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Blaney said of his perspective of the incident. “Just running easy through the Bus Stop, and I don’t know who got into who or spun. Thought I had it missed, and we all hit pretty lightly and I hit the left front in the wrong spot and it did something to it.

“Yeah, we made a half a lap. Very disappointing, but we will see how the day goes and have to go to work at Bristol next week.”

Blaney, the defending Cup Series champion, entered the day 45 points above the elimination line, highest among all playoff drivers to yet collect a playoff victory.

Also involved in the incident were Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece. Stenhouse was unable to continue and was credited with a 37th-place finish.

Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Adam Stevens was enjoying a warm summer night in Ohio at his sister’s house during the two-week Olympic break, jumping into the pool, playing with his niece and nephews. Then, it all went wrong.

Jumping off the diving board for what Stevens believes to be the seventh or eighth time, both of his patella tendons ruptured. The next day, the championship-winning crew chief returned to North Carolina to get an MRI and on Thursday morning went into surgery.

With the NASCAR season getting back underway at Richmond Raceway on Aug. 11, he knew he was going to have to adjust the way he worked on Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota. Car chief Chris Sherwood was named the interim crew chief while Stevens set up shop at Joe Gibbs Racing’s headquarters in Huntersville, North Carolina.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Watkins Glen | At-track photos

“It’s the exact same role, you’re just not at the track,” Stevens told NASCAR.com on Sunday morning at Watkins Glen International, site of the Round of 16 playoff race (3 p.m. ET, USA.) “You don’t have hands on, eyes on everything, so you’re relying on your people that much more. As far as the functions and the responsibilities, it didn’t change.”

The only thing that changed during the weekends were the debriefs. Instead of gathering in a group in the team hauler, Stevens would chime in via Zoom or by phone.

“I didn’t really notice much difference,” Bell stated. “Other than [Stevens] being there and having his presence around the team, it was important. As far as on-track performance, I don’t think it made much of a difference.”

During the four-week stretch to end the regular season, Bell had three top-10 finishes. The lone exception was getting involved in a multi-car wreck at Michigan International Speedway when Kyle Larson spun near the front of the field.

Stevens returned to the track for the first time at Atlanta Motor Speedway for only race day. He was hobbling around with big leg braces, measuring from kneecap to shin, locking his legs straight out. He said he was having to “walk like Frankenstein.”

The logistics of getting on and off the plane, in addition to on and off the pit box were planned out. But he had enough room to weasel his way in and be somewhat comfortable.

This weekend at Watkins Glen International marks Stevens’ first full race weekend back at the track. He’s able to walk around much easier now, having a smaller brace. He was happy being back at the track.

MORE: Full crew rosters for The Glen

“I think I’m far enough along now — six weeks post-surgery, which is the mark that they will start letting you bend your knees,” he said. “It’s hard to get around when you can’t bend your knees.”

The No. 20 Toyota will take the green flag from 17th position in today’s second race in the Round of 16. Bell enters the 90-lap event third on the playoff grid, with a 40-point buffer over Brad Keselowski, who is the first driver on the outside looking in.

“We weren’t as good as we wanted to be in practice, but we made it a little bit better,” Stevens said. “We didn’t qualify well, but the race is going to be a different animal. We didn’t qualify that great last year, either and finished third.

“You’ve got to keep the perspective of what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to advance to the next round. We need to have a solid day, limit our mistakes and capitalize on other people’s mistakes and go home happy.”

In three starts at Watkins Glen, Bell has never finished worse than eighth.

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

After a hectic opener to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, several title contenders from Kyle Larson to Chase Briscoe are already searching for top-notch performances to keep their seasons alive past Bristol.

Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) will present a challenge. Drivers and teams will have to change their typical plan of attack at The Glen with the expectations of dramatic tire fall-off via a new compound from Goodyear. Not only will it create potential passing opportunities, but it will also change pit strategy and how teams will handle the point battles.

RELATED: Set your Fantasy Live lineup | Weekend schedule | Crew rosters for Watkins Glen

Despite the new tire and the fact that Watkins Glen is hosting a playoff race for the first time, Racing Insights projects the circuit’s best road-course ringers to master the eight turns around the 2.45-mile course with Tyler Reddick as the projected winner followed closely behind by the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Larson.

As mentioned earlier, drivers like Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, and Martin Truex Jr. — who most of us probably thought were safe bets to make strong playoff runs — find themselves in not-ideal standing positions seeded 10th or lower. Now, there shouldn’t be a whole lot of panic for all of them. With two more races left before four drivers get eliminated, there’s still time to have solid point days or even win to advance, but asking for the next two weeks to go smoothly and almost perfectly feels like a stretch with how unpredictable the playoffs can be.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

KYLE LARSON: Larson’s struggles at Atlanta continued last week, but at The Glen, he’s won two races with five top 10s there in nine starts, and he was the class of the field at Sonoma this year. Falling from first to 10th seed after one playoff race should be plenty of fire for the No. 5 team to go out and compete for a win.

CHRISTOPHER BELL: Bell owns an average finish of sixth on the New York road course, albeit in three Cup starts. Still, Bell has tallied eight top 10s on road courses in the Next Gen era (tied for third-best), and with how consistent his regular-season campaign went in terms of racking up stage wins and top 10s, he should be in the mix

ALEX BOWMAN: Last week, Team Penske was on the radar; this week, it’s watch for Hendrick. The organization has won the last five races at The Glen with three different drivers. Bowman won the Chicago Street Race, has scored the most points on road courses this season and has a chip on his shoulder to silence the chatter about his future in the No. 48 Chevrolet.

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: Playoff spoiler, anyone? Leave it to SVG, who is no stranger to stunning the Cup garage. He’s already rattled off three road-course wins in the Xfinity Series. Plus, Sunday will be a good measurement stick to see how he stacks up to Cup regulars on a course they have regularly seen.

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: Montoya is back in a Cup ride for the first time since 2014. During his time in NASCAR’s top level, he earned five top 10s at Watkins Glen, including his win in 2010. While he will be getting his first dose of the Next Gen car, you can’t knock his talent behind the wheel of a race car, period, as a two-time Indy 500 winner and seven-time Formula One winner.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. 

FinishCar NumberDriver
145Tyler Reddick
29Chase Elliott
35Kyle Larson
420Christopher Bell
534Michael McDowell
617Chris Buescher
724William Byron
854Ty Gibbs
919Martin Truex Jr.
101Ross Chastain
118Kyle Busch
1299Daniel Suárez
1348Alex Bowman
1413AJ Allmendinger
1511Denny Hamlin
1612Ryan Blaney
172Austin Cindric
1816Shane van Gisbergen
1922Joey Logano
206Brad Keselowski
2114Chase Briscoe
2223Bubba Wallace
2347Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
247Corey LaJoie
2571Zane Smith
2638Todd Gilliland
2777Carson Hocevar
283Austin Dillon
2941Ryan Preece
3051Justin Haley
3143Erik Jones
3210Noah Gragson
3331Daniel Hemric
3421Harrison Burton
3542John Hunter Nemechek
3615Kaz Grala
374Josh Berry
3850Juan Pablo Montoya
Posted on by Brandon White

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — The intense, year-long NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship battle between Ron Silk and Justin Bonsignore encountered a major twist in Saturday’s Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead Raceway.

While fighting side-by-side for the lead during the closing laps, the two Modified heavyweights made contact on the backstretch, resulting in significant damage to Bonsignore’s left-front suspension. Silk drove away for his fourth victory of 2024, all while Bonsignore was left with a points deficit.

RELATED: Complete results from the Eddie Partridge 256

Silk described the racing with Bonsignore as aggressive from the moment the green flag waved. He was not worried about the circumstances that led to Bonsignore’s damage; he instead was thrilled to prevail in a race that honored his former car owner Eddie Partridge.

“There was a lot of contact most of the race between both of us,” Silk said. “I got under him, and we made contact just like the lap before when I was on the outside of him. I drove for Eddie Partridge for a number of years, so it means a lot to me to win his race here.

“It was a good night.”

The duel Silk and Bonsignore shared Saturday evening closely resembled their heated battle for the win during last year’s Eddie Partridge 256.

Spectators at Riverhead that evening were treated to a thrilling finish that saw Bonsignore and Silk exchange bump-and-runs throughout the last 10 laps. Bonsignore emerged victorious that evening, and Silk ended up settling for third after losing track position.

Not ready to surrender another Riverhead victory or any more ground in the Modified Tour standings to Bonsignore, Silk matched his rival nearly blow-for-blow Saturday evening. Bonsignore spent more time out front Saturday, but the 11-time Riverhead winner never managed to shake Silk from his rearview mirror.

As the laps dwindled, Silk gradually applied more pressure to Bonsignore’s back bumper. He made his move on Bonsignore with 15 laps remaining, diving on him in Turn 1 and colliding with Bonsignore’s left-front suspension, which ultimately brought Bonsignore’s stellar night to an abrupt end.

Had Bonsignore managed to hold off Silk, he would have made Modified Tour history on multiple fronts. A 12th victory for Bonsignore at Riverhead moves him past Mike Ewanitsko for most series wins at the track, while another Modified Tour triumph in general gives Bonsignore sole possession of third on the all-time wins list.

Instead, Bonsignore suddenly finds himself down 10 points to Silk in the standings after entering the Eddie Partridge 256 with a five-point advantage. He has four races remaining to undo the damage from Riverhead, but he will have to minimize any mistakes to undo the momentum Silk obtained from Saturday’s triumph.

For Silk, sweeping the season at Riverhead carries plenty of significance. He had never visited Riverhead’s Victory Lane on the Modified Tour until last year, and he felt honored to secure another checkered flag for a car owner who helped mold him into the driver he is today.

The path to another Riverhead victory for Silk came at the expense of Bonsignore, yet the impact of the moment was not lost on Silk as he celebrated with his crew and the staff at Riverhead.

“They’re all special, but to win this one in Eddie’s honor at his race track is pretty cool,” Silk said. “He did a lot of great things for me over the years, and it’s cool to win his race.”

Craig Lutz followed Silk across the finish line in second, with Tyler Rypkema, Patrick Emerling and Austin Beers rounding out the top five. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Timmy Solomito, Kyle Bonsignore, J.R. Bertuccio, Eric Goodale and Tommy Catalano.

Bonsignore ended his night in the 15th position following his broken suspension.

Next up for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is the Winchester Fair presented by USNE at Monadnock Speedway on Saturday, the final leg of the Whelen Granite State Short Track Cup. The green flag will wave at 6 p.m. ET, with FloRacing providing live flag-to-flag coverage.

Posted on by Staff Report

Eddie Partridge 256

Riverhead Raceway

  • Race results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Diff
1 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine/Future Homes —
2 46 Craig Lutz Riverhead Building Supply 0.526
3 3 Tyler Rypkema USNE/Northeast Drilling 1.251
4 1 Patrick Emerling Fleetworks Inc 1.29
5 64 Austin Beers G&G Electrical Supply/Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 1.458
6 66 Timmy Solomito UNSE Power/Kennedy Realty 1.565
7 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munns Auto 1.765
8 2 J.R. Bertuccio Gershow Recycling 2.031
9 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 2.318
10 54 Tommy Catalano Catalano Motorsports 2.559
11 45 Jack  Handley* Hydro Action/Suffolk Precast 2.906
12 84 Tyler Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 3.291
13 56 Trevor Catalano* Catalano Motorsports 15:21.6
14 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood & Restaurant 44:38.4
15 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communications, Inc. 05:16.8
16 81 Mark Stewart* Cromer’s Market/Keith Grimes 8 Laps
17 88 Roger Turbush Rheem 19 Laps
18 4 Tim Connolly Connolly Companies, LLC 32 Laps
19 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 169 Laps

 

Posted on by Dustin Albino

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — In preparation of Connor Zilisch’s Xfinity Series debut, Josh Wise told him to prepare like his life depended on it, and to compete like it doesn’t matter. The idea was to eliminate the pressure.

The hype train storms on.

“As we’ve all seen, he’s going to be the next superstar,” AJ Allmendinger declared.

Zilisch was the class of the field on Saturday, beginning in practice when the No. 88 Chevrolet had nearly four-tenths of a second on the field. The 18-year-old backed that speed up in qualifying, scoring the pole for his series debut.

RELATED: Race results | Photos from Zilisch’s first win

Unlike the first lap of his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Circuit of The Americas, Zilisch made it through Turn 1 unscathed. He left the field in the dust, winning the opening stage by north of 10 seconds.

Zilisch pitted at the end of the stage for fuel and restarted 14th, losing five additional spots on pit road to drivers that scored stage points. Methodically, the No. 88 drove through the field and finished Stage 2 in third, trailing two Cup Series playoff drivers in William Byron and Ty Gibbs.

It all nearly slipped away.

Following a Lap 45 caution that saw regular season championship leader Justin Allgaier get stuck in the gravel pit, Gibbs, Sam Mayer and Zilisch all drove through the inner loop. The penalty was restarting at the tail of the field.

“It was dumb of me,” Zilisch said. “Honestly, I thought Ty and Sam knew better than me and I should have known better. I thought those guys that had been racing in this series for a few years would have been doing the right things, so I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll just follow them and try to act cool.’ Then, I was at the tail of the field.”

In a chaotic second half of the race, ultimately, the penalty was a blessing in disguise for Zilisch. The No. 88 team serviced Zilisch’s car, putting him just outside his fuel window to make it to the checkered flag. Andrew Overstreet, crew chief of the No. 88 car, informed Zilisch that he needed him to save a gallon of gas, equal to approximately two laps around the 2.45-mile road course.

While most of the field needed to pit an additional time, Zilisch rocketed through the field, gapping both Gibbs and Mayer. Veteran spotter TJ Majors coached the youngster on how to save fuel, though he had experience while driving an LMP2 car for Era Motorsport. Entering Turn 1, Zilisch would lift off the throttle at the start/finish line and finesse it through the corner. Down the backstretch, he would lift “two football fields” short of his brake marker.

Zilisch was on his way to victory until Matt DiBenedetto brought out the caution for stalling on the track with six laps remaining. After a multi-car pileup in Turn 1 on the restart, Zilisch had to think about the next restart, more than 20 minutes later under the red flag.

MORE: Drivers to win in Xfinity Series debut

In the second overtime, Kaulig Racing teammates Shane van Gisbergen and Allmendinger rubbed fenders for second, allowing Sheldon Creed to scoot by. Meanwhile, Zilisch escaped with a sizable lead. Another caution flew on the final lap, allowing Zilisch to coast back to the finish line, becoming the seventh driver in series history to win in their debut.

“It’s hard to put into words how much this meant to me,” Zilisch added. “I worked so hard for this race; I’ve been preparing for it for over three months. Outside of the [Rolex] 24, this was probably the biggest race of the year for me. To come out here and prove to myself that I can do it and compete at the highest level is special to me.”

Zilisch had enough fuel for a burn out in Turn 1 and then another as a smoke cloud filled the frontstretch.

Racing under a Trackhouse Racing developmental contact, Zilisch has grown close to Shane van Gisbergen. It was van Gisbergen and Scott Speed that welcomed Zilisch into the Red Bull family on Friday. The New Zealander knows a thing or two about winning a series debut – hello, inaugural Chicago Street Race – and know the talent is evident with Zilisch.

“It’s awesome to see the effort that he puts in and how good he is at his age is pretty impressive,” van Gisbergen said. “It’s been amazing to watch him.”

Allmendinger ended up third in the finishing order and didn’t think he could intimidate Zilisch on multiple late-race restarts. Instead, he was wowed by how smooth the 18-year-older was.

“His car control is phenomenal,” Allmendinger said about Zilisch. “He did a great job on all of those restarts and everything we threw at him, but he has phenomenal speed and he’s in a really good car, that helps.”

Following the race, Zilisch celebrated with his No. 88 team, as it was also Overstreet’s first triumph as a crew chief. Multiple Cup stars, including 2023 champion Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith all showed their gratitude.

Despite the compassionate acts and high regard other drivers spoke about him, Zilisch won’t let that enter his head.

“It’s cool to have people tell me that but the biggest thing is, I have to stay true to myself and understand that I’m not at the highest level yet and I’m not winning at the highest level yet,” Zilisch said. “Until I’m doing that, I’m not going to label myself a superstar.”

The only thing Zilisch didn’t accomplish on Saturday was becoming the youngest driver to win an Xfinity Series race (he was one month and two days shy). That record still belongs to two-time Cup champion Joey Logano. Logano is familiar with having labels put on him, as he was dubbed “the greatest thing since sliced bread” by Mark Martin at an early age.