After 23 NASCAR Cup Series races, there’s not a clear-cut front-runner for the 2021 Regular-Season Championship. There’s actually two. Kyle Larson won last Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International, forging a tie with Denny Hamlin atop the points standings.
Hamlin has ridden remarkable consistency to stay atop the standings since Week 2 of the Cup Series season, but Larson has rallied back on the strength of a series-best five wins. Hamlin is still searching for his first win of 2021.
Three races remain in the regular season — Sunday’s series debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Aug. 22 at Michigan International Speedway and Aug. 28 at Daytona International Speedway. With time winding down and a 15-point playoff bonus going to the regular-season champ, NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert and Sean Montgomery debate which driver has the best shot to hold the points lead once the playoffs arrive.
ALBERT: Tough to go against the hot hand, so here’s a vote for Kyle Larson to keep his upward trend and come out on top of the regular-season heap. In the last 12 races, Larson has finished first or second eight times — a big reason why he has chopped Hamlin’s regular-season lead from a high-water mark of 144 points to nothing during that same stretch.
Variables remain among the three regular-season races, but Larson holds a favorable forecast for at least two of them. The Cup Series hasn’t competed on Indy’s grand-prix layout, but Larson has won two of the series’ last three road-course events, flexing the strength of Hendrick Motorsports’ road-racing program. Larson is also a three-time winner at Michigan. His Daytona stats stack up less favorably as Larson is still seeking his first win on a superspeedway, a strong suit for Hamlin’s No. 11 team. Playoff fortunes can turn quickly in the regular-season finale at Daytona, but if Larson pours it on in the next two races, it may be buffer enough.
The 2021 season has marked a breakout for Larson and his No. 5 group, but the seemingly insurmountable points cushion — and sense of invincibility — Hamlin amassed in the regular season’s first half has started to fizzle. Enter Larson, who may add another win to his total to nail down a regular-season coronation.
MONTGOMERY: Denny Hamlin is still the guy. The veteran has a mind-boggling goose egg in the win column this season and is still contending for the trophy. As tight as they’ve competed, it’s all about consistency — the buzzword for Hamlin’s 2021 title run.
Conceding that Larson moves oddsmakers at Indy and may be the outright favorite at Michigan, it’s worth noting his toughest competition this season has been within his own organization. Even after a mistake-induced stumble at Watkins Glen, Chase Elliott should still be the overall favorite to win at the Brickyard. But don’t forget, Hamlin is no slouch on road circuits either, tallying a 7.0 average finish at the first five left-and-right-turn tracks this season. Expect the two regular-season title contenders to remain relatively close on points.
Heading to Michigan, Hamlin has three consecutive top six finishes and four top 10s in his last five races at the track. Larson has dominated many of the intermediates this season and won at Michigan in the past, but he hasn’t turned laps there in more than two years. And the D-shaped two-mile oval often runs more like a superspeedway, settling right into Hamlin’s wheelhouse.
That sets up the “wild card” finale, and nobody does Daytona quite like Hamlin. Seemingly immune to “The Big One,” Hamlin has only crashed out of a Daytona race three times in 31 starts. Larson has five DNFs in 14 races. Crashing out would be catastrophic for the title battle, and odds are it won’t be Hamlin. If he needs a win to clinch, he has done that as well — winning two of the last five at The World Center of Racing.
Bob Jenkins, an esteemed motorsports broadcaster at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway who also anchored NASCAR coverage for ABC Sports and ESPN for nearly two decades, died Monday. He was 73.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway confirmed Jenkins’ passing. Jenkins had revealed in February that he was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment for brain cancer. He had survived a bout with colon cancer in 1983.
“Bob Jenkins lent his iconic voice to so many memorable NASCAR moments, telling the story of our sport to millions of fans for years,” NASCAR said in an official statement. “Though known for his immense talent as a broadcaster, Bob’s passion for motorsports truly defined what it meant to be a racer. The motorsports industry lost a broadcasting legend and a friend with Bob’s passing. NASCAR extends its deepest condolences to Bob’s friends and family.”
Jenkins was a popular broadcaster in both television and radio at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Hoosier native served in multiple roles on the track’s airwaves — on the lead play-by-play call and as a turn reporter, guest analyst and later its public-address announcer. He was inducted into the IMS Hall of Fame in 2019.
“Bob Jenkins, over the years, he was just a figure that was always there and very much front and center in Indianapolis,” racing legend Mario Andretti told the Indianapolis Star, which first reported Jenkins’ passing. “His voice is just absolutely unique. I would always know who was talking. He was just one of those that developed his career alongside ours, you know. He was one of us in every way.”
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It was with ESPN and later ABC Sports that Jenkins became a familiar voice in stock-car racing as NASCAR’s reach expanded to a national level through the 1980s and ’90s. Jenkins’ motorsports tenure with the network began in 1981, first paired with colleague Larry Nuber and later leading a formidable three-man booth with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons.
“He certainly was very good at leading Benny and I where we needed to go and always making us look good,” Jarrett said in 2012, “and that’s something I’ve always appreciated.”
Jenkins was the lead on-air voice for many memorable races, from Al Unser Jr.’s victory in the closest Indy 500 finish in 1992, Alan Kulwicki’s stirring march to the NASCAR Cup Series championship at Atlanta that same year, to Jeff Gordon’s win in the inaugural Brickyard 400 at IMS in 1994.
Jenkins attended nearly every Indy 500 at the Speedway from 1960 on, missing with only rare exception. His early years in local radio news eventually led him to the IMS Radio Network in 1979, the same year that ESPN launched. Jenkins was later part of the cable network’s earliest motorsports broadcasts, which included NASCAR, IMSA, IndyCar, USAC and other racing series.
After ESPN/ABC’s first run as a NASCAR broadcast partner ended in 2000, Jenkins remained involved with IndyCar, later signing as the play-by-play voice for the Versus network, which would eventually become NBCSN. Jenkins retired from that full-time role in 2012 to care for his wife, Pam, who died of brain cancer later that year.
Jenkins shared his own diagnosis in an emotional interview with Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles in February, noting in the track’s “Behind The Bricks” video series that he would scale back his broadcasting duties at the track. He said had awoken Christmas night in 2020 with a severe headache; tests initially showed a stroke, but a later diagnosis revealed two malignant tumors.
Jenkins welled up during his recounting of his health challenges, saying that he felt the first people he should tell would be his family and the community of race fans, who he said he had leaned on for their prayers and support.
“You know what I tell people often when they ask me how this whole thing of my career came together? I tell them, you know, I don’t know, because I have only been a race fan who got lucky, and I think that’s what I will have on my tombstone because it’s true,” Jenkins said. “I was a race fan for many, many years before my career came about, but I have the same passion for auto racing and especially the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that I had when I was growing up. It’s always a thrill to come to this place, and to visit the Museum and especially see the activity on the race track.”
Team Penske announced Monday that Austin Cindric is scheduled to make his final NASCAR Cup Series start of the season this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
Cindric, the defending champion and current points leader in the Xfinity Series, will drive the No. 33 Ford in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (1 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The race will mark his seventh Cup Series start this season as he wraps up his on-track preparation for a full-time jump to Cup competition in Penske’s No. 2 Ford next year.
Cindric had hinted last week that Indianapolis could be the site of his final 2021 start on the Cup Series side, calling it “the most logical place” for that to occur. He’ll be pulling double duty with Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (4 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the 21st of 33 races for the Xfinity Series this season.
Cindric’s best Cup Series finish this season is 15th place, a result achieved in his series debut at the Daytona 500 in February. He’s led multiple laps in three of his six Cup Series starts.
Cindric is a 12-time winner in the Xfinity Series. His four victories this season rank first among Xfinity regulars.
Chase Elliott made a pair of major comebacks Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International but didn’t have quite enough oomph to unseat teammate Kyle Larson and continue his winning ways on NASCAR Cup Series road courses.
Elliott’s bid for a third consecutive Cup Series victory at the 2.45-mile layout ended in second place despite his charge up through the field as the laps clicked down in the Go Bowling at The Glen. The outcome marked his fourth straight road-course finish among the top two, but he failed to lead a lap on a road course for the first time since 2018 (at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval).
“Yeah, I made too many mistakes to get the win, unfortunately, and made it too late in the race,” Elliott said. “Super proud of our team. Been kind of an uphill battle all day, but everybody was just super prepared coming into the day, and our NAPA team just did a really good job of fighting it.”
The dejection was evident in his post-race exchange with his crew on the cool-down lap.
“Great drive, bud,” spotter Eddie D’Hondt told Elliott. “A long way to go there, but you did a great job.”
Said Elliott: “I’m so sorry, guys. (expletive). That was my bad. Y’all deserved that one.”
The uphill climb that Elliott referenced started even before the green flag. Elliott started at the rear of the field after officials discovered a technical infraction on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in pre-race inspection. That also meant the ejection of crew chief Alan Gustafson, with Tom Gray — the team’s lead engineer — taking the helm as an 11th-hour sub.
Elliott rallied into the top 10 by the end of the first stage, but then a brake lock-up midway through Stage 2 forced him into an out-of-sequence pit stop, knocking him further down the running order.
Elliott closed the gap on the front-runners down the stretch, getting by Martin Truex Jr. for second place with nine laps to go and applying some pressure to Larson as the pair navigated lap-down traffic in the race to the checkers.
“If I hadn’t have let them down there, I think we would have had a shot at it, but congrats to Kyle, Cliff (Daniels, crew chief), all the guys on the 5 (team),” Elliott said. “Happy for everybody at HMS. Hendrick Motorsports has been working extremely hard, and not only do the people deserve to win, but Mr. Hendrick deserves to win. Really happy for him, and I’ll try to clean some things up and make less mistakes next time. Maybe it’ll work out.”
Kyle Larson had to navigate lapped traffic in the closing laps and hold off his hard-charging Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott – the track’s most prolific winner of late – to earn the victory in Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen.
But the 28-year-old Larson has been a driver to count on this season, finishing either first or second 10 times through the 23 races to date. And Sunday’s trophy at the historic Watkins Glen International road course is Larson’s NASCAR Cup Series-best fifth of the year, 11th of his career.
His 2.430-second victory over Elliott was good enough to move him into a tie with Denny Hamlin for the regular-season championship with only three races remaining before the playoffs.
It marked the eighth Hendrick Motorsports victory in the last 11 races and the fourth time Larson and Elliott have finished 1-2 – the third time at a road-course event.
Larson led the final 27 laps of the 90-lap event, taking the lead for good from Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr., who had paced the field for a race-best 34 laps. Elliott got around Truex with nine laps remaining to claim second place.
Truex finished third, followed by his JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Hendrick driver William Byron was sixth with JGR’s Christopher Bell, Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick rounding out the top 10.
“Chase was already catching me pretty quick, even with me being in open track so when I caught those, I think four (lapped) cars and got into the 38 (Anthony Alfredo) right here, I thought I would look at my mirror and the 9 (Elliott) would be right on me, but thankfully had a comfortable enough gap to where I could make a mistake like that,” said Larson, who apologized to Bell during his post-race interview. The two made contact racing door-to-door for second place late in the race.
“Incredible race today, hats off to Hendrick Motorsports,” Larson added. “It’s awesome. It really just shows how good the organization is, all the people that they’ve assembled at the race shop, all the men and women. All four of us (Hendrick drivers) could not be getting these wins like we have been without them. Thanks to them and thanks to everybody else I get to race for.”
Although Elliott, 25, had to settle for a runner-up showing, it was a stellar drive for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Watkins Glen winner. He started the race from the last row – and his crew chief Alan Gustafson was suspended – after his car failed pre-race technical inspection.
Elliott steadily made his way forward, picking off cars with each turn. And as with Larson, he had to navigate that lapped traffic in the closing laps, which essentially cost him any shot at getting close enough to his teammate to challenge for the lead.
“I made too many mistakes to get the win unfortunately, and made it too late in the race,” Elliott said. “Super proud of our team. Been kind of an uphill battle all day, but everybody was just super prepared coming into the day and our NAPA team just did a really good job of fighting it.”
With three races remaining to set the playoff field, Reddick gave himself a little more cushion in that 16th and final transfer position. He improved his advantage over his Richard Childress Racing teammate, 17th-place Austin Dillon, from six points entering the race to 15 points heading to Indianapolis next week.
Brad Keselowski started from the pole and led the first nine laps before spinning out of the top spot in Turn 6. He recovered, but another brake lock-up in the final stage sent his No. 2 Team Penske Ford sliding into teammate Joey Logano’s No. 22 entry on Lap 56. Keselowski kept going and finished 35th. Logano, who started second and won Stage 1, continued and finished 22nd.
The series makes its Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course debut next Sunday with the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (1 p.m. ET, NBC, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It will mark the first time the NASCAR Cup Series has raced on the famed track’s 2.439-mile road course since it began racing at Indianapolis in 1994.
Note: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was clear without major issue, confirming Larson’s victory. Two cars were found with one unsecured lug nut each — the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Anthony Alfredo. According to the guidelines in the NASCAR Rule Book, those infractions should result in fines for each crew chief in next week’s penalty report.
Monday, August 9
5:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: United Rentals 176, FS1 (re-air)
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
Tuesday, August 10
1 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing Pilot Challenge Lime Rock Park 120, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
3 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing SportsCar Championship, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 (re-air)
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Game Night —Part 1, FS2 (re-air)
8 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Game Night — Part 2, FS2 (re-air)
9 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features — Part 1, FS2 (re-air)
10 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Features — Part 2, FS2 (re-air)
11 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Women in Wheels, FS2 (re-air)
Wednesday, August 11 1 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Series New Hampshire, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (tape delay)
2 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Series New York, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (tape delay)
3 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West Colorado National, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (tape delay)
5 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
Thursday, August 12
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., Renegades: The Bad Boys of NASCAR, FS1 (re-air)
Saturday, August 14 10 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Pole Qualifying, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
11 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Indianapolis practice, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
On PRN
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard
Sunday, August 15 5 a.m., NASCAR Presents Trackhouse: Get Ready, FS1 (re-air)
6 a.m., NASCAR Race Classics: 1994 Brickyard 400, FS1 (re-air)
9 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole Qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5)
11 a.m., NASCAR Raceday: Indianapolis, FS1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBC/NBC Sports App
1 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, NBC/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3, 5)
4 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Series Stafford, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (tape delay)
On PRN
Noon, NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Chase Elliott’s quest for a three-peat at Watkins Glen International will have to begin from the rear of the field — and without his crew chief.
The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection twice Sunday morning at the Upstate New York track, forcing Elliott to the back of the pack for the start of the race and leading to the ejection of crew chief Alan Gustafson. Elliott was set to start 11th.
Daytona Road Course winner Christopher Bell finds himself in a similar boat to Elliott, with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sent to the rear and crew chief Adam Stevens ejected. Bell was slated to start seventh.
Both cars were assessed L1 penalties for violating Rules 20.4.8.3.a and 20.4.8.3.b (rear-window air deflectors). The penalty also includes a loss of 10 driver and owner points and a $25,000 fine.
“Unfortunately today at Watkins Glen, the No. 9 car had an issue at technical inspection,” Hendrick Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus said in a team release. “The team has been assessed with an L1 penalty and Alan has been suspended from the race. Tom Gray, lead engineer of the No. 9, will take over calling the race in Alan’s absence. It’s an unfortunate circumstance for Alan, Chase and the race team. We apologize to our fans and partners associated with the No. 9 team, and will now focus forward on achieving the best possible results in today’s race.”
Elliott, who owns a whopping seven road-course wins, has won the past two races at The Glen, dating back to 2018.
Even the very drivers he beat offered congratulations to 18-year-old Ty Gibbs for the teenager’s victory in Saturday afternoon’s Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey 200 at the renowned Watkins Glen International road course.
No matter which side of the track Gibbs restarted from, no matter the occasional hiccup getting up to speed, the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs proved he was up for the task – leading a race-best (and career-best) 43 of 82 laps to claim his third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in 10 assorted starts this season. He also won at the Daytona road course and at the Charlotte oval.
Gibbs beat one of the track’s all-time bests, AJ Allmendinger, by .938 seconds to take the victory, passing him with two laps remaining to seal his fate and raise his third trophy of the year.
“Ty did a great job, he was clean, made a great move on me and I couldn’t really do anything to defend it,” Allmendinger said, noting that although he initially took the lead on the race’s final restart with four laps remaining, he knew he would have to deal with Gibbs for the win.
“I knew how good he was, especially in the carousel and going through the last couple corners,” Allmendinger said. “That car had a lot of rear grip and he used it. Congratulations. Fantastic job by him. Proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing. Solid day, but it sucks when you come in second.”
For his part, Gibbs was all smiles and few words after climbing out of his No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The fans gave him a huge ovation. He is the youngest driver in Watkins Glen’s storied history to win an Xfinity Series race.
“Probably the most fun racing with AJ (Allmendinger), the 7 (Justin Allgaier), and the 22 (Austin Cindric); those guys are very experienced veterans in this racing series and being able to race and beat them means a lot,” Gibbs said. “I learned a lot, too.”
Cindric, the 2019 Watkins Glen winner and Xfinity Series championship leader, finished third, followed by Allgaier and Harrison Burton. Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson, Jeb Burton, Justin Haley and Sam Mayer rounded out the top 10.
Cindric won Stage 1 – for his series-best eighth stage win and Allmendinger won Stage 2 by less than a fender over Gibbs.
Gibbs wasn’t even among the top 10 in the opening stage, but a different pit strategy moved him forward and he ran among the top five for the remainder of the race, battling forward at each restart figuring out a way to pass whoever held the lead – Cindric, Jones or Allmendinger. He passed them all.
“This is just a dream come true to win at Watkins Glen,” Gibbs said, adding “This is just wonderful, I can’t even believe it. … Just a great race. I’m at a loss for words.”
With their impressive showings Saturday, Team Penske’s Cindric – a four-race winner already this season – and two-race winner Allmendinger maintain their places atop the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings. There are six races remaining to set the 12-driver Playoff field. JR Motorsports driver Michael Annett is currently 12th in the standings with a 30-point advantage over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst and a 45-point edge over Brandon Brown.
Saturday’s start was delayed by 17 minutes because of lightning that abbreviated the Camping World Truck Series event held earlier in the day.
The Xfinity Series’ next race is scheduled next Saturday (4 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Note: Post-race inspection in the Xfinity Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Gibbs’ victory. Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota and the No. 19 of teammate Jones were each found with one lug nut unsecured in a post-race check, which should result in a fine for each crew chief on next week’s penalty report. The No. 36 Chevrolet of Alex Labbe lost an axle during the race, which will result in a one-race suspension for DGM Racing car chief Joseph Keim.
NASCAR officials disqualified the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry driven by Chandler Smith in Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Smith drove the No. 18 KBM Toyota to an 18th-place finish in Saturday’s United Rentals 176 at The Glen. Smith’s truck, however, failed the height requirement in post-race inspection.
The ruling demoted Smith to last place in the 40-vehicle field, but does not impact his eligibility for the Camping World Trucks playoffs. Smith qualified for the 10-driver postseason grid as the last driver to earn a playoff berth on the basis of points.
Smith, a nine-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series, is in his first full season of Camping World Trucks competition.
Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International
(⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 NBCSN | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s race, the 23rd points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Watkins Glen International, a 2.45-mile road course located in Watkins Glen, New York Green flag: 3:00 p.m. ET TV/Radio: NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Race Distance: 90 laps, 220.5 miles Stages: Stage 1 – 20 laps | Stage 2 – 20 laps (ends at Lap 40) | Final Stage – 50 laps (scheduled to end at Lap 90) Pit-road speed: 40 mph Caution car speed: 45 mph Watkins Glen 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: See the full lineup Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where| Expert breaks down pit selections
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Watkins Glen International.
1. There’s one prevailing question heading into the weekend: Who, if anyone, can stop Chase Elliott from riding to Victory Lane on Sunday? Winner of the last two trips to the Upstate New York track, Elliott has established himself to be a force on any road course over his career with a whopping seven wins in just 16 career starts on them. The best shot to stop him likely falls under the Joe Gibbs Racing banner, with Martin Truex Jr. having landed in the top two at The Glen each of the last three races there (won in August 2017) and leading in in five straight. Kyle Busch has looked like Hendrick’s biggest threat of late, as well, but don’t sleep on teammates Denny Hamlin — a former WGI winner — and Christopher Bell, who won the season’s first road-course race at Daytona International Speedway.
2. For all the eyes on Hendrick Motorsports and JGR, the Team Penske trio of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney will start 1-2-3 to open Sunday’s race. All three have a strong degree of road-course chops — the 2012 champ once finished runner-up at The Glen three years in a row, Logano is the 2015 winner of the race and Blaney counts road racing among his strengths, as evidenced by his 2018 Charlotte Roval win. It has been an interesting year, to say the least, for Team Penske, but as the Fords start to pick up some steam, keep an eye on this triumvirate. If Elliott is going to win, he’s going to have to pass all three.
3. Speaking of the Fords, it’ll be interesting to see if the manufacturer continues building this weekend after rolling into the break with a Stewart-Haas Racing win courtesy of Aric Almirola. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, of course, could not be more different than this weekend’s road course, but Ford is on an upward trajectory after just its fifth win in the season’s first 22 races. Perhaps most notably, the win was the first all year for SHR after Kevin Harvick led the series with nine wins in last season’s 36 races. If Ford truly has caught up to Chevrolet and Toyota — a bit of a big “if” for now — we could be looking at a Harvick-dominated stretch run. It’s still early to declare that, but the 2014 champ — and one-time WGI winner — could still make some noise in the championship conversation.
4. Silly Season remains in full swing, and while we know now where two of the biggest dominoes — Keselowski and Ross Chastain — will fall in 2022, Kurt Busch is seemingly still out there for the taking, and he’s doing nothing but driving up his value lately. After no top 10s from Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Charlotte Motor Speedway, Busch has five top eights (and a win) in seven races since the Coca-Cola 600, despite his team announcing a sale during that timeframe that put he and Chastain out of a job for ’22. Busch wants to continue his career and reports have linked him to 23XI Racing, and in the meantime, the 43-year-old is doing nothing to dissuade potential suitors. Chip Ganassi Racing appears destined to wrap up its long tenure in NASCAR in style, and Busch — who has seven straight top 11s at WGI — is leading the charge. Whichever team lands the 2004 champ, it’s clear it’ll be getting a motivated driver who hasn’t lost a step just yet.
5. And while all of that is certainly attention-grabbing, lest we forget there’s an intense playoff bubble battle going on — between teammates. Richard Childress Racing cohorts Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick are neck and neck on the cutline with just four races remaining before the playoff grid locks in. Unfortunately for the former Daytona 500 winner, he and Reddick are trending in opposite directions and the latter clearly has the upper hand when it comes to road racing … which the series will be doing the next two weekends. Still, the regular-season finale takes place at Daytona on the classic superspeedway layout, so even if Watkins Glen and Indianapolis Road Course don’t go well for the No. 3 driver, respite could come at Michigan International Speedway or the “World Center of Racing.” Of course, we could always see another first-time 2021 winner come in and shake things up even further (hello, Erik Jones and his three WGI top 10s in three starts) but for now this tug-of-war between teammates is front and center.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
•Power Rankings: Analyzing Cup teams with playoffs looming | Scope the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: All the fresh looks for Watkins Glen | See the schemes •Fantasy Fastlane: See which drivers to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice |Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show •Bubble Watch: Where drivers closest to the cutline stand before Watkins Glen | See the bubble
• For starters: Brad Keselowski to start from Cup Series pole position at Watkins Glen | Read more
• Playoff Watch: How the postseason picture looks | Read more
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• Betting odds for Watkins Glen race | See the odds
• NASCAR set to roll out two betting education products this week | Read more
• NASCAR betting: Odds for 2021 Cup Series championship | See the odds • One-stop shop for NASCAR betting information | Check it out • Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
I ❤️ (Upstate) NY
NASCAR is back in New York with a race at The Glen. Take a look at some track history and what happened last time out.
•Remember this?: Memorable moments from Watkins Glen | See the moments • Richmond wins the return: Relive the first race at The Glen in more than two decades | Watch ’86 Budweiser at The Glen •Trophy time: All-time wins at Watkins Glen | See the winners
• On the box: Active crew chiefs with NASCAR Cup Series road-course wins | See the list
• A little help from his friend: Chase Elliott gets a push from Jimmie Johnson after first win | Watch the replay
• Front of the field: Top 10 lap leaders at Watkins Glen | See the list
• Looking back: NASCAR’s return to Watkins Glen | Read more
Fast facts
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• If one more new playoff-eligble driver wins, it’ll be the most (14) the NASCAR Playoffs have ever seen — and there are four regular-season races left in which it could happen.
• Three of the last nine Watkins Glen races were won by drivers getting their first Cup series win. • Fourteen of the last 16 Watkins Glen races were won from a top-10 starting position. • The driver who led the most laps won the last three races at Watkins Glen — but won only one of the six races prior to that. • There have only been two overtime finishes at Watkins Glen, the last of which was in 2011.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Looking ahead: What to watch for in the regular-season stretch run | Read more • Off-week reflections: Highlights from 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season — so far | Read more
• She said yes: Bubba Wallace proposes to longtime girlfriend Amanda Carter | Read more
• Dream big: Toyota Racing forms the Dream Experiential Endowment | Read more
• Owning up: New ownership movement in NASCAR embraces the sport’s future | Read more
• Trackhouse sizes up: Trackhouse taps Ross Chastain as second Cup Series driver for 2022 | Read more
• Search party: Search ‘still ongoing’ for Ryan Blaney, No. 12 team’s new crew chief for 2022 | Read more
• Awards season: @nascarcasm’s season-so-far awards | Read more
Say what?
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
“I try not to pay attention to any of the talk, positive or negative, and not let that influence me. That’s personally how I handle it. I try to lead by example for my guys and what we’ve accomplished in the past is great and we’re super proud of that, but it’s ultimately not going to really do much for us this weekend besides us knowing the lessons we’ve learned from racing there and being successful. We still have to do our jobs and we still have to be prepared and be ready and we still have to execute. We focus on those things and race it like it’s your last race and in doing the best you can and try to do that every week.” — Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
James Gilbert | Getty Images
“I think right now, personally, we’ve got some things to clean up. I think we’ve been doing a really good job of getting our cars more competitive. I think you saw at New Hampshire all the Penske cars were really fast. Brad and I won both the stages and we led a bunch of laps and not only our cars got better, but all the Fords, I thought, took a big step forward with the 10 winning. Kevin ran really good. The 21 was good, so I think all of us took a big step forward, but that aside, we’ve got to clean up some stuff in some other areas and have some smoother stops and things like that, and just put whole days together. We’re working on the speed right now and then there’s some things to clean up on the other side and I think we can do it. But Loudon was a very good race for us, for our whole group, and I think we can build off that for sure.” — Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford
“(Pressure is) not an easy thing to manage. The more experience you have and the more faith and confidence you have in people around you really helps manage the load that comes with all this pressure, especially with the stress coming up here. One bad race here or there can screw up the entire year, right? It’s important that you don’t let the negatives become overwhelming. You focus on the positive and for me, it’s really easy for me to stay positive because all the hard work that myself and this entire organization has put into this year and into road courses and into our program.” — Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
NASCAR is back in New York with a race at The Glen. Take a look at some track history and what happened last time out.