By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
Second Cup Playoff race offers some twists and turns at Watkins Glen
DAYTONA BEACH – The opening round of the 2024 Playoffs last Sunday certainly was action-packed and impactful on the championship standings as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course in upstate New York for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the second of three opening round Playoff races.
The last eight Watkins Glen race winners are all current NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron is the defending winner leading a dominating 66 of the 90 laps last summer and claiming a hefty 2.6-second win over the polesitter, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.
This opening three-race Playoff round will eliminate four of the 16 championship-eligible drivers. Byron – a three-race winner and this year’s Daytona 500 victor – is currently ranked fifth but Hamlin sits precariously in 11th, close to the points cutoff line, only a single point up on his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs in the final transfer spot on points (12th).
The four drivers that enter the race below the cutoff line are RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (-2), Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton (-16), 2017 series champion, JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. (-19) and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (-21).
Team Penske’s Joey Logano has already secured a position in the next round thanks to a victory Sunday in Atlanta. His Team Penske teammate, the 2023 series Champion Ryan Blaney is tops in the points standings with a 45-point cushion on the Round of 12 cut line. This year’s regular season champion, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is third in points, tied with William Byron – both are 33 points ahead of the first round’s cutoff.
Of note, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who lost the regular season title to Reddick by a mere 1-point, had a rough Playoff opener last weekend, an early race accident with Briscoe left the pair 37th and 38th in the race standings, dropping Larson from the championship lead to 10th place in the standings. He now has only a 15-point cushion on Keselowski in 13th place.
The good news for these drivers is that Watkins Glen – which is making its Playoff debut – has been a solid part of their resume and legacy. Hendrick Motorsports has won the last five races there. Byron, Larson, Chase Elliott, Truex, Hamlin and Logano are the last eight winner at the renowned road course, with Larson (2021-22) and Elliott (2018-19) claiming back-to-back wins in that time.
Other Playoff drivers have won NASCAR Xfinity Series races at The Glen – including Larson (2022), JGR’s Ty Gibbs (2021), Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (2019), Keselowski (2013) and Logano, who earned three Xfinity Series trophies (2015, ‘16, ‘18).
“I’m definitely excited to get to Watkins Glen – I read a stat last night I don’t think Hendrick Motorsports has lost there since 2017, so we’ll see,” said Larson, who is the only driver this season to lead at least 1,000 laps.
“I think it’s going to be a little different. It seems like there will be a little more tire fall off than normal, I don’t know how that will play a factor into things but regardless, I think our road course package and especially Watkins Glen is a really good package so, we should have some speed it’s just still a road course, so a lot of things can happen.”
Not only is the race expected to be highly-competitive as a Playoff event, but there are a handful of non-fulltime drivers hoping to grab the trophy too. International racing star and 2010 Watkins Glen winner, 48-year-old Juan Pablo Montoya is making his first NASCAR Cup Series start in 10 years – driving the 23XI Racing No. 50 Toyota. Joining him on the grid are a pair of other road racing stars – current NASCAR Xfinity Series wins leader Shane Van Gisbergen and his Kaulig Racing teammate A.J. Allmendinger.
There is a lot of talk about a new Goodyear Racing tire compound for the event around the 2.454-mile, seven-turn course. The new tire – tested this summer by Playoff drivers Reddick, Cindric and Suarez – features a faster fall-off and will add importance to tire management, which is already a key strategy on road courses. In response to the drivers NASCAR also decided after the summer test to replace rumble strips and interchangeable curbing at the course’s Inner Loop Chicane (commonly referred to as “the bus stop”).
“We’ll definitely spend a lot of time in the SIM doing our prep work like normal,” Hamlin said of the new tire and the challenges that presents. “It’s also good that we get extra practice time on Saturday to be able to get some laps, then debrief with the team, and then go out and run again.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge. I feel like our team is very strong when it comes to adapting to circumstances like this. I enjoy Watkins Glen. It has typically been our strongest road course over the years, so I am confident about this weekend.”
Because of the new tire and the track modification, NASCAR is allotting extra practice time this weekend. Practice will start at 11:30 a.m. ET with each of the two groups having two sessions on track. Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for 1 p.m. ET. Both practice and qualifying will be televised live on the USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the NBC Sports App.
Only two to go to decide NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff contenders
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to deliver the weekend’s first dose of close-quarter, high-skilled action at the hallowed Watkins Glen International road course. With only two races now remaining to formalize the 12-driver Playoff field, Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could be a pivotal chapter in the title run.
JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer is the defending race winner, beating Sheldon Creed to the line last summer by a slight .909-second, with a third member of this year’s title contending group, Parker Kligerman, finishing third.
Mayer is the only current fulltime Xfinity Series driver to hoist the trophy in this race, although three other fulltime drivers have won at The Glen. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill was the 2021 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner at the famed road course and his current RCR teammate Jesse Love won last year’s ARCA Menards Series race there. JRM’s Brandon Jones earned the 2022 ARCA trophy.
Hill won last week at Atlanta – his second win of the year, matching the win total for Regular Season Championship leader Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, and Sam Mayer. Kaulig Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen is a three-race winner in 2024, scoring all three trophies on road courses (at Chicago, Sonoma, Calif. and Portland).
Another of the sport’s best road racing drivers, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger is still looking to score his first Xfinity Series win at the track. A victory this weekend would also be his first of the season, although he is the highest ranked driver (ninth) in terms of points without a win, with a safe 144-point advantage over Ryan Sieg in 13th place.
Sieg took a hard hit in points last week when he was collected in a late race multi-car accident at Atlanta. He now trails JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith by 44 points for that 12th and final Playoff points position.
What looked a lot like a championship lock for Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer has now become a close tussle between the reigning series champ Custer and Allgaier. The 26-year-old Californian, Custer, led Allgaier by double digits only three races ago, but three finishes of 30th or worse in the last four races have instead left him 34 points behind Allgaier with just two races to decide the regular season title.
Connor Zilisch is set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
There are also several fulltime NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered from Joey Logano to William Byron, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and part-time competitor Aric Almirola. International drivers Ed Jones and Alon Day are also on the entry list.
Practice for the Mission 200 at The Glen gets underway Saturday at 9:30 a.m. followed by qualifying at 10 a.m. ET. Both will be available on the NBC Sports App.
