The Go Bowling at The Glen Sunday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International is the fourth of five road-course races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Bed Bath & Beyond Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing, finished 34th in the series’ first road-course race of the year March 24 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He then placed 26th in the series’ second road-course stop June 9 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. In his most recent road-course start on the streets of downtown Chicago for the July 7 Grant Park 165, Gragson finished 14th. After Watkins Glen, the final road-course race of the year takes place Oct. 12 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.
| Event Overview |
| ● Event: Go Bowling at The Glen (Round 28 of 36) ● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 15 ● Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International ● Layout: 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course ● Laps/Miles: 90 laps / 220.5 miles ● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 20 laps / Stage 2: 20 laps / Final Stage: 50 laps ● TV/Radio: USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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| Notes of Interest |
| ● The Go Bowling at The Glen will be Gragson’s first NASCAR Cup Series start at the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in Upstate New York, but that doesn’t mean the 26-year-old racer from Las Vegas isn’t familiar with its undulating layout. Gragson has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Watkins Glen and finished among the top-10 each time, with his best result coming in his most recent drive at the track – a fourth-place finish in 2022. ● Gragson also has three NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts at Watkins Glen, with his best effort coming in his debut at the track – eighth in the 2015 Bully Hill Vineyards 125. ● Across the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Gragson has made a total of 41 road-course starts – six in Cup, 21 in Xfinity, two in Trucks, two in ARCA and 10 in K&N – amassing four wins, 16 top-fives and 27 top-10s with 167 laps led. ● Gragson’s four road-course wins all came in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, and three were earned in a one-week stretch in September 2016. Gragson swept a pair of K&N Series West races at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, beating Todd Gilliland on Sept. 10 and then besting him again on Sept. 11 when Gragson took the lead from Gilliland on the last lap. Six days and 2,219 miles later at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, Gragson scored his third straight road-course win, this time in the K&N Series East where he beat Justin Haley. Gragson’s fourth and most recent road-course win was earned in the 2019 K&N Series West race at Sonoma. ● Compared to the other road courses on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Watkins Glen is a power track – less finesse, more get-on-the-gas-and-go. Here’s a turn-by-turn explanation of the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course that is Watkins Glen. ● Turn 1: Once drivers take the green flag, they are immediately faced with a downhill trek into the first corner. Carrying a ton of speed down the straightaway, this is a heavy braking zone in order to get the car slowed down enough to make the right-hand turn. This is one of the best opportunities to make a pass, and this turn can get chaotic very quickly, especially on restarts. ● Turn 2: After making it through the first turn, the drivers hop on a short straight which leads them gradually uphill and into the second right-hand corner. This turn begins the ascent through the “esses” portion of the track. ● Turn 3: Continuing the uphill climb through the esses, this sweeping left-hander can be treacherous as drivers begin to carry more speed up the slope. ● Turn 4: This corner is the final portion of the esses. Drivers complete the uphill climb and the corner starts to level off, building up more speed as they enter the backstretch of the circuit. ● Inner Loop, aka the “Bus Stop”: The backstretch allows the drivers to gain a ton of momentum, which leads them into another heavy braking zone and into the inner loop, better known as the “bus stop” section of the course. Hot on the brakes upon entry, this is a great place to overtake someone before making a quick series of right- and left-hand turns. Lots of slipping, sliding and spinning happens here. ● Turn 5, aka the “Carousel”: This is a long, sweeping right-hander. Banked at 10 degrees, it is the steepest turn of the course, and it allows drivers to build up speed as they make their way onto the straightaway leading into turn six. ● Turn 6: After gaining speed while traveling down the 2,040-foot chute, drivers are approached with another heavy braking zone at the entrance of this left-hand corner. Competitors use this turn to either make a quick pass or to set themselves up for a pass heading into the final corner. ● Turn 7: Once they are through turn six, a short chute gives the drivers just enough time to adjust to make a good angle through the final corner. This is another chance to make a quality pass as the right-hand bend trickles drivers onto the frontstretch and down to the start-finish line. ● Bed Bath & Beyond adorns Gragson’s No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at The Glen. The partnership celebrates Bed Bath & Beyond as the ultimate online destination for home essentials, featuring an unmatched assortment for every room of the house. Whether it’s your kitchen, bedroom, outdoor space or bathroom, Bed Bath & Beyond has what you need to create a space that feels uniquely yours. From cookware and bedding to bath accessories and beyond, Bed Bath & Beyond is your go-to source for functional and stylish home essentials. |
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