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Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series Race Preview – Go Bowling at The Glen

Joe Gibbs Racing

JOE GIBBS RACING WATKINS GLEN RACE INFO

DATE: Sunday, August 10, 2025
RACE: Go Bowling at The Glen
TRACK: Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen, NY)
TRACK LENGTH: 2.45 miles
TV: USA Network (2 p.m. ET)
RADIO: MRN Radio / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (2 p.m. ET)

JOE GIBBS RACING

JOE GIBBS RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Joe Gibbs Racing has seven NASCAR Cup Series wins at Watkins Glen International. In 85 combined starts at the Upstate New York road course, the organization has tallied 32 top-five finishes, 50 top-10s, five pole awards, and 562 laps led. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart have all driven Joe Gibbs Racing entries to victory lane at Watkins Glen.

ROAD COURSES THIS YEAR: In 16 combined starts on road courses this year, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have posted one win (Christopher Bell at Circuit of the Americas), six top-five finishes, eight top-10s, and 55 laps led.

DENNY HAMLIN

No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE

HAMLIN AT WATKINS GLEN: Denny Hamlin is a former NASCAR Cup Series winner at Watkins Glen International after capturing the checkered flag in 2016. He also owns two pole awards at the track, including two years ago when he qualified first and finished second. Overall, Hamlin has posted five top-five finishes in the past eight races at Watkins Glen dating back to 2016.

IOWA RECAP: Hamlin started 11th and finished 24th in last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway.

SEASON SO FAR: With three races remaining in the regular season, Hamlin is currently fourth in the overall standings. Since missing the race at Mexico City in June, Hamlin has trimmed his deficit to the leader from 110 points down to 51 points. He leads the series in wins (four) and playoff points (24). He is also tied for the lead in top-five finishes (11).

PROGRESSIVE: Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE will feature Progressive Insurance as the primary sponsor this weekend at Watkins Glen International. In March, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Progressive will be the primary sponsor of the No. 11 Toyota for 18 races this season. For more information on Progressive, visit http://www.progressive.com.

Denny Hamlin, driver of the Joe GIbbs Racing #11 Camry

CHASE BRISCOE

No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE

BRISCOE AT WATKINS GLEN: Chase Briscoe has four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International with two top-10 finishes, including a sixth-place performance last year. He also finished sixth in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the track.

IOWA RECAP: Briscoe earned his third runner-up finish in the last four races last weekend at Iowa Speedway. The No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry started from the pole for the sixth time this season and ran in the top five throughout stage one. A mix of different strategies put Briscoe mid-pack during stage two and the beginning of the final stint of the race. Briscoe worked his way into the top 10 with 100 laps remaining in the race and the No. 19 was chasing down eventual winner William Byron in the final 30 laps of the race before ultimately settling for second.

CAREER BESTS: With 13 races remaining in the 2025 season, Chase Briscoe has already set career highs and ranks in the top-eight drivers across nearly every statistical category. The Mitchell, Indiana native has nine top-five finishes (third most in 2025), 11 top-10s (seventh most in 2025), and a series-leading six pole awards. He has led 307 laps, which ranks eighth most in the series. His 10.3 average-starting position is the best in the series and his 13.7 average finish ranks sixth best.

MEET CHASE BRISCOE: As part of the No. 19 team’s partnership with Lance, Briscoe will sign autographs at the TOPS Friendly Markets location in Watkins Glen, New York (504 1/2 South Franklin Street, Watkins Glen, NY 14891) on Saturday, August 9, at 4:30 p.m. ET.

JAMES SMALL: 2025 marks James Small’s sixth season as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. as Small led the No. 19 team to eight wins, 46 top-five finishes, 86 top-10s, and four NASCAR playoff appearances. The Australia native led Truex to a runner-up finish in the 2021 championship and to the 2023 regular season championship. Small earned his ninth career win with Briscoe at Pocono Raceway earlier this year. In five races as a crew chief at Watkins Glen, Small has led his team to one top-five finish and three top-10s.

19 ON THE POLE: Dating back to the final two races of last season, the James Small-led No. 19 team has won eight pole awards in the last 25 races. All eight poles during that stretch have come at different tracks.

BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear”. For more information or to shop online, visit http://www.basspro.com.

Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry

CHRISTOPHER BELL

No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE

BELL AT WATKINS GLEN: Christopher Bell has earned one top-five finish and three top-10s in four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International. His best finish of third came in 2023 at The Glen. Bell also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Watkins Glen highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2019.

FILLING IN: Bell will fill in for Stewart Friesen driving the No. 52 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International. Friesen was injured last week while competing in a Super DIRTcar Series race at Canada’s Autodrome Drummond. He was later transferred to a hospital in New York where he continues to make progress. Bell is the 2017 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Champion and a seven-time Truck Series winner. His most recent Truck Series start came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2024.

ROAD COURSE HISTORY: Bell’s first career Cup Series victory came on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in February 2021. In addition to that win and his victory earlier this season at Circuit of the Americas, he also owns road course victories on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Road America in the Xfinity Series. Recently on road courses, Bell finished second at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City and fifth at Sonoma Raceway.

IOWA RECAP: Bell finished 17th in last weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway. After posting the fastest time in practice, he qualified 17th. He climbed into the top 10 early on before an untimely caution spoiled his team’s strategy during stage two. Later in the race, Bell spun while battling three-wide on a restart. He eventually recovered to climb back up to 17th when the checkered flag waved.

DEWALT HOOD: DEWALT will feature Hewitt Young Electric on the lower hood of the No. 20 Toyota this weekend in Watkins Glen. Hewitt Young Electric specializes in design, new construction, rehabilitation, maintenance, and more. For more information, visit http://www.hewittyoung.com.

DEWALT DECKLID: DEWALT will feature 84 Lumber on the decklid of the No. 20 Toyota in Watkins Glen. 84 Lumber is an industry leader in building supplies, manufactured components, and services for single and multifamily residences and commercial buildings. For more information, visit http://www.84lumber.com.

Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry

TY GIBBS

No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE

GIBBS AT WATKINS GLEN: Ty Gibbs has started three NASCAR Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International with a best finish of fifth in 2023. In four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, Gibbs scored a win in 2021 and he started on the front row three times. He started on the pole and finished third in the ARCA Menards Series race at Watkins Glen in 2021.

MILLION DOLLAR MAN: Gibbs won the inaugural In-Season Tournament by defeating Ty Dillion two weeks ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was awarded $1 million after being the sixth seed and advancing over Justin Haley, A.J. Allmendinger, Zane Smith, Tyler Reddick and Dillion throughout the five-week tournament.

IOWA RECAP: Gibbs started 20th and finished 21st in last Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway.

HEATING UP: With seven top-15 finishes in the last nine races, Gibbs has climbed from 27th to 16th in the overall points standings.

TYLER ALLEN: Crew chief Tyler Allen is in his first year leading Gibbs and the No. 54 team. While this is Allen’s first experience as a crew chief at the Cup Series level, he had a standout season in 2024 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Allen led JGR’s No. 20 Xfinity Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owner’s championship.

Ty Gibbs, driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing #54