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Aric Almirola – No. 20 Go Bowling Toyota GR Supra Preview – Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

ALMIROLA AT WATKINS GLEN: Aric Almirola has made 14 NASCAR national series starts at Watkins Glen International. His best finish was a fifth-place result in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track in 2018.
ALMIROLA’S SEASON: Almirola has earned one win and four top-five finishes overall in six Xfinity Series races this season. He has finished inside the top five in his last four starts, including a win at Martinsville Speedway in April and a third in his most recent start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.
20 TEAM: The No. 20 team is currently ranked second in the Xfinity Series owner’s points standings, only 11 points out of the top spot. Through 24 races, the No. 20 team leads the Xfinity Series in wins (seven), top-five finishes (12), and laps led (702). The team has won races with four different drivers – Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ryan Truex.

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Sheldon Creed / No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Toyota GR Supra Preview – Misson 200 at the Glen

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

CREED AT WATKINS GLEN: Sheldon Creed heads to Watkins Glen International for the Mission 200 at the Glen this weekend with a chance to lock himself in the playoffs via points. The Glen has been good to Creed in his two prior Xfinity Series starts there, as he has one top-five, two top-10s and an impressive average finish of 5.0. Most notably, Creed finished second in the race last year, as he lost the lead in overtime to Sam Mayer after hitting a part of the track that had been treated for oil in the caution prior. The track was still slick and sent him out of the groove, leading to his chances at a win slipping away once again. With a strong run this weekend and no new winners, Creed is in a prime position to secure his 2024 playoff bid this weekend.
ATLANTA RECAP: Creed’s day was marred by issues on pit road, which led to a result that was not indicative of the speed the team showed throughout the race. After starting fifth, Creed kept with the lead pack and scored a fourth-place finish. Creed ended up falling back to 11^th for stage two, but it was not until the final stage that trouble arose. Creed started the final stage with an uncontrolled tire penalty during pit stops, and after working himself back up to the top-20, he had to pit for a cut tire under green following contact with another car. While servicing the cut tire, Creed received a pass-through penalty for having a crew member over the wall too soon, which left him three laps down late in the race. Creed ultimately finished 25^th on the day.

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JR Motorsports — NXS Watkins Glen Preview

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024September 11, 2024

JR Motorsports at Watkins Glen International: JR Motorsports has competed at Watkins Glen International a combined 50 times in the NXS since its first trip there in 2006. In those starts at the 2.45-mile road course, the organization has recorded two wins,11 top-fives and 29 top-10s, with an average finish of 12.0.
Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Connor Zilisch will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Saturday, Sept. 14 from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.

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William Sawalich – No. 18 Starkey/SoundGear Toyota Camry Preview – General Tire 100 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

SAWALICH ON ROAD COURSES: Last year at Watkins Glen International, Sawalich finished the race in fifth. Since working on his road course program over the off-season and throughout the first half of 2024, Sawalich has earned two road course wins this year – his first career road course win coming at Portland and his second at Mid-Ohio.
LAST TIME OUT: Sawalich most recently ran his No. 18 Toyota Camry on dirt at DuQuoin. Sawalich earned the pole for the race and finished second.
2023 ARCA EAST CHAMPION: Sawalich claimed the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East (AMSE) championship at Bristol Motor Speedway. He ended the AMSE season with four wins and finished in the top-five in all eight races on the AMSE schedule. He became the second AMSE champion for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and the first Minnesotan to win the series championship.

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FedEx Racing Express Facts – Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

Watkins Glen Notes: 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 last season when he qualified first and finished second. Overall, Hamlin has posted three top-five finishes in the past four races at Watkins Glen dating back to 2019.

Atlanta Recap: The No. 11 team finished 24th in the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway after being collected in a multi-car accident on the final lap. Hamlin is currently ranked 11th on the playoff grid, two points above the cutline. (more…)

Stewart-Haas Racing: Watkins Glen NXS Advance (Cole Custer | Riley Herbst)

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

Cole Custer is ready to trade in the high banks and unpredictability of superspeedway-style racing for the high-speed, left-and-right turns of Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen. Custer’s strength on road courses has been prevalent throughout his career. In his 27 Xfinity Series starts on road courses, Custer has scored two wins, 20 top-10s and led 26 laps. Last season, he scored two of his three wins on a road course and a street course – June 3 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway and July 1 on the Chicago Street Course. The series has visited three road courses – Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Portland, and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway – and the Chicago Street Course so far this season.

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Kyle Larson to Make Indy 500 Return in 2025

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

The most popular driver and entry from May’s Indianapolis 500 will return in 2025 and take another shot at winning ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing’ with an entry for Kyle Larson from Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Motorsports as part of their second attempt to do ‘The Double.’

The NASCAR Cup champion starred all month in his rookie appearance at the 500 in the No. 17 Chevy and was only limited by errors due to his inexperience in an IndyCar, and a downpour that delayed the race and derailed his plans to contest the 600-mile NASCAR race immediately after the 500 in Charlotte. (more…)

NCSC – NEMX Fall Championship Racing 9/14 & 9/15

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

NCSC – NEMX Fall Championship Racing 9/14 & 9/15, (more…)

Michael McDowell and Benebone Head to The Glen, Searching for a Road Course Win

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 10, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York and Watkins Glen International for road course racing this weekend.

Michael McDowell returns to his road racing roots, looking for another solid finish. So far this season, the No. 34 has had two Top-5s on road courses, a 2nd place at Sonoma and a 5th place at the Chicago Street Race. (more…)

Bed Bath & Beyond Racing: Noah Gragson Watkins Glen Advance

by MikeSeptember 10, 2024

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. (more…)