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Chandler Smith – No. 81 Smith General Construction Toyota GR Supra Preview – Mission 200 at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

SMITH AT WATKINS GLEN: Chandler Smith made his track debut at Watkins Glen International in last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race. Smith finished the race in eighth-place. Smith has finished in the top-10 in two road course races so far in 2024 – Circuit of the Americas and Sonoma Raceway.
ATLANTA RECAP: Last weekend, Smith returned to his home track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 81 started eighth and earned a few stage points with a ninth-place finish in Stage 1 and a eighth-place finish in Stage 2. Smith led twice in Stage 3 for a total of 28 laps. Smith made a run at the lead on the last lap, but fell back for a fourth-place finish.

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Bed Bath & Beyond Racing: Josh Berry Watkins Glen Advance

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

● The NASCAR Cup Series has two remaining road course races in the 2024 season, with the historic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International next up on the schedule. The field will tackle the serpentine 2.45-mile layout during Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen. For Josh Berry, who is contending for 2024 Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors, he will make his debut at the track in NASCAR’s premier series in Sunday’s event. The 33-year-old driver has two starts at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, his best finish of ninth earned in August 2022 for JR Motorsports after starting 17th and finishing the second stage in seventh. Berry’s second Xfinity Series appearance at Watkins Glen came in August 2023, when he started seventh and finished 20th.

● Sunday marks crew chief Rodney Childers’ 16th start at Watkins Glen in NASCAR’s premier series. The veteran shot caller’s drivers have accounted for one top-five finish and five top-10s at The Glen. Best of those came in August 2015 with former No. 4 driver Kevin Harvick driving to a third-place finish after starting fourth and leading 29 laps.

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Todd Gilliland Debuts Boozy Jerky to NASCAR World at Watkins Glen

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (September 11, 2024) – The NASCAR Cup Series makes their annual trip to Watkins Glen, New York and Watkins Glen International this Sunday. This will not only be the 100th race for the “Next Gen” car, but Todd Gilliland’s 100th Cup Series start.

Boozy Jerky will make their first NASCAR start this weekend, partnering with Gilliland and the No. 38 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the 90-lap event. Boozy Jerky is the original booze-infused brand of beef jerky. Every bite of Boozy Jerky is meticulously hand-crafted in the US to be tender, moist, and full of rich and defining flavors. (more…)

Dylan Lupton Returns to ARCA Menards Series Competition at Watkins Glen International with Rette Jones Racing

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.: Rette Jones Racing (RJR) confirmed today that Motorsports veteran Dylan Lupton will return to ARCA Menards Series competition in Friday afternoon’s General Tire 100 at The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Lupton will drive the No. 30 Lupton Excavation Ford Mustang in his first national ARCA Menards Series start since the season finale at Kansas Speedway in 2020, driving for TRICON Garage.

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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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