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NASCAR Xfinity Series: Road Course Racing at The Glen

by MikeSeptember 12, 2024

The NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will be back for some left and right turn action as they head to Watkins Glen International on Saturday, September 14 for the Mission 200 at The Glen at 3 p.m. ET (USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Watkins Glen International has hosted 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, producing 18 different race winners and just as many pole winners.

Nine Xfinity Series Watkins Glen races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Joey Logano in 2018.

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Rick Ware Racing: Justin Haley/Kaz Grala Watkins Glen Advance

by MikeSeptember 12, 2024

Justin Haley will make his fourth start at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International with the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements team in Sunday afterrnoon’s Go Bowling at The Glen. Haley earned an 18th-place finish at The Glen in 2022, marking his best result on the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course.

Kaz Grala is set to make his first Cup Series start at Watkins Glen in the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse. In five starts on road courses in the Cup Series, the 25-year-old has one top-10 finish, earned in his first start in the series. It came in 2020 on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course, where Grala started 10th in the field of 39 cars piloting the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing entry, and he led three laps en route to a seventh-place finish. (more…)

Hendrick Motorsports Media Advance: Watkins Glen

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

Hendrick Motorsports has won 30 times on road courses, the most by 15. Organizations in the second-through-fourth positions have combined for 30.
With William Byron (COTA), Kyle Larson (Sonoma) and Alex Bowman (Chicago Street Course) claiming wins this season, Hendrick Motorsports became the first organization to send three different drivers to victory lane at three consecutive road courses.
All four current Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs have at least one victory at a road course, led by Alan Gustafson, leader of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team, with seven.
Hendrick Motorsports has won five consecutive races at Watkins Glen International, the most by any organization at any track since Hendrick Motorsports claimed six straight victories at Phoenix (2007-2009).

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Christopher Bell – No. 20 DEWALT Outdoor Solutions Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International

by MikeSeptember 11, 2024

BELL AT WATKINS GLEN: Christopher Bell has earned one top-five finish and three top-10s in three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International. Bell’s best finish of third came last year at The Glen. Bell also has two NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Watkins Glen, including a runner-up finish in 2019.
2024 PLAYOFFS: Bell finished fourth in the playoff opener at Atlanta and is currently second in points heading into the second race of the Round of 16.
DEWALT OUTDOOR SOLUTIONS: The No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE will have a new look this weekend showcasing DEWALT Outdoor Solutions. To view DEWALT Outdoor Solution products, visit https://www.dewalt.com/products/outdoor.

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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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