Good Pit Strategy Helps Elevate Christopher Bell to Second

Although Christopher Bell has faded since his three straight wins earlier this season, he remains competitive as he finished second yesterday at Watkins Glen, giving him his third top two finish on a road course this season and his fourth second-place finish since his three-in-a-row streak. Like William Byron, Bell wasn't a major factor early […]

William Byron Extends Championship Lead with Fourth-Place Finish

William Byron never led at Watkins Glen, but he earned a respectable fourth-place finish in a race where three of his championship rivals Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson ran terribly. As a result, Byron boosted his championship lead to 42 points, which means he will very likely win the regular season championship unless […]

Despite Finishing Sixth, Watkins Glen Might've Been Ryan Blaney's Best Road Race

Ryan Blaney had possibly the best Cup Series road course race of his entire career at Watkins Glen yesterday, where he earned his first ever pole on a road course, led 35 laps (the most he has ever led on a road course), and led all drivers with 45 points. Although most people expected Shane […]

Alex Bowman Loses Ground Above Playoff Cutline, but Still Pretty Safe

Although Alex Bowman earned points in both stages, his 20th-place finish caused him to lose points to both Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece in the battle for the last two spots in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Bowman started ahead of both drivers in ninth but Buescher overtook him for the eventual Stage 1 win […]

Kyle Larson Finishes Last After Brake Failure and Spin

Kyle Larson's summer slump continued at Watkins Glen yesterday. After qualifying 26th, Larson had only made up two positions when he spun out on Lap 6. The spin was the result of an unforced error but Larson attributed it to losing his brakes, an unusual circumstance for so early in the race. Although his car […]

Ryan Blaney Earns Surprise Pole at Watkins Glen

Despite not being a noted road racer, Ryan Blaney pulled off an unexpected pole at Watkins Glen in a dramatic upset over Shane van Gisbergen. As a result, people will automatically assume he's a bad choice for DFS play since he's hardly ever led here nor has he finished better than fifth. His average finish […]

Points Leader William Byron a Riskier DFS Pick than You Might Think

William Byron's typical trend at Watkins Glen has been a good finish followed by an unlucky result. Byron, the current points leader and one of NASCAR's top road racers, did win at Watkins Glen in dominant fashion in 2023 after beating Michael McDowell out of the pits, but he never led there otherwise. However, he […]

Shane van Gisbergen Hurts A.J. Allmendinger's Winning Chances at Watkins Glen

A.J. Allmendinger has never really gotten bad at road courses but he's become much less of a threat to win on them since Shane van Gisbergen became a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver this year. Watkins Glen is one of Allmendinger's best road courses. In addition to winning here in 2014, he finished in the […]

Expect Denny Hamlin to Make a Strategy Play to Gain Track Position at Watkins Glen

Denny Hamlin, this season's only four-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, looks to make it five at Watkins Glen on Sunday, but that seems like a real long shot since he is starting 22nd in a race where it seems like it will almost be impossible to pass. Although Hamlin is not particularly noted […]

Alex Bowman Will Likely Focus on Stage Points Instead of his Finish

After five top-1o finishes in his last six races, Alex Bowman is now pretty safe in the playoff picture and has a 63-point lead over Ryan Preece, greater than one full race with only three races remaining. However, when evaluating him for Sunday's race at Watkins Glen, that could be more of a curse than […]

Ryan Preece Looks to Close Deficit on Teammate Chris Buescher

After back-to-back top-five finnishes, Ryan Preece is surprisingly still very much alive in the playoff race as he only sits 23 points behind his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher for the final playoff spot. You'd think based on Buescher's tendency to earn top-10 finishes on road courses like clockwork and Preece's historical mediocrity on these […]

Brad Keselowski's Relative Hot Streak Will Likely Come to an End at Watkins Glen

Last week at Iowa, Brad Keselowski arguably had his most impressive drive as an owner-driver, even if he didn't win, and his run of six finishes of 11th or better in his last seven starts rapidly propelled him from 32nd to 19th in points. But it's still almost impossible for him to make the playoffs […]

Despite Slightly Improved Speed, Erik Jones Hasn't Shown It on Road Courses

It's been a tale of two careers for Erik Jones at Watkins Glen. In his three starts with Joe Gibbs Racing and its Furniture Row Racing satellite in 2017-2019, he earned top tens in all three starts and top fives in two of them. In the years since, he has hardly factored at Watkins Glen […]

Don't Be Tempted by Austin Dillon's Low Salary and Starting Position

Although Austin Dillon actually ran okay at Iowa to the surprise of many, don't expect him to do the same at Watkins Glen. Although his poor starting position of 26th and $6,100 DFS salary may be appealing on the surface, he isn't a noted road racer and he's never either finished or posted an average […]

Noah Gragson an Overrated DFS Option

After starting ninth and finishing 11th for Stewart-Haas Racing last year at Watkins Glen, Noah Gragson starts 36th this year for the much slower Front Row Motorsports team. The combination of his strong finish last year and his weak starting position this year make him a respectable choice for DFS play, but bettors must bear […]

Ty Dillon Likely Won't Do Much at Watkins Glen Unless It Rains

After his inexplicable Cinderella run to the finals of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge, Ty Dillon once again returns to his usual invisible status. Dillon wasn't actually terrible in his last two road/street-course races in the tournament, even if he only advanced because Brad Keselowski crashed at Chicago and he bumped Alex Bowman out of the way […]

Cole Custer One of the Best Low-Cost Watkins Glen Options

Although Cole Custer is typically mediocre, road courses have been a key area of strength for him, as he led the 2023 Chicago Xfinity Series race flag-to-flag and earned a top-10 finish at Mexico City early this season. Although he hasn't run nearly as well at Watkins Glen, he has gained positions in all three […]

Chase Briscoe Finished Second Despite Being Trapped a Lap Down and Causing Two Wrecks

Although Chase Briscoe won the pole, finished second, and led the second-most laps at Iowa yesterday, he had a rather overrated drive. Eventual winner William Byron passed him on the opening lap and Briscoe did not actually take the lead on track, instead beating Stage 1 winner Brad Keselowski out of the pits thanks to […]

Brad Keselowski Arguably Had the Best Drive at Iowa but Finished Third

Brad Keselowski had arguably his best drive as an owner-driver yesterday at Iowa, where he finished third, led 68 laps, and won both stages. In a race where it was nearly impossible to pass, Keselowski hunted down eventual winner William Byron to win Stage 1 after Byron made a mistake with a few laps remaining. […]

Austin Dillon Earns a Quiet Top Ten at Iowa

Austin Dillon finished 10th in yesterday's Iowa race. Perhaps this shouldn't have come as much of a surprise as it did because of his win at the similar Richmond track last year. Starting 18th, he broke into the top ten the first time at the start of Stage 2 before being trapped a lap down […]

Poor Pit Strategy and Clash with Teammate Foil Kyle Larson at Iowa

Kyle Larson's summertime slump continued at Iowa. Although he started third and consistently ran between fourth and sixth for most of the first half of the race, his decision to pit under green backfired when a caution came out for Shane van Gisbergen's spin, which trapped all the drivers who pitted a lap down except […]

William Byron Might Be the Favorite at Iowa

William Byron's season has kind of spiraled out of control over the summer after a dominant spring, but he still stands in striking distance of the regular season championship and he is definitely a top contender to win at Iowa today. Not only did he finish second in the inaugural Cup Series race there last […]

After Brickyard 400 Win, Bubba Wallace Less Likely to Overdrive at Iowa

After locking himself into the playoffs with last week's Brickyard 400 win, Wallace qualified 15th for today's Iowa race and was faster than both his teammates Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst. Although Wallace is not typically faster than Reddick on most track types, short tracks are the exception since he definitely seems to outperform Reddick […]

Despite Team Penske's Great Iowa Speed, Joey Logano Hasn't Had Any

Although he salvaged a not terrible qualifying run (14th) yesterday at Iowa, Joey Logano was more like Joey Slowgano in yesterday's practice, where he ranked next to last only above his fellow Joey Gase. While his teammates Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney ranked second and third in average speed in practice, Logano only ranked 36th […]

Dominance in Xfinity Race Could Potentially Help Ross Chastain's Cup Series Setups

Ross Chastain dominated yesterday's Xfinity Series race at Iowa after his teammate Connor Zilisch had a loose wheel, but he eventually lost the lead in the pits and only finished third. Nonetheless, he was the only NASCAR Cup Series star to enter the race yesterday, which could potentially help him with setups today although probably […]

Brad Keselowski Earns Best Qualifying Run in Nearly a Year

If Brad Keselowski is going to win his way into the playoffs, Iowa might mark one of his best shots. Not only is his fifth-place starting position actually his best since last year's Iowa and Nashville races, he was fast in practice too. His eighth-place lap time in practice made him the fastest Ford and […]

Hendrick Motorsports Speed Should Carry Alex Bowman to Solid Finish

Although the Hendrick Motorsports cars were generally no match for Ryan Blaney in last year's inaugural Iowa race, they were arguably the fastest other than Blaney as Kyle Larson led the second-most laps, William Byron and Chase Elliott finished second and third, and Alex Bowman drove from 33rd to 8th. This suggests Bowman might be […]

Despite Historic Short Track Struggles, Austin Cindric Fast This Weekend

Short tracks have always been typically Austin Cindric's worst track type in the Cup Series and he only started 21st and finished 30th in last year's Iowa race. Nonetheless, he has been generally faster this year and he does have a knack for setting fast qualifying laps, as evidenced by yesterday's performance when he qualified […]

Despite Shaky Trackhouse Racing Short Track Speed, Daniel Suarez Was Fast Last Year

While the Trackhouse Racing cars typically struggle on short tracks, that was not the case for Daniel Suárez at Iowa last week as he started 13th, finished 9th, and had his third-best driver rating of the year and tied for his best average running position. Suárez had also shown speed there in the Xfinity Series […]

Shane Van Gisbergen Outqualifies Teammates for Fifth Straight Week, but Probably Won't Outfinish Them Today

Although it's hard to imagine the presumptive Rookie of the Year Shane van Gisbergen contending for an oval win anytime soon, the positive momentum from his back-to-back wins at Chicago and Sonoma may have energized the No. 88 team as SVG has now outqualified both of his teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez for the […]