by The NASCAR Cup Series playoff races are taking place at Watkins Glen International for the first time this weekend.
Watkins Glen’s foray into the playoffs comes as part of the race’s September debut, after it has been a regular August stop for the series since 1986. The event returns to August in 2025 and will again be one of the final races before the playoff field is set.
Go Bowling at The Glen will kick off at 3pm on Sunday, marking the culmination of a three-day racing weekend on the road course.
Also on the schedule are Friday’s General Tire 100 at 5 p.m. at The Glen, an ARCA Menards Series race, and Saturday’s Xfinity Series Mission 200 at 3 p.m. at The Glen.
Here are four storylines to follow this weekend.
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Drivers battle to advance in playoffs
Watkins Glen is the second of 10 playoff races on the schedule and the middle event of the three rounds of 16. A champion will be crowned Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
Joey Logano won the first playoff game in Atlanta last weekend, securing a spot in the round of 16. The winners at Watkins Glen and Bristol next week also advance to the second round, while four drivers will be eliminated based on points.
The four drivers heading to Watkins Glen are Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Briscoe. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are in positions 10-12.
Among those in the final seven positions, two-time winner Larson, Hamlin and Truex have WGI victories.
The top nine drivers in the playoffs start with Logano, followed by Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez.
Hendrick Motorsports Attempts to Continue Glen’s Domination
The last five Cup winners at Watkins Glen have come from Hendrick Motorsports. The streak began with Elliott in 2018 and 2019, followed by Larson in 2021 and 2022, and Byron last year.
With Larson’s position in the title race precarious, Watkins Glen’s appearance on the calendar is welcome. He’s coming off a 37th-place finish at Atlanta after a scary crash that also involved Briscoe.
“I’m really looking forward to Watkins Glen,” Larson said. “I read a statistic last night: I don’t think Hendrick Motorsports has lost there since 2017.”
How will the tire change impact the race?
A new tread compound will be used this weekend, which Goodyear racing director Greg Stucker said will create more stall and passing potential. Based on a two-day test with three teams at Watkins Glen on June 26-27, as well as other test data, the tread is expected to create at least two to three seconds of stall per lap.
The change should create more passing opportunities on the 2.45-mile track. Byron led 66 of 90 laps last year in his victory at Watkins Glen, a far cry from the type of heart-pounding racing that helped the track win the title of NASCAR’s best track four times from 2015 to 2020 in the USA TODAY 10Best reader vote.
“It’s always tricky on road courses because drivers have limited passing zones, so the increased passing should lead to more back-and-forth as some drivers manage their tires and gain ground as races go on,” Stucker said in a story on NASCAR’s website.
The introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022 has made overtaking more difficult, especially on short tracks and road courses.
“Watkins Glen is a very fast track, and we’ve been there the last few years without losing tires, so you can’t get close enough to pass a driver,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. said. “It’s as simple as physics, right? You go through the Esses and you lose five or six car lengths, that’s it. So that’s going to help us pass if our car is good and that’s what we need in these places.”
Byron said having 40 minutes of training instead of 20 would make a difference.
“You’ll have more time to figure out what that drop-off is and I think you’ll make your adjustments from there,” he said.
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Glen farewell for Truex?
Truex has been one of the most popular and successful drivers at Watkins Glen International, winning the 2017 race at the track and having eight other top-six finishes in 17 career Cup starts at the track.
The 2017 Cup Series champion announced in June that he was retiring from full-time NASCAR competition, leaving open the possibility that Sunday would be his final race at a track he has called one of his favorites.
Truex, who was involved in a crash in Atlanta that left him finishing 35th, said having the title under his belt takes the pressure off the playoffs.
“It’s easier to manage your emotions when you’ve been through something like this before and you’re not afraid of thinking that your career is going to end, that you’re not going to win a championship, like you already have,” Truex said. “It helps you stay calm and focused and hopefully that helps us.”
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. For unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article was originally published on Elmira Star-Gazette: Watkins Glen International storylines during 2024 NASCAR weekend
